Porto bridge climb

 As Lynda and I sit here next to the bridge, waiting to do our climb I just remembered that I haven’t written anything in my blog yet. So hopefully the climb will be uneventful. The views will be spectacular, and the photographs will be even more amazing more to follow….

Hartsfield Atlanta

 Well, we landed about a half hour ago. We have a three hour wait to de part for Madrid, Spain first leg of the flight was a little rough a little choppy hopefully our 8 1/2 hour flight to Spain will be smoothies glass.

The adventure begins

 Tomorrow, my sister, Lynda and I will travel to Madrid, Spain where we will begin a European north African adventure. More to follow. Stay tuned.

First World adventure complete

 Wow where to begin? Marie and I left Ohio for SeaTac on December 4th 2021in route to see Dillon Shirley and our little pRincess Elena! Commercial to Washinton state Spac A to Alaska, then Space A to Japan. From Japan we had to catch a comercial flight to Korea 200 bucks for the both of us, no big deal.

Weeks later the five of us were off to Bangkok Tailand! we flew comercial to Bangkok then rented a car and explored Tailand for the next ten days working our way down to Puket. The advetures did not dissapoint such a beautiful country with so much to see. Dillon not only got to see but he also got to feel what the country had to offer when he got bitten by a monkey. He's fine just needed a few shots, we all had the time of our lives!!

When we left Tailand we had a layover in China that almost turned into a short stay. At this time Korea was not accepting any travelers from China unless they had a recent negative Covid test which none of us had. We had to explain thet we did not vacation there we just merley had a lawover there. We had similer arguments once we got to Korea they saw it a bit differant as well.

A few more weeks went by and Marie and I were off for Vietnam, or so I thought. The day before we were scheduled to leave Marie wanted to go home so off she went. A comercial trip for her back to good old USA. I on the other hand was off to Saigon where I was going to spent 15 days traveling around Vietnam. I felt a little off being there by myself so I cut the trip short and went back to Korea to plan my next adventure. Spent a few weeks with the kids playing with Elena and planned my next adventure. 

I was off to DaNang Vietnam where I would spend around 10 days mostly motor biking around DaNang. Thie country has so much to offer so much to see and do and everything is so cheap! did I mention cheap! we are talking 18 to 22 dollar 5 star accomidations and 3 to 5 dollar meals. Such a beautiful country to visit and the people are so friendly. Hard to beleave that we fought one of our most diffacult wars here..

From DaNang I was off to Kuala Lumpur where I would spend another week seeing the sights. another beautiful country with lots to see for sure. not as cheap as Vietnam but pretty close. I have been trying food from all of these countries and nothing has made me sick yet so I was living my best retired life for sure. Well time to head back to Korea to spend a little more time with the kids.

Once in Korea I started to plan my trip to Jeju Island, considered Korea's Hawaii! I was only on this island for four days its pretty small and I felt like that would be all the time I would need. I was right, back to Shirley and Dillons house to plan for my departure for Robby's change of command in Hawaii.

On March 6 I jumped a space A flight to Travis Air Force base in California spent one night and caught a Space A to Hawaii the next day. Got to spend some amazing time with Robby and Karaline and the girls before his Change of Command on the 15th. Marie flew commercial from home and arrived on the 8th we had a great time in Hawaii with the kids and shortly after Robbys change of Command it was time to head to the house. I was gone for almost 4 months and had the time of my life and I am looking forward to doing it again next fall. I want to see everything, I want to experiance everything, I want to travel everywhere on every continent and met everyone from all walks of life. 

Life is so short, its been a hard couple of years, tomorrow is not promised! Live each day as if it will be your last!!

Virus getting worse

Worse, that's all they are telling us. they just extended the social distancing for another month till the end of April. Tonight President Trump announced that we need to do better and continue the social distancing for another month maybe more. He said that had we not done anything we may have lost 1.6 to 2 million people. This is the data the the models are showing based on Italy and Spain, those two countries are getting hammered right now with a death rate close to 10%. All we can do is our best, wash our hands avoid populated areas and stay home. I am the only one leaving our house, I do the grocery shopping only when we run out of milk and bread. I am trying to stock up on non perishables that we can use to stay home for a month if we have to if it gets really bad. I think we are about there I buy water and can goods every time I go shopping. I think we have enough to last a month it would be nothing glamorous but we would not starve to death.

Marie and Elli are doing great we are all spending a lot of time looking at tiktok videos on our phones and iPads. I hope that this time passes quickly and our country recovers quickly as well. Marie and I have put off looking for a house for a bit its just too hard to get out. wether its to the mountains or up home we think we need to put house hunting on the back burner for a bit. And our fall trip to Spain may have to be put off for a bit as well. Oh well enough for tonight I will talk more tomorrow...

Virus Continues

No idea what day we are on but the girls and I are going crazy. We are trying to spend quality time with each other but I think we are all felling the blues right about now. The news is so depressing lately the Virus is all they talk about and its getting pretty sad all the talk about loss and that we have not even hit the peak yet. Not much we can do really but try to stay positive and try to keep each other up. We have ben playing card almost every night and its been a lot of fun when this is over I will miss that for sure. Elli has been doing great with all of this she is such a great kid and she always has such a great attitude about everything.

Donald Trump is doing a great job and I am sure this will guarantee hie re-election for sure. Typical politics though no matter what he does it was a mistake and he should have done the opposite. But the left is giving him all the fuel he will need for his up coming re-election with all of their hypocritical talking points. New York seems to be our greatest Virus pandemic area in the US they are doing the best they can up there but the death toll keeps rising. I sometimes wish that Shirley was a logistics Officer like her brother. Robby, Karaline and the baby are home and don't have to go to work hopefully till this is over. Keeping our finger crossed for all the family to stay safe and out of harms way...

