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December 28, 2005
Thank you II
Packages for the Abu Ghraib elementary school children arrived from:
Myna Proal, The Basic Training Mom - Durham, NH
Brenda and Pete de Silvio - Sanbornville, NH
David Attanasio - New York, NY
Thank you all.
For an explanation of the program, click here.
Posted by TJ at 02:39 PM | Comments (1)
December 18, 2005
Dont like the sound of this
Porphyrogenitus writes about the 4th Infantry Division'g attitude on milbloggers:
When we were prepping for deployment, all the
leadership were given various briefings on security matters. One was on blogs, and the danger they pose. Now, I get security issues - obviously you don't want people posting sensitive information, that might affect a mission. But our leadership at least came back from the briefing with the sense that virtually nothing should be said in a Blog - "let people read about it in the news. If you want to talk about stuff, tell your family you're fine and all but don't talk about anything, they can watch the news or read it in the papers."
Normally, this wouldn't affect me much, but my Brigade is currently attached to the 3rd ID, which is going to be replaced soon by the 4th. My current units here are much more accepting of writing here and the Corps has a policy of reviewing sites every quarter to make sure nothing is posted that should not be. Since Corps is above Division, I wouldn't expect the policy to change; however, it is the lower-echelons that one deals day-to-day.
I wholeheartedly agree with him in his final analysis on warblogs vis-a-vis the information portal to the homefront:
Milbloggers, in my non-humble opinion, have done more for the war effort and more to correct misleading reports than the entire Army Public Affairs Branch has (note: this is not a slam on them, but praise for the MilBlog community). The Army should be encouraging troops to give *more* information on their first-hand impressions and how things are going, not less. "Winning the War" begins at home - we're not going to be defeated here, but may have to pull out because of people's impressions at home, which in my opinion seem to be shaped by misleading reports of what the overall picture here is.
BTW, James, welcome to Baghdad and Camp Liberty!
Posted by TJ at 07:52 PM | Comments (3)
Thank You I
Sundays, I will be posting a thank you note to those people whose school supply packages arrived during the week. If you sent one and I dont post your name eventually, it is possible that it got pulled aside in the delivery process - that was why I had people write the "ATTN: Elementary School Collection" on the address - but it seems most will be comming to me first.
If you are new here, click here for more information.
Posted by TJ at 05:22 PM | Comments (1)
December 16, 2005
Another old-timer joins the military
Today's Wall St Journal opinion page has a column by an ex-staffer who left to become a Marine officer. He graduates tomorrow and in his column writes about many of the same things that I felt before joining the Army.
When you live abroad long enough, you come to understand that governments that behave this way are not the exception, but the rule. They feel alien to us, but from the viewpoint of the world's population, we are the aliens, not them. That makes you think about protecting your country no matter who you are or what you're doing. What impresses you most, when you don't have them day to day, are the institutions that distinguish the U.S.: the separation of powers, a free press, the right to vote, and a culture that values civic duty and service, to name but a few.
I'm not an uncritical, rah-rah American. Living abroad has sharpened my view of what's wrong with my country, too. It's obvious that we need to reinvent ourselves in various ways, but we should also be allowed to do it from within, not according to someone else's dictates.
Read the whole thing if you have time.
Posted by TJ at 05:07 PM | Comments (1)
December 15, 2005
Election Day
1715 and all is quiet. 8 hours on top of our hill overlooking Baghdad today and no explosions heard and only 1 short burst of small arms fire. Definately a positive sign.
Posted by TJ at 05:14 PM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2005
46 people injured by celebratory gunfire
A little more on Saturday night's gunfire. I can't an online version of the story, but it was in the printed version of Stars and Stripes. It is short so I will type it out. The only source is "wire services".
BAGHDAD - Many Iraqis set aside sectarian hatred and united in jubilation last weekend after their national soccer team defeated Syria on penalty kicks to win the gold medal in the West Asian Games. But even that triumph ended in bloodshed.
Five Baghdad hospitals treated 46 people wounded by celebratory gunfire after Saturday night's televised match in Qatar, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.
Thousands of rounds from Kalashnikov rifles and pistols rattled the capital for more than half an hour as tracer bullets streaked the night sky red. Some residents of the Iraqi capital thought they were in the middle of a gunfight.
So 46 people at only 5 hospitals. I wonder what the total was nationwide.
Posted by TJ at 07:09 PM | Comments (0)
December 11, 2005
Abu Ghraib school supplies
Update to the Abu Ghraib elementary school children collection. A few people have asked questions about deadlines, and this is not a holiday event. It is an ongoing process and supplies will be distributed as long as they are comming in.
