AFK

Blogging will be light for the next two weeks. Leaving in about 6 hours. Have in-processing and training to to get through, then the long flight, then starting to work. Probably be able to get to the internet cafe by September 18.

She Who Must Be Obeyed can't understand how I can sleep at a moment like this. She's packing my stuff right now, suspicious of who I am chatting with. I tell her I am writing about her. She warns me that it better be nice. She has a comment to make about almost every item she puts in the bag.

"Do you know how few men have the luxury of their wife packing for them," she asks. Yes, baby. I know.

"Remember, your sweater doesn't go to the laundry." Yes, dear.

This is harder on her than it is on me.

Al Qaeda Strikes Out in Kabul

A major target for al Qaeda is the Bagram air base, north of the capital, Kabul. The sprawling base is surrounded by hills, brush land, farms and villages. Plenty of places from which to fire rockets at the base. But in the last three months, 13 weapons caches have been found in the area. The caches contained over 12,000 weapons, including heavy machine guns, anti-personnel mines and 107 mm rockets. The mines and rockets are favorite terrorist weapons. But good relations with the local Afghans has led to the discovery of the weapons caches, as well as firing positions set up for 107mm rockets, and some of the terrorists themselves. A few Afghans, mostly followers of hard line Taliban leaders, support the terrorists. But, in general, Kabul is a hostile area for al Qaeda.

Meltdown

The following is reconstructed from memory:

Please

If I take something down or modify it DON'T BE THE F---ING MORON WHO REPOSTS IT!

Two comments on the previous entry, GOOOAAL, were deleted by admin moderator. One of those comments consisted solely of this link to the Mudville Gazette.

If this entry makes no sense to you, disregard last transmission.

The Professionals

The kids are at school, She Who Must Be Obeyed is in the rack, and I am watching one of my favorite movies, a 1966 bandito movie with Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, and Jack Palance. I wannabe a dynamiter and light fuses with a cigar. Don't think I will crimp blasting caps with my teeth, though. First time I saw that movie was in an AAFES theater in Japan. I was 11. Made a big impact on me.

We stay because we believe.

We leave because we are disillusioned.

We come back because we are lost.

We die because we are committed.

I love all those bandito movies, even the sorry ones. I even sat through a Jane Fonda movie to watch Gregory Peck be the The Old Gringo. Hell, I'm an Old Gringo, now. When I am done in the 'stan, I want to visit Chihuahua and see how much the one place is like the other.

Tuesday night I got my flight info. Leave home Sunday. A great adventure is about to begin, and I'm blogging and watching movies and waiting for my old lady to wake up.

I am becoming pessimistic about the future of this blog. CB's blog has brought him a world of unwanted attention. He got outed by National Public Radio and his name and unit were exposed. The name of his blog got changed, posts of his are disappearing, SGT Hook has had a post to mysteriously disappear on him, and things are not looking good for the military wing of the blogosphere. It remains to be seen how much useful blogging I can accomplish without:

A. Blowing my cover

B. Giving somebody an excuse to accuse me of violating OPSEC, and

C. Pissing off my chain of command and getting sent home on the FTS

She Who Must Not Be Disturbed has thoughtfully provided me with hard copy diary books that you write in with a pen or pencil. Sounds primitive, but it'll work. She has hounded me for years to write a book. I've started several. Never got beyond Chapter One in any of them. Writing is hard. Convincing myself that anybody would want to read my drivel is harder.

Good news from Afghanistan, Part 3

Chrenkoff is an Australian INFOWARRIOR who is doing a great job of countering the incessant media negativity with GNFI and GNFA. Read GNFA Part 1 and Part 2, while you're at it.

I am supposed to leave home in 6 days, and if all goes well I should be in Kandahar 11 SEP 04.

Damn We're Good

One of the advantages of a quarter century of monogamy is knowing what works. Definitely worth losing sleep over. She Who Must Be Obeyed, the Goddess T., The All Merciful is appreciative and cheerfully fixing SOS and hashbrowns. I get rewarded twice. It don't get any better than this.

Camels drink prodigious quantities of water before a trek across the desert. Same principle.

CB Gets Instalanched

CB is the reason I have this blog. He is an M240 machinegunner in a motorized rifle squad of the 3/2 Stryker Brigade. That's his blog under Free Republic on the blogroll to your left. The Instapundit, the Godfather of the blogosphere, mentioned him yesterday. If CB wasn't famous yet, he is now.

I have to be careful what I put on my blog, lest I become famous someday. There is a guy name Jerome Corsi who co-authored Unfit For Command who has caught a ration of shit for posts he made on Free Republic. Once you make enemies the trail you have left on the web can come back and bite you on the ass.

Planning for the pitfalls of fame already. Am I conceited or what?

Losin' Sleep Over It

I used to be a creature of habit. Had to be at work at 0700, had to be out the door at 0620, had to be on my feet NLT 0550. I was usually crashed by 2300, sometimes earlier, rarely later unless I didn't get off until 2300. That was the routine for 9 years.

That routine came to a screeching halt five weeks ago.

0439 Eastern and I'm blogging.

I'm ready to be gone. Too much time waiting. Not that much that really has to be done before I go. Much to worry about. For myself I am really only worried about not making it through their physical and getting sent home and never getting over there. That would suck. That would suck severely.

The rear detachment I'm leaving back at home station worries me.

Aw, fuck it. This blog is not a soap opera.

A High Standard

A Successful Blog (via Instapundit) makes me doubt whether I am going to have the time and energy to make this blog a success. Hmmm. Who gets to define "success"? I do. It is not unsuccessful until I admit that it is.

VJ Day

Not very many remember anymore. 59 years is a long time.

New Boots

Got a brand new pair of boots this morning. Herman Survivors Big Timber II, Made In China

Got a pair of Dickies work pants made in El Salvador.

Got some Liberty denim bib overalls, made in Russia.

Got some Carhartt Washed Duck Pants (quack, Affleck) assemble in Mexico of American components.

Is that multinational enough for you?

Non-uniformity

Went shopping today. What is the well-dressed American civilian wearing at construction sites in Central Asia these days? Simpler last time. I could choose the OD wash and wear fatigues or the newly authorized green, brown, sand and black woodland BDU's. I am my own quartermaster now. I must fight the inclination toward military-style clothing. Can there be too much khaki?

I started this blog because Blogger made me do it. I wanted to post a comment on MY WAR - Fear And Loathing In Iraq and they made me jump through hoops to do it and I ended up with a blog out of it. I had a blog once but lost interest in it. Took up too much time and all I was doing was linking. CB has motivated me to try again.

If all goes according to plan I should be in Kandahar in a month. Don't know how much time I will have to devote to blogging when I get there. We shall see.

While we wait for this blog to get good, check this out.

First Post

Welcome to my blog. Not much to report yet. Check back later. In the meantime, go here.