Corona Virus

Well we are still trying to stay put at the house. We opened the pool last week and the water is 72 degrees so won't be doing any of that for a while. Marie and I are trying to find things to do in the house to keep busy during the day to help once we are ready to list the house on Zillow and make the move to wherever.

Not exactly what I had in mind for our retirement but this too shall pass. We are looking forward to our first trip over seas once the virus has burned out or once they have a vaccine to fight it. We have watched so many videos on Spain and Portugal that I think we could be tour guides. This is going to be our first trip and we want to drop down to Morocco as well and do the camel trip out into the Sierra desert. I personally can wait for our move to be over and for this virus to be under control.

I will try to get on here tomorrow too, as for now Georgia has not implemented a state wide remain at home ban yet but I am sure its coming...

I have not been on here since jun of last year, lot has happened since then. Marie and I are both officially retired now and looking forward to the next chapter in our lives.

The reason that i am on here is we are facing huge challenges as a country right now with this Virus. most states have placed travel restrictions on people tryin to curb the spread of this Virus. most are remaining in there homes except to make grocery runs for critical supplies. Some of the biggest things that are no where to be found are toilet paper hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies. Marie Elli and I are doing fine under the circumstances we have gotten into a routine and we play cards/games every night. the order has not come to Georgia yet but we have stocked up on supplies to last 4 to 6 weeks with not having to leave the house.

The Virus started in China, it's a animal virus that jumped to humans some how and first spread all over China and then it jumped from country to country. Now its here and doing lots of damage. I think the biggest reason it's hitting so hard is that China underplayed its effects to save face and it spread much more quickly. The virus attacks the lungs and it hits the elderly and people with pre existing conditions much harder.

So far Robby and Karaline and our first grand daughter are doing fine out in Washington State, Shirley is also doing well in Texas. I worry more for Shirley though because she is a health care professional and that will put her in harms way a lot more with greater risk.

I will try to get on here more often now that Marie and I are retired and we start to do some traveling once this virus crap is over...

Not much going on, trying to get the house and yard in order for a sale next year. it will be one more year now that Elli is going to go to the Armstrong campus her first year. I have forgotten how much I do not like to grow grass but the lawn is starting to come around. I spent some time in Cincy trying to help with Brooklyns heart transplant and recovery but I was not really needed so I came home early. I am back to group and seeing my therapist so hopefully this funk that I am in will end soon, ill keep you posted...

Its been a long time, I think I will be trying to get back on here and talk about what is going on in my head these days. more to follow

It's Saturday and I sit here in my RV thinking about Marie and the Girls. Tonight I am going out with Tony to Dothan to get some dinner and hang out for a bit. In the last few weeks many things have changed, my VA disability rating came back and I was awarded 100%. This is a big deal for Marie and I, there are a lot of advantages to this, both financially and future wise. I will only be working here at DOSS for one year now and I look forward to moving back to Savannah. Marie and I will get Elli out of high school and off to College and then we'll see what is in our future. Marie has just been promoted to supervisor at TSA, and although she truly loves her job I'm going to figure out a way to get her to quit that job sooner Then later. Elli has two more years of high school, Shirley has two more years of college, and Robby and Karaline will be married in the middle of next summer. I would like to be permanently retired shortly after Elli goes off to college. That way Marie and I can travel around visit our kids and joy life the way I know it was meant to be.

Flying is always awesome

Had a very good flight tonight, need about two more and I will be finished with my progression. Can't wait till they turned me loose start flying students again. This job is so close to what I did in the army I was a fairly easy transition to retirement. I'm almost finished with my first month, I have 11 to go and then I can start applying for EMS positions in the southeast coast. Unless I can figure out a way to get Marie and Elli to join me over here but I don't see that happening. And that is OK because sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

Back at Fort Rucker

My 6 1/2 hour drive was uneventful. Marie and I and the girls, all three of them. We met in Pooler for some lunch, Karaline flew in to Savannah Saturday she spent the weekend with us after she came down from Virginia. She had Thanksgiving with her family, She's like one of my daughters now, It's only a matter of time before Robby pops the question. Marie and I are very fond of her, she is a great kid. Her folks live in Virginia her dad is a retired Marine Corps Officer who works for the VA and Her mom is a professional photographer and I think Marie's new best friend, they are great people.  I often wonder what that type of relationship would have been like. Nonetheless Marie and I are lucky to have our wonderful family and the amazing opportunities that are in front of us. We have three amazing children who continue to impress me every day. Robby has been in Korea for about a month and he is doing great things as a new young lieutenant in the army. Shirley who is in her second year of college is doing great thing as well she is going to make an amazing nurse. Elli and her second year of high school home alone with mom helping her to maintain her sanity is an amazing young lady as well. I hope that someday when Robby and Shirley have for fill their obligations to the army my family and children can all settle down somewhat close together, or at least in the same country.

So anyway I had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with the family and now it's time to get back to work, my training with DOSS hopefully will be complete this week. I look forward to flying new students and molding young minds of future aviators flying what I consider to be the most amazing attack helicopter in the world. Shirley is planning on coming over here for a visit into weeks I look forward to it, her and I should have a pretty good time.