Thank you to those of you who have already responded.
Posted by TJ at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
Lots of gunfire
Last night, around 9:00, I was in bed watching Star Trek Voyager when I heard some small arms fire in the distance. Then more and more. I paused the show and the firing seemed to be getting closer and more abundant. After a while I heard machine gun fire added to the mix. This lasted about 20 minutes and it stopped as suddenly as it started.
I asked my roommate who got back after his shift ended at midnight what they could see from the top of our hill. Apparently, throughout the city, but seemingly more concentrated in a neighborhood adjacent to our base simply erupted with people firing (mostly) into the air. There were also fireworks and flares. Some took advantage of the situation to fire more horizontally in specific directions, and I assume the machine gun fire I heard was from our guard towers responding.
I have no idea why the sudden celebration or protest, but I am trying to find out.
UPDATE: Thank you to Omar at Iraq the Model for the information. He is an Iraqi blogger in Baghdad who returned my inquisitory email promptly. It turns out it was celebratory gunfire for Iraq's victory over Syria in the West Asia Cup (soccer). What a stupid way to celebrate.
Warning: Parody follows! I wonder how the US will managed to be blamed for any deaths caused by the bullets falling back to Earth. Someone will try:
Bush, U.S. to blame for celebration deaths after soccer victory - At least 2 people were killed and over 10 injured by gunfire Saturday night in Iraq. Spontaneous celebratory gunfire erupted across the country after the national soccer team defeated Syria for the West-Asia Cup title. Rep John Murtha (D-PA), pinned the blame squarely on George W. Bush and the US presence in Iraq. "These people would still be alive if it weren't for this illegal war. Normally, all of the Iraq's best players would not have been available." Rep Murtha was alluding to the fact that after losses, Saddam's son, Uday Hussein, would frequently punnish the team's stars by having them kick around a concrete soccer ball until they broke the bones in their feet. The team suffered a humiliating 5-1 loss in an international friendly match in October to Bahrain.
Posted by TJ at 11:30 AM | Comments (1)
December 07, 2005
Sick... but really funny
A friend of mine who shall, for now, remain nameless (and yes, it is really a friend of mine, not me hoping to avoid embarassment) comes back from shaving and getting ready for work when he looks next to his bed and sees one half-empty bottle, and it is not water. About a year and a half ago he suffered a severely herniated disk in his back and one of the places where he continues to have pressure on his spinal nerve is the area that goes to the bladder-control muscles. And he has gotten tired of trudging to the latrine 5 or 6 times per night so he just keeps a bottle next to his bed; his roommate works another shift, so it hasn't been a problem. Only now, as he is standing there looking at the bottle, he remembers waking up in the middle of the night thirsty, and realizes that it wasn't a half liter of water that he chugged.
Posted by TJ at 08:38 PM | Comments (3)
December 06, 2005
Nuclear Option
2 Updates to the site:
1) You now have to register to comment. Im sorry, but the spam was getting out of control on both trackbacks and comments. Ive been registered with TypeKey to comment at a number of sites and it works well and they are trustworthy. This should solve the problem. I hope those of you who have been comment continue to do so.
2) New random rotating image to the right of the page title above. Enjoy!
Posted by TJ at 07:01 PM | Comments (1)
December 04, 2005
R&R France
I spend the first half of my R&R on the southern coast of Brittany in France. I was visiting my friend, Arnaud, with whom I played baseball on the Rennes city team back in 1990, and his wife Christelle. On that first Friday night, Arnaud planned a surprise birthday party for Christelle in a nearby chateau. A room with a large fireplace and beds for 20 upstairs made for a long and fun evening. I also learned that red wine is even stronger when it's your first drink after more than 3 months, and that I should practice my guitar more than twice in 6 months before playing in public.
And no, I didn't burn any cars.
A nice place for a party, don't you think?
The biggest paella I've ever seen.
The old city in Lorient
A little house on a little island near St Cado. I don't know why.
The 8th - 11th century Church at St Cado. There is a large stone slab
inside with a hollowed out area resembling a human torso and head. It is
said that if you lie in the impression, hearing deficiencies will be cured.
