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eb in oregon		#121	[-]
Posts: 1040 (10/31/09 12:40 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Well, here I sit in Kuwait waiting for an additional clearance from the US Embassy in Wellington New Zealand. My S-2 section dropped the ball and didn't get this done befoe I flew out from Tallil. The guy that did it for me when I got to Kuwait early morning Thursday did it wrong and I didn't find out until about 4:00 pm New Zealand time Friday the next day. The guy in Wellington that does these things had already gone home for the weekend. I called there asking for help and all I got were phone messages. The embassy won't be open again until Monday the 2nd. So my wife is waiting for me in Christchurch, and will have to wait for another two days. Hence all the planning and reservations she made in advance are out the window. I threatened to buy my own bloody ticket and fly anyway (I made a promise to be there) and was basically told it would be a very bad thing to do. "You belong to the Army." And she also had to buy her plane tickets in advance and will have no small hassle trying to get them changed for her return trip, if she can. The phones are out right now, so I can't call her, already spent a few bucks just calling the Embassy and the hotel "pc in oregon" reserved for us. Right about now I can say I'm a little angry. Welcome to the Army. eb "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin, July 4 1776
zeebill		#122	[-]
Posts: 3782 (10/31/09 03:58 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Even a slightly mad you is good to hear from Eb!!!!! May God bless and straighten the mess out for you! Good Luck and Enjoy! Bill
HoosierDaddy		#123	[-]
Posts: 5556 (10/31/09 05:26 AM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Good luck Eric. What a cluster. So there isn't anybody manning the phone in NZ at all? Hope things get moving for you quickly. I'll be praying for you and will keep you on my mind a bit extra. Ash Iron Construction
Ed Novak		#124	[-]
Posts: 2165 (10/31/09 01:09 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	The sort of thing that makes us grind our teeth. Sorry to hear that is happening to your bride and you, Eric but hope and prayers that things will work out for your R&R reunion. NRA Endowment member LECS #2
eb in oregon	Thanksgiving	#125	[-]
Posts: 1066 (11/26/09 01:57 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Well, it's Thanksgiving, I've been back from leave a week, and I'm thankfull that things are going well for us. Up to this point my battalion has only had a few soldiers injured, nobody killed. The morning of the day I got back one of our vehicles got "hit" and the crew was injured, the vehicle killed. One was hurt bad enough that he was flown out to Germany and won't be back. However he still has all his "original equipment" and will lead a long, hopefully fruitfull life. The other two received minor shrapnal wounds and will be back "on duty" soon. Again, I'm thankfull. The two weeks I got to spend with my wife were wonderful. It wasn't until I finally got there and she opened up the door to our room that I realized how much I had missed her. I'll remember that moment for a long time. Sometimes those little moments in life are the best. eb "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin, July 4 1776
cujo		#126	[-]
Posts: 279 (11/26/09 02:18 AM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Glad to see that you could see your wife... I wish my brother was home for Thanksgiving I have not seen him in two years.... Maybe you know him eb his name is Randall Burda he is a SSgt in the Army. That is all I know ( he did not tell me his unit or any thing ). I am Thankfull of my brother's service and yours too... So try to have a Happy Thanksgiving eb and God Bless. Mike
nothernug		#127	[-]
Posts: 11567 (11/26/09 02:58 AM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	It's good to hear you're still hale & hearty. Fortunate you are too, to havegotten to spend that leave with your wife. As bad as your situation is, it is a marvel to me as an old soldier how it all has changed. I still have some of the letters home I wrote in the army because Mom kept them. Messages handwritten in ink on pieces of paper were still the most common and practical means of communication. You could manage a phone call from overseas but it wasn't easy and you had to try and get your person on the other end to say "over" like in radio commo. now y'all can 'chat' in real time on a computer. I was in the artillery. Our guns were laid by aiming circle- basically a transit- to scopes on the guns. Data to fire was still computed on charts and with TFT's (Tabular Firing Tables, big thick books of tables and data) and slip sticks. The resultant data was transmitted to the guns by voice over the unit land line. There was a 'computer' but it was never used because you could pretty much compute the data as fast or better manually than the 'computer.' In truth, at least for indirect fire, what we did was little different than what my Grandpa was doing in France in 1918. The gap between our worlds is at times, mind numbing. Sorry for the ramble. It just came to mind. Again, I am glad for you. Keep a low profile and git on back here soons as you can do. Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggie until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
eb in oregon		#128	[-]
Posts: 1072 (11/27/09 09:21 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	"as an old soldier" that first went active duty 05 Oct 1970, it is a marvel how much it has changed. Some for the better, some not. Regardless I'm getting short and am about done with the whole thing. I'm tired. eb "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin, July 4 1776
Carl Gustav		#129	[-]
Posts: 3560 (11/27/09 09:13 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Eric, glad to hear things are going reasonably well and that your NZ trip was a success in spite of the initial problems. Will you be done with the military when you get back? Thanks for your service. Carl
FLAPJACKHAPPY		#130	[-]
Posts: 255 (11/27/09 10:30 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Glad to hear you got through the red tape and made it to see your wife. Hopefully you got a decent turkey dinner , On the news they showed the 32nd brigade eating and it looked like a nice spread. Thanks again for your service .. Jason
Jackbull49		#131	[-]
Posts: 236 (11/29/09 05:44 PM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Having been in your shoes 4 years ago, let me suggest something you may find hard to believe. If I were you I would somehow waggle a short tour in Afganistan after I got back home. As a senior (in 2 ways) NCO your presence is a big deal in newly deploying units. I took a tour to Afganistan and ended up taking one more Bosnia after that. I have never had a moments regret. My friends from Iraq who retired as soon as possible regret not going to Afganistan. It is difficult after you are out to look back and say, "maybe there was more I could have done". Once you are back home and settled, think about it before you cash in your chips. PS: my first overseas tour started 27 Dec 1967, I know what it is like to feel the way you do right now.