Going home for Thanksgiving

Well I have a short week only three days. Then it's off to Savannah to spend some quality time with Marie Shirley and Elizabeth and somewhere in that weekend we will be joined by Karaline. Flight training is going well I would say the week after I get back from Thanksgiving my training should be complete and I will be flying students. I'm actually looking forward to it I enjoyed my time when I was here from 2000 To 2004. Flame students is probably one of the most challenging things I've done in the Apache. On average most of the student pilots have less than 100 hours  and zero aircraft hours in the Apache. So it should be fun to start all of that again. As I have said before it is like a great big reunion here with all of the people that I have worked with in my carer. So many of them are here as contractors and DACs. I have many friends here at Rucker so new but most old from all over the world and my Army travels. I look forward to working with all of them again without the distractions of thinking about our next Combat tour together, because those days are finally behind me and them for ever.

The RV is working out pretty well, it's starting to get a little cold out I went out and purchased an additional heater but I leave in the bedroom it has a built-in thermostat and I set it for 75 and turn it on when I go to bed. It's fairly quiet doesn't wake me up and works fairly well, keeps the bedroom side of the RV pretty comfortable. However I don't think it is gotten below 50° yet so time will tell if the fireplace and the extra electric heater are enough to keep the RV warm.

No longer torn

Well it is official, I flew 2.8 last week which puts me somewhere around $15,000 in the event that I decide to quit prior to one year. So obviously that's not going to happen, I just need to make the best of it the job is no more challenging then it was 16 years ago when I was here doing the same thing. Flying new student in the most advanced attack helicopter in the world is not a bad gig. I spend a great deal of time on FaceTime with Robby and Shirley and Elli I, sent Marie a lot of Snapchat's because she still doesn't have an iPhone. Fort Rucker is not a bad place to raise a family the people here are extremely friendly just like they were when we were here in 2000. I think that this experience was probably one of the best times of both mine and Marie's life. I mean after all this was where we conceived our first child and we all know how he turned out.

Test post

Torn

I sit here in my RV thinking about the last year and how quickly it past bye. Tomorrow I am supposed to start flying for a new company on Fort Rucker call DOSS. As soon as I start flying with them I owe them one year for the training  I will be receiving in the aircraft. I find myself a little torn thinking can I make this work for year. Robby has been in Korea for about a month Shirley is a sophomore at GSU in the nursing program and Ellie is in Savannah with Marie. I thought that this would be easy but I'm finding it a little more difficult than I originally anticipated. Again as soon as I fly my first hour I will owe the company $5000 a flight hour. Part of me tonight is doing a lot of soul-searching trying to decide if I really think I can make this work. The money is really good but living in an RV not so much, living away from Marie and Elli even more so not so much. I spent the last six months or so sending out resumes to just about every aviation program within a 3 Hour Drive of Savannah. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of aviation programs within that geographical footprint. The more I learned about EMS flying the more excited I got. I spent 25 years flying Army helicopters both lift and attack. I started flying the Apache in 1998 and for the most part I have really enjoyed it, flying the Apache in combat is probably one of the most selfless things I will ever do, I know that there are soldiers in the army that are still alive because of what we do in the Apache. So part of me really likes the idea of eventually being hired on as an EMS pilot where I know I will save lives. It's all about the timing,  again if I start flying the Apache tomorrow I will be here at Fort Rucker living in this RV for at least one year.

Retirement

Well the next chapter is just beginning. I will be a free agent on 01 November 2016 when I officially retire from the Army that I have served in for over 32 years of my

Life. I am looking forward to this next chapter in my life, so far I have three options. One I will work at Ft Rucker teaching the next generation of pilots for this great Army. Two I will go over seas and teach in Saudi Araibia or Daubi in the UAE. Or three I will be lucky enough to have a helicopter job near Savannah open up around the time I am ready to retire. I will keep you posted....

Going home for A funeral

It's never easy to go home for a funeral, especially for some one so young.  Jammie was too young he had his whole life in front of him.  A loving wife and two amazing boys who will miss him with all of their hearts for many years to come.  My best friend is hurting so much, he has been there for his son through all of this and I can't even imagine what's it's been like.  As a dad I can not even begin to understand the hurt Jim and sue are going through having to bury a child. It's just not how life is suppose to unfold I pray that they find peace in knowing that their son is in a better place and his suffering is over.

July 26 2014

It has been so long since I have been on here. I think I will try to post more often even though I think my time in Combat is behind me. This year I was on the selection board for CW5 and sad to say I did not get picked up. Its a bitter sweet situation in the fact that I will not be getting promoted and make a little more cash and that My time in the Army will be coming to an end in November of 2016. On a positive note though the Army can't move me from Savannah so I will remain here till the end. I am happy for this because this place is more like home to my three kids than any other place we have been.

Robby will be a Junior At GSU and Shirley will be a senior at Richmond Hill High and for Elli she will be in the 8th grade her last year in middle school. I am glad to call Savannah Home, I hope once I am in the market for a job after the Army I can find something close. Well I will try to keep this up to date so wish me luck...

Almost Home

I have one more day here at Manas and then it's off to Savannah with one little stop in Dublin Ireland. I can't wait to be home with my girls I miss them so much and I want to be with them for some needed vacation even if it ends up just being a staycation. Night all

Wow out of the blue

I got this email from the Doctor I meet in the airport last tour when I was on my mid tour break, what a really nice American. I think I will try to stay in touch with him, he seems extremely sincere in all he says, I find it really refreshing that this country still has folks out there like him.

Hi Rob,

Wow, I thought (and was hoping) that you were finally home for good the last time we wrote.  Thank God that you are ok and going home soon!  I cannot even begin to tell you how much respect and admiration I have for you and your fellow soldiers.  God bless you and all of them and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY!!

I am doing well and working hard in my medical practice.  I am going to hire another doctor (that will make 3 besides me) and open a new office (that will be # 4) soon and that takes a lot of planning.  I have a very good staff which makes it much easier to do my job and to take care of my patients.