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Stained glass windows in churches and cathedrals usually tell a story. This one tells the amusing story of St Cado. The town sits on an island and one day, the bridge collapsed. St Cado tried to lead the town into rebuilding but was unsuccessful due to the strong currents in the bay. So he made a deal with the devil. In return for the bridge, the devil wanted the first soul to cross. St Cado agreed, and when the bridge opened, he brought with him a cat, which he proceeded to send across the bridge. In the window, you can see St Cado, the bridge, the devil, and the cat.Posted by TJ at 08:01 PM | Comments (2)
December 03, 2005
Collection for Iraqi school children in Abu Ghraib
I am helping our brigade collect school supplies for elementary school aged children in Abu Ghraib. Abu Ghraib is not just a prison, it is a very large neighborhood in our area of operations, and one in which this program could help win many hearts and minds. The Iraqi Army in cooperation with the 1st Bragade, 10th Mountain Division will be distributing. As common as they are in America, most of these items are not so easily found here.
I thank you in advance for your help.
Address:
SPC Buttrick, Thomas
B CO, 1 BSTB (MSG), 1/10 MTN
APOAE 09376
ATTN: elementary school collection
Pre-package each set in some sort of bag if you can:
Also any kind of warm clothes, coats, shoes, etc. will be accepted.
UPDATE: Now that I have been out on a mission where we passed out some of this stuff, soccer balls has been the biggest request by the kids themselves. Probably the best thing would be to send a flat ball with a handpump, or a bunch of flat balls with one pump and we can pump a few up each time we go out.
Posted by TJ at 08:44 PM | Comments (2)
Taking your job a little to literally
Posted by TJ at 06:40 AM | Comments (0)
Holster issue
I guess Im not the only one who is worried and has even been frightened by a certain type of holsters worn by some here. It is a shoulder holster with the M9 (9mm handgun) tucked under the arm. The problem is that the weapon is pointed backward, and slightly up. I don't know how many times I have been doing my headcount job in the dining facility and turned my head only to be looking down a pistol barrel, but it is not infrequent - usually in the range of 10-15 times per 2-hour shift. It makes me extremely uncomfortable because you can never be 100% sure it has been properly cleared.
I meant to post on this a long time ago but with my R&R leave, it slipped my mind. There was an article yesterday in Stars and Stripes, the free newspaper they distribute here, which reminded me. I can't even begin to imagine what would happen to me if I were to walk around with my M16 in a similar position.
Posted by TJ at 06:23 AM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2005
Who elects these idiots?
LATROBE, Pa. - Most U.S. troops will leave Iraq within a year because the Army is "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth," Rep. John Murtha told a civic group.
First of all, of course most US troops will leave Iraq within a year because deployment rotations are usually a year long at most. Maybe just a bad choice of words...
Second. I look around me and see everyone doing their jobs, doing them well. The gym is full. Soldiers are running outside more now that the weather is cooler. And despite being in a warzone, there is fun and joking and more than just a few smiles.
Yeah, sounds "broken" and "worn out" to me.
Murtha, a decorated Vietnam war veteran, said the Pennsylvania National Guard is "stretched so thin" that it won't be able to send fully equipped units to Iraq next year
Not to slight the PA National Guard, but obviously, if the Pennsylvania National Guard can't get something done, than nobody can!
some guard units had to leave equipment in Iraq when they returned to the United States, which could cause training problems here
You see, Mr Murtha, that is how the military solved alot of the under-equipment problems such as body armor and armored humvees. When a lot of this equipment arrives in Iraq, it gets signed over the unit that replaces you so they are even more prepared than you were. What is not mentioned is that if the PA National Guard returns to Iraq, it will receive alot of the equipment it needs that it does not now have.
Something tells me that if every unit brought back all their equipment, we would hear Rep Murtha complaining about how the PA National Guard was sent to Iraq under-equipped and ill-prepared to face the challenges confronting it. But then again this is probably just another case of any excuse to bash President Bush with as great an audience as possible, and these days, doing it under the guise of "supporting our troops" is the cliche-du-jour.
Congress called this buffoon's bluff just 2 weeks ago when he said he wanted an immediate troop pullout and they put it to a house vote. It failed 403-3. He even voted against it because it seems he doesn't even have the courage to vote his own convictions. Let's hope the people of Latrobe have the good sense to send someone else to congress next year.
Thank God people like Mr Murtha were not in the US congress in the early 1940's when the US Army was conducting 5-year deployments, storming beaches under massive machine-gun fire, marching thousands of miles across continents under fire with absolutely no body armor, shortages of food and ammunition, and facing an enemy a thousand times the strength of our current adversary and with just as much fanatacism.
Posted by TJ at 07:12 AM | Comments (7)