Carl Gustav		#132	[-]
Posts: 3561 (11/29/09 07:44 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Jason, I wish I had seen that news clip of the 32nd Brigrade. Our son in law is in the 32nd. Carl
Ed Novak		#133	[-]
Posts: 2215 (11/29/09 08:05 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	eb: Good on both of ya. I understand you and your mate's meeting moment in NZ; "died and went to heaven" sort of thing and some of us truly understand. Keep your head down enough to maintain parts and up enough to be aware. God bless you. God bless your mate too for allowing you to put yourself on the line for us. NRA Endowment member LECS #2
Colin		#134	[-]
Posts: 2087 (11/30/09 01:46 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Eb; While it's no fun now, it will be something else to look back on. I had been out about 10 years when Desert Storm came along. There had been little brush fires but this was the real thing. Fort Bliss, where I was working as a civilian, looked deserted and I didn't get in on it. "They gave a war and I wasn't invited". I felt old.
eb in oregon		#135	[-]
Posts: 1084 (11/30/09 02:10 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Guys, I first entered to service after I graduated from high school, 05 Oct 1970. I KNEW I was going to Vietnam, yet I ended up in Ft. Ord California a few years later as a Drill Sergeant and was "undeployable." I volunteered, I came down on orders (which were cancelled all four times), so never "went to war." After the Army I tried the Air National Guard and the Marine Reserves, didn't like them, just wasn't "me." When Desert Shield came up, I joined the Guard as a Cavalry Scout, knowing that my unit would be deploying very soon. The war came and went. I stayed in, volunteering for everything that came up. Nothing. Finally, after I'd decided that I was "too old and broke down" and nobody wanted me, the 41st Brigade from Oregon was deploying for the first time since WW II and I had to fight tooth and nail (and threaten a few officers and one Sergeant Major) to deploy with them. So here I am, doing what I can do, to keep "my boys" safe. I don't know really how much I effect things, I only know that some of the evil toys of the bad guys ain't working, so I guess that's something. And really, I don't mind, nor care if they want to send me someplace elsewhere. What I do care about is my wife. So far she's been swell, more that I deserve, but I'm not too sure she could make it through another one of these. She's alone most of the time, and takes care of our home all alone. Not too many come to visit, so when someone does it truly makes her day. And I'm all for "service to my country," I think I've shown that, but my family, all one of her, is going to have to take a front seat real soon. So, I'm still thinking about the next two years. I'm still thinking. And sometimes wondering if I sometimes "share" just a little too much here. I don't mean to burden you guys, I guess that I just need to have some kind of outlet, I'm with an entire battalion, but for the most part I'm pretty much alone too. eb "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin, July 4 1776 Last Edited By: eb in oregon 12/01/09 10:06 AM. Edited 2 times.
zeebill		#136	[-]
Posts: 3849 (12/01/09 06:36 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Truely we are all alone all the time with our Lord to keep and cherish us with his love. No matter how bad your situation may seem if you look around closely you will see his blessings and appreciate his love for us. Keep the faith brother better times are coming and he will see to it. I am praying hard for you and yours! May God Bless you and keep you! Bill
wsmrto		#137	[-]
Posts: 506 (12/01/09 04:15 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Eb: I haven't entered into this string since just before you left. I guess I want to say how much respect you have earned from all of us. Plus, all the troops that you give a small part of yourself to in some way. I also am a tired old soldier. I spent my 20 years active with about 14 years overseas, with 2 tours in VN and several 3 others & years) on the DMZ in Korea. I hated stateside duty because of the BS that you are putting up with. After I retired from active I went on to be a DAC and continued to give what I could to the young troops. What advise and kindness I could offer most was to just do the best you can and when things get bad stick with your buddies and pull together. The fact is I am retired from DAC now and just started to draw my SS checks along with the other retirements and hope the (our) current government doesn't just collapse. I guess that all those years of hardtimes were worth it. I also was an SFC when I got out and there is no better rank to be. I loved the responsibility and using my experience to try to keep everyone I could out of trouble. The hardest ones to work with in my time was always the young Captains, seemed like they thought they had been in long enough to know everything, but they just didn't have the old timers "Gut" experience to get it right. hopefully the the SNAFU didn't cost any harm to the troops they were affecting. I almost lost stripes on a few occasions because of such situations and am thankful that the LTC's knew the score. Last, I tried to teach everyone who had his ears up that there should be no such thing as "wasted time". Even when you just seem to sit and wait our mind reviews what has / is happening and stores it for future use. You will never regret what you are doing now for your family, friends and country. Respectfully, Jim
Ed Novak		#138	[-]
Posts: 2223 (12/01/09 05:45 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Eric: Your posting takes me back a few decades and I believe that I understand your quandary. I enlisted in the USAF at age 20 after two years of Pre-Veterinary medicine studies in order to get the G.I. Bill so that I would be able to have at least a meal ticket for the rest of my studies at Kansas State. Went through 49 weeks of Electronic Warfare training and couldn't wire a light