I have been traveling to Europe a lot, specifically Romania, where I have a girlfriend and also I have "adopted" a little 11 year old girl over there.  I will leave her there, rather than bring her to the US at this time, but I am supporting her to go to a good school in Bucharest and I have a nanny taking care of her.  I will also go to Mykonos with Elena (my girlfriend) and to Prague.

My Mom just turned 80 years old and we all celebrated her birthday last weekend.  She is wonderful and even works in my office one day a week.

I have to go as they are calling me for surgery.  Please keep in touch with me and let me know as soon as you arrive back in the US.  I would love to invite you and your family to visit me here in Atlanta....my treat!  Just let me know if you want to do this.  I will be leaving for Romania on July 26 and return on August 25, but I will have my iPad with me so I always am available thru email.

Rob, please stay safe and thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for all that you (and your fellow soldiers) do for all of us here in the US to keep our wonderful country free and safe!!

All my best,

Randy

Pretty cool, well I leave the Stan tomorrow at 2300 hours and I can't wait to get the heck out of here. Girls I will see you soon and I love you three all to much, night all

Just got extended

We just got extended for another day here at KAF. We are still scheduled to get out of manis on the 15th which will have us getting home on the 15th at 9:30 PM. I think we got extended here because Manis does not have the life support to house transients for more than 40 hours. It all fine with me I can't wait to see my girls in five days, I miss them more than they will ever know. 

Two more days at KAF

Well the four of us have been sitting here in our room waiting for the FOB attack to be over, big voice has been going off for the last two hours apparently we are in the middle of a ground attack and we are all being told to remain in our rooms. Leave it to the Taliban to screw me out of lunch, by the time we get the all clear message I am sure the chow hall will be done with lunch. Oh well tonight at 2000 we manifest for our 11 July flight to Manis. I hope we are scheduled to leave at 0001 on the 11th that will be one less day I have to spend here in this dusty inferno. I will keep you posted...

9:20 PM 15 July

This is when we are being told we will have our welcome home ceremony on Hunter Army Airfield in the hanger. Hopefully we will not have any delays with aircraft or maintenance. 

4th of July

Well just another extremely hot day in Kandahar Mike Carman and I spent most of it in doors. Tomorrow I will get up at 0230 so I can go and lay out all my stuff for the customs folks to look at. I also need to add my last tough box that has my computer and camera gear in it. It will be going home in a sensitive items container so it should be just fine. Well it's getting lat and I just wanted to make a quick post to update what's going on with me, night all

It's HOT

Kandahar is probably 20 degrees hotter than Wolverine and it is taking its tool on me. You just can't seem to drink enough water to keep from getting a head ache. I can't wait to get out of this God forsaken country and back to the states. I think Robby left today for his trip to South America and I am so happy for him, it should be an amazing adventure. I will be home to welcome home home from his trip and I look forward to it. I can't wait to be welcomed home from my Girls I miss them so much and I can hardly wait to see the three of them.

CPT Boston just moved into the room next to mine, I really feel bad for him as well. Today he went to see the General and he was relieved from command and will be forced out of the Army shortly after we get back to Savannah. CPT Boston was the commander of the Path Finder company that was attached to Task Force Viper. Their primary mission was PR (personal recovery) and they were really great at what they did. The night we had an MC-12 go down they were the first team put on the crash site and they were the last ones out. I flew over six hours that night flying security for them while they did their job. When we In filled them the enemy was all over the crash site and even though the enemy out numbered his team three to one his ten man team took the crash site and did what they were trained to do. They striped the aircraft of all sensitive items and recovered the four Heroes, a job in itself that takes a certain kind of man to deal with that level of stress. The entire time they were on the ground for over seven hours we operated in the first level of the stack. We would have the F16s come down for show of force when we would break for gas. It was a long night and his guys executed their mission like true professionals, considering most of his guys are just a little older than Robby they will always have my respect. It was nice to know that if I had to crash land somewhere out side the wire Boston's guys would be there ASAP and help to get me out. And now he is being fired for Hazing which I am not to sure really took place, but this Army that we now work in has changed so much you always have to be so politically correct that it just drives most of us crazy. He commands infantry soldiers that have to follow orders right now or people could die, and some folks just don't get that. That's why I personally don't think it's a good idea to have an infantry company working for an Aviation task force. We are pilots and we just don't get it, I wish him the best in all he does and I hope he does well in his future.

Well it's getting pretty late and tomorrow I need to get up and pack so I can move into the VIP quarters   Where I will wait for the Boss and Mike Carman to show up. I hope to find some Internet tomorrow so I can post these post, night all

FEB Complete

I think I was a good witness for the prosecuting attorney and I am pretty sure Jeff will never fly an Apache ever again. I can't even imagine what that feeling would be like, I have grown pretty fond of this amazing machine and to be told I will never fly it again would be really hard to take. I think Jeff truly thinks what he has done is not a big deal, when in fact he put many people in grave danger and I am sure that is how the board members will see it too.

Enough on all of that, I had dinner at TGI Fridays tonight, not exactly what you would expect state side but I thought it was great. It's nice to go into a restaurant and have someone bring you your food and drink. Seven months on the chow hall going through a line for the same old crappy food gets old pretty quick. I think that might be why I like eating out so much when I am at home, but Shirley rest assured I can't wait to try all of your recipes, and I know they will be amazing just like you.   

Now I have just eleven more days to spend here at Kandahar with just enough cloths to last thirteen more days till I am home. I can't wait to get home and see the Girls and spend some quality time with them. I come over here and I see things so much different with such clarity. Why do I have problems with things that are obviously important to me when I am at home. Life is not that difficult, one day at a time and do the right thing, it's not that tough. Well once again I am getting pretty tired today started at 0500 and did not end at the court house till1900, 14 hours later. I hope time passes quickly and I am home till then I will try to keep you all posted I just need to find some free wifi somewhere, night all

Day two at KAF

Well tomorrow I will testify at Jeff Crownover's FEB, not something I am looking forward to as it will most Likely end his aviation career. Not that he did not have it coming he made some really bad decisions over here and he is pretty reckless in his actions in the Apache. But none the less it's not something I am looking forward to being a part of. 

As for KAF, this place is like it's on city, I got on the blue line bus and 40 minutes later I got to the boardwalk. This place is huge! The boardwalk has all sorts of restaurant with all sorts of shopping as well I was able to waste a fare amount of time there. Tomorrow after the FEB I am going to try to find some Internet so I can try to FaceTime with the girls and make these post to my blog. I will keep you posted, but I am still tracking that main body 2 will be wheels up KAF on the 11th of July. I am keeping my fingers crossed.....  

First night in Kandahar

Well I have arrived on the first leg of my journey home. I have no Internet so I will have to post these later but I wanted to keep up on what was going on. I met with Tony Born this afternoon, he was on the schedule to fly so it was a short visit. However he seemed to be in pretty good spirits, I don't know if I could be that way seeing how everyone who leaves Afghanistan comes through here and he is not out of here till the end of AUG. Tomorrow I have but one mission and that is to find the Kandahar Court House. I should be able to do that but this place is huge so it may take me some time. Today for lunch I went to a Italian restaurant and had some home made pizza it was not worth the fifteen bucks I spent on it but it was the first meal I have had that did not come from the chow hall. Well I am getting pretty tired so I think I am going to try to get some sleep, night all

Last night

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Kandahar and I will be there till the 11th of July. Then I will continue my trip to Savannah, hoping to be there some time around the 14 or 15. I can't wait to see everyone especially by beautiful Girls, I miss you three. Rob I will see you after your trip to South America, I hope it is an awesome adventure, I love you. Night all....

Last flight

Well the time has come once again, I flew my last flight in Afghanistan. And now I am in the process of trying to fit all my crap into a few boxes and bags. It was a little easier last tour because I was at a fob that was not shutting down so I mailed a ton of crap to the house. This FOB has not had out going mail for months so I am limited to what I can do. I will try to get buy with the amount of space that I have but I am sure some things will not make it home. I will have to make some tough decisions as to what I bring and what I throw away. Everything that I throw away I will burn myself, as to not leave anything here that can be used once we are gone. I have burned every package that Shirley and Marie have sent me just to make sure that the mailing labels are destroyed and addresses are safe and secure. Not that I am paranoid, it just makes sense to keep things secure, after all this place will be in the middle of nowhere in less than three months with no US forces around here for miles. 

My time here has been short, and I am not complaining I will be home two months early. My Apache company will be going to Kandahar and they will stay there till the end of Aug. the rest of us will be going through Kandahar to Savannah. I should be home on the 14 or15 of July if we do not have any travel issues. I am pretty excited to get home and have just a little summer left with the kids. Although Robby will be in South America till the end of July I can still spend some time spoiling my three girls. 

I look back at the seven months that I spent here and I think of all the things I have been through with Task Force Viper, I have been so lucky. Our BDE has had so many miss fortunes with aircraft and personal and bad shoots and a litany of other issues. We are so blessed to be taking all the Vipers home this tour, although our BDE Has suffered some losses and those folks will be missed and never forgotten. I thank God for looking over our team here at FOB Wolverine and getting us all home safe and sound.

Wow this is out of control

I woke up this morning to these flyers all over the FOB I can't even tell you how much this sickens me. The fact that this is shoved into all of our faces is a true testament as to how our society is going to the toilet. What about my rights to not have to have this thrown in my face, to not have to explain to my 12 year old what transgender means. I feel discriminated against I mean after all there is no heterosexual month, and nor should their be. Why is it the norm for all the gays and homosexuals to constantly be throwing this crap in my face.

This was the email that came with it....

As we recognize Pride month, we thank all of our gay and lesbian service
members, LGBT civilians, and their families for their dedicated service
to our country. Before the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," they
faithfully served their country with professionalism and courage. And
just like their fellow service members, they put their country before
themselves. And now -- after repeal, they can be proud of serving their
country, and be proud of who they are when in uniform. The pursuit of
equality is fundamental to the American story. The successful repeal of
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" proved to the Nation that just like the country
we defend, we share different backgrounds, different values, and
different beliefs -- but together, we are the greatest military force in
the world. It also reminds us that integrity and respect remain the
cornerstones of our military culture. The Army, Navy, Marine Corps and
Air Force implemented the repeal with a focus on respect and individual
dignity. So, come out and support this event to promote understanding,
teamwork, harmony, pride and esprit among all groups. This event will
take place 25 June 2013 at the KAF Fest tent @1100-1200. 

Not to many flights left

Today I flew an instrument ride with CPT Kelly, I worked with his dad at Rucker back in 2001. CPT Kelly brought a flag and we flew it then had to get a picture and here it is. 

Less than one month and I will be home, can't wait to see everyone.....

Fathers Day

I was not on shift today, but not much of a day. I am in my room laying in bed trying to face time with Marie and the kids and once again I have no Internet. So I will write all of my thoughts into my blog and post it the next time I have a connection.

Well for starters, I wish Dad was still alive to spend this day with his kids and grand kids. I also wish I was at home to spend this day with my own kids. Next year it will be different I hope, time is going bye too quickly. My kids are getting so big and they have lives of their own, all I can hope for is to be able to share some time with them and watch them grow in to the amazing young adults that they are. This generation is so different from when I was their age, the stresses and challenges that our kids face are so different. Elli is 12 and in ten years she will be graduating from college and starting her life. And at that same time I will be 57 wondering what to do with mine, I have three and a half more years of the Army and I will retire and after that I have no idea what life will have in store for Marie and I. I hope to stay put, the kids call Savannah home and hope to be able to keep us all together right there. There are many jobs that I would like to try my hand at after I retire, from EMS Pilot to greeter at Walmart. I am sure I will be able to find something in the middle somewhere. I spent my Army career flying the coolest helicopter in the entire world and I would not have changed anything about my career. Except for the few times that I could have put my family first and the Army second. I hope that some day my wife and kids can find it in their hearts to give me a pass. I know they understand my commitment to my job and my country and the feelings that I have about what it is that I do. But none the less there are so many things that I was just not part of in their lives and I can never get any of that back. For that I have much regret and all I can do is try to make it up to all of them as often as I can. You four are my life and I am so lucky to be your father and husband, It is the most precious gift I have been given and I love you guys with all of my heart. Happy Fathers Day........

Report Card Time

Time to start planning the GRF

The GRF also known as the global response force is the next chapter in the Task Force Viper book of woe. We and when I say we I mean they because I will be the BDE Master Gunner by then are to assume the GRF on 01 April 2014 and have it for six months or better. What this means is that if something should happen anywhere in the world they would respond to it. So needless to say that even though I will be nestled away at BDE I will play a major part in getting it set up and ensuring that Viper gets trained to accomplish the mission whatever it may be.

I also got word that Robby's ISOPREP is good to go for his trip, for those of you not tracking Robby was selected to go to South America for one month through his ROTC program to do some training. I am sure it will be an amazing adventure for him and I hope he embraces it and has an awesome time. I know I will miss him on my return, hopefully I will get home before he gets home and I can welcome him home for a change. Well getting pretty tired I hate to cut this post short I have so much to catch up on but I need to hit the sack, night all

Getting Crazy

Well it is getting more difficult to even wipe my nose these days, this place is literally falling down around us. This is the first time I have ever been involved in a retrograde operation to this scale. We have identified that we need 1700 trucks to line haul everything off this FOB and we are lucky to get ten trucks every few days. Well I am not the best mathematician but it's easy to see we are going to fall way short. 

As for me I have my marching orders, I will fly out of this FOB on the morning of the 29th of this month to be in Kandahar to testify in the FEB (flight evaluation board) of Jeff Crownover the morning of the 30th. He will probably be permanently suspended from aviation service for some really bad decisions that he made over here. So since there is no reason for me to go up there for two days and then come back here for three I will wait to be joined by my TaskForce on about the third of July. Then we will get the last four Apaches ready to ship home and through customs and once that is done sometime around the 14th we will fly home. I hope to be in Savannah sometime around the last week in July. I can't wait to see the girls and Robby. Although Robby I will have to wait to see because he was selected to go to South America for an ROTC program to teach English to kids in a small country down there and he won't be home till the end of July. 

For the last two days I have been in Kandahar at the commanders conference working on personnel lay down for once we get back. They have identified my replacement and I was told that I will be doing my handover with Dave Lewis prior toThanksgiving. Right after thanksgiving I will be getting my hand over from Tony Born who is the current Brigade Master Gunner. It's hard to believe that I have had this job for two years all ready. I was lucky to be given the opportunity to bring these guys to combat as their Task Force SP, it was a job that I will never forget. I hope that I will do as well with my next assignment as the Brigade MG. 

Well it's nice to be back in my RLB safe and sound on FOB Wolverine, even if its only for another twenty days. I will be out of here before I know it, the time has passed quickly and for that I am thankful. Well I will try to FaceTime with the girls here in a bit then I am going to bed, night all 

Wave One

Well another bunch of folks just left FOB Wolverine and are heading to the house. I am glad to see them go I am just that much closer to going home to my family. I am on tomorrow night and I hope it's a quite nite, we are now strictly QRF and unless we have folks in harms way we sit in our CP (command post) and wait for the call. Well speaking for myself I hope the call never comes I have a pile of paperwork three feet high and I can't ever seem to get ahead. I still love my job, but come on all ready enough with the paperwork. 

I sit here, no I am laying here in my bed listening to music on my iPad typing this post to my blog on the same iPad thinking about Marie and the kids wondering what they will be doing when they wake up. It's about 0600 in the morning in Savannah and I am sure the kids are on summer schedule by now sleeping in till noon or so. I miss them all the time and it get so much harder the closer you get to going home. I can't help but to think of how things will be once I get home, kids are older I know they are more independent and I know Marie has been running things on her own and doing a great job. Shirley has really stepped up to help around the house and from what I hear has really taken a liking to cooking healthy. I look forward to having her cook some home cooked meals but I also look forward to taking them all out and eating at some of our favorites around Savannah. 

I don't know if you all are tracking but I was able to hand pick this team from the entire Battalion, I was able to bring with me all of the people that I wanted to deploy with. Task Force Viper is the best group of folks I could ever hope to spend time with down range. These guys and gals are some of the finest sons and daughters our country has to offer and it's been my pleasure to serve with them. This morning we had the pleasure of promoting one of our specialist to Seargent, Seargent Spence he is our para legal. Spence has an amazing story, you see he has his doctorate and he was a practicing attorney in his home town. But Spence wanted to be a soldier, when he went to the recruiter they tried to give him a direct commission to Captain so he could operate as an attorney on active duty. Spence wanted nothing to do with it, he wanted to be a soldier, he wanted to go infantry but they would not let him based on his age. He is an amazing person and I am lucky to know him, he has given up so much to do what he feels is what every American should do for his country. I could not agree more, we have talked Spence into going green to gold once we get home and to serve the army in another way, he will be an attorney again. He is truly an inspirational man and so many people have learned so much from him and his positive attitude and how he deals with every task laid in front of him. 

Well it's going on 1600 and I need to start bringing this post to an end, I have found that the time I spend jotting these notes on here helps so much with everything that I do over here. I spend so many hours a day listening to so many people talk about everything that is bothering them, I am the oldest guy in our Task Force and with that seems to have come and additional duty that I will always be there to listen to anyone who needs to talk. It's a task that I know is needed and I try to always make myself available when anyone needs to talk or vent, it helps me as well. I sometime get a great big dose of reality and a sanity check as to what is really important and the fact that some things in life are really just not that important. We all have problems, and we all try to deal with them the best we can, but some times we just have to concede that some things are just out of our control. Life will go on and things will get better and sometimes you just have to have faith that things will work out. Night all  

Some are going home

Well I wish it were me, but I still have work to do here in the wonderful world of Afghanistan. I am glad to see about 90 Vipers going home in a few days, our main body 1 is scheduled to be wheels up June third. I am on main body 2 and it can't get here soon enough. We will depart FOB Wolverine on or around the 7th of July for a wheels up from Kandahar on 9 July. I am being told that there is some mandatory training that we have to go through in Manas but hopefully that will only be a few days. I hope to be home by the ire to last week in July.

I am on the schedule a lot more now that we have fewer pilots here, we are shifting to pure QRF starting June first. That mission set will be TIC ( troops in contact ) or urgent medevac, we will posture for quick reaction force to support the ground troops. 

I spent the last week dealing with the BDE attorney because of one of our engagements. That's when I truly realized its time to get out of here. One of my teams was called in on two military aged males who were caring a PKM machine gun, once the AWT (attack weapons team) was on station the two males busted into a house where they shot at the low Apache then they made a run for it down a dried river bed. The team engaged the enemy and called two EKIA ( enemy killed in action) to higher. Then things got crazy, the GFC ( ground force commander) called for an immediate re attack so the AWT set up for an immediate re attack. They did all the right things they cot clearance to fire again from  the GFC and even got initials. But what they did not capture was why? They did not ask why the GFC wanted a re attack, under the laws of war once a target is considered to be out of the fight they can not be targeted. It took me a week to get the attorney off our back, the GFC two days after this engagement redeployed to the states. So the time it took to get sworn statements from him made it next to impossible to put this engagement behind us. What we were not tracking was that the GFC had a UAV (unmanned arial vehicle) in the stack that was giving home info that led him to be leave that the two males were still in the fight and he still considered them to be hostile and a threat. And that was all we needed to be in accordance with the laws of armed conflict. This is a different fight this tour, there are to many rules and there are too many people who sit behind a desk who have no idea what it is like to make those kinds of decisions especially when you are under fire. The ROE ( rules of engagement) is so restrictive this tour, I got it no one wants to have a bad shoot lord knows I don't but I tell my guys all the time that the right to self defense is without question. And that is why I know it is time to pack this place up and go home. This place has changed so many lives for the worse and the cost has just been to great. So many kids who came over here to fight our nations war will never be the same, and the outcome of this decade long war has not really changed anything. I would like to think that maybe just maybe we prevented some of these nuts from coming to America to do harm on our streets but I see in the news all the time of all the crazy things happening at home. Only God knows, but I know I am ready to go home. Well it's getting late and I need to get my beauty sleep so I will say good night for this one, night all

Flew in support of Romanians

Was a pretty good flight, today is Memorial Day and I can't think of a better way to spend it than in a crappy country 10000 miles from home flying an Apache looking over a ground unit going door to door looking for folks that are making road side bombs. No Grill out for me today, but that's ok, I will make up for it next year when hopefully I will be at home with my family and someone else will have the fight and do the right thing and keep these guys at bay. I hope that everyone has a great day and truly enjoys themselves, we are all doing fine over here in Viper Land and we can't wait to get home. Well it's been a sixteen hour day and I need to hit the sack, night all

DES Complete

Well we just got out briefed by DES and now it's time to take a breath and get back to work. Speaking of work I am on tonight and its almost 4 PM so I need to hit the sack, I brief at midnight, night all

Last but not least, TASK FORCE VIPER OEF 13

Could not be more proud to have been given the opportunity to stand in front of this formation as the Command Warrant Officer of this Battalion. These are some of the finest young Americans serving our great nation and it was my absolute pleasure to serve with each and every one of them.

The rest of the Command Team

Here is the rest of our Company Commanders and First Sergeants with the Command Team.

Command team photo

Well now that the light is getting brighter at the end of the tunnel it's time to take som pictures. First up Me the BN CWOB, the Task Force Commander LTC Brian Schaap and the BN CSM Dove.

It's been a while

I know it's been a while, I have been getting ready for DES, they are the guys that come from Fort Rucker and try to help us figure out all the things we are doing wrong. One of their biggest things they like to help with are our records, it's so hard to maintain flight records. You would think it would be pretty easy but there are so many things that have to be documented in a certain. It takes dot the i and cross the T to the next level. And not to mention all the test and evaluations that will take place while they are here. 

Other an DES I am doing great I will be out of here in less than two months and I can't wait to get home to my family. As you all know I was offered a BDE job and with that will come much more responsibility but it will also come with some additional time to work a easier schedule. I know it doesn't sound like it would but it should. I am getting ready to have my out brief with COL Pepin on my OER (officer evaluation report) and I was told that he rated me as his number one CW4 in the entire BDE, this is the best I could hope for seeing how this is the OER that I will take to my primary zone CW5 board. I wish the numbers were better for next year but only time will tell. I am being told that big Army will only promote 10 to 13% to CW5 next year, it will be a slim group of folks that get picked up. I will know next August if I get picked up or not, time will tell. It sure would be nice to finish my career on the top of my rank structure, for a Warrant Officer CW5 is as high as I can go. But if it is not in the cards it will be ok, although the extra 1200 bucks sure would be nice especially for my retirement. And speaking of retirement November of 2016 will be here before I know it and then I will have to go find a real job. There are all kinds of jobs over here right now, and there was a point in my life when I think I might have come back here for one of them, but I look forward to spending some quality time with my family when I retire. I think I will take an EMS job and spend some time trying to save lives with my helicopter for a change. Time will tell and that's all I have these days is time, and I can't wait to spend more of it with my family. I love you guys, night all  

To all my mothers out there

I just had the best FaceTime session with my wonderful family and I wanted to put up a quick post to tell all of my sisters and nieces out there happy Mother's Day. To bring a child into this world is a huge responsibility and a life long commitment. But I sit here in Afghanistan thousands of miles from home and the joy my family brings me is something that you just can't explain. I hope everyone had an enjoyable day and I hope all of you were able to spend it with your Moms and children. I look forward to being able to be at home next year to spend this day with all of mine. Life is short, every day is a gift and it should be treated as such. So for all the Moms out there, I hope your day was wonderful. And to the newest Mom in our family away from home in California congratulations to the three of you. Cindy I am sure that new Grandmother is so excited and all ready planing her next trip to see you guys. I will see you all soon and I can't wait to be home with all of you. Night all

Mothers Day

Well once again I find myself sitting here ten thousand miles away from my wife and kids on yet another holiday. Marie I hope you have a wonderful day with three of the best kids on the planet, happy Mothers Day. I am not on the schedule to fly again till next Tuesday and I will spend most of my nights trying to get on top of all my paperwork. The CG has approved our course of action to finish retrograde operations here at FOB Wolverine and head to the house. So as for me I should be loading a plane to leave Afghanistan on 09 July in route to Manis Kazerkistan  where I will spend some time going through some mandatory classes to be reintegrated into society. I can't wait to see all of you, I just got done face timing with all of you in the side yard putting together Marie's Mother's Day present, a new trampoline. I will try to call back later I hope you and the kids had a great time today, it sure looked like Elli did, night all

Kandahar

Well this will be my longest day yet, you see I am now on nights and I work from 7 to 7. Tomorrow morning I meet the Boss and we are flying to Kandahar for some meetings. The aviation branch team came over and they want to meet all the command teams that are in theater so off we will go. It sounds like a typical day that I would just as soon pass, but when you add two General Officers and the CWOB of the aviation branch not much we can do but go.

Nights have been pretty quite we are spending more time flying around the FOB pulling security ourselves. Some of our contract tower guards have been seen buying drugs from the locals that they allow to walk right up to their guard towers to buy from. No one feels to safe at night with the foreigners guarding this place. Not to mention all the spotters that we have all around the FOB that report everything that goes on around here. We listen to their radio transmissions and we have interpreters translate the calls, most are about aircraft movements and what kind are taking off. We have pathfinders in some of the guard towers with sniper rifles and they are within the rights of the ROE to shoot them for hostile intent. Their are so many they just don't know where to begin, this place is getting crazy and many folks in the command have this opinion that If we don't bother them they won't bother us. I am quick to point out that I was there when they attacked my last FOB and we had insurgents coming through the wire and trust me we had not bothered the locals there either but it didn't matter they attacked us anyway. I flew for five hours that morning and reloaded twice, I made a lot of introductions, and I don't care to ever go through that again.

Well I will be out of here some time around the end of July unless something changes, I hope nothing changes. I will be in Savannah for just a bit of the kids summer vacation and I am sure we will do something fun. Speaking of kids, I am so lucky to have the best kids a Dad could ask for. Robby congrats on getting your 4.0 GPA your first year in school I could not be more proud of you. You are setting some great standards for your sisters to work for, you are a great son and I am sure you will do just as well next year. As for my girls, I could not ask for any better, you two ROCK I love everything that you two have become. Shirley I can't thank you enough for all my videos not a week went bye without getting one from you, THANKS. Elli I can't wait to get the next one and watch you play some ball, I miss going to the games with Mom and cheering you on I miss you guys all so much. Marie what did we do to be so lucky to have such wonderful kids, I miss you and I hope you have a great weekend, I love you guys

Went to nights

Well I have not written In a while because I have been trying to shift my schedule to nights. I now work from 7 PM till 7 AM it was a little hard at first but it's now almost six and I am still awake so I think I am doing ok. Although the boss sent me an email today telling me that he and I will be flying to Kandahar on the 7th to meet with General Magnum and his staff they are coming in from the states. So just when I get reversed out I will have to fly out early in the morning and spend all day at Kandahar, great. Well I don't have much to say I am trying to start to pack things that I don't need here anymore like all of my cold weather gear we are packing up many of our containers to get them out of here. Retrograde is in full swing and we have a lot to do, I hope to be flying out of here by mid July and home by the end of July. Hopefully that will be the plan and it will not change. Well I am going to get off of here and try to call Robby before I go to bed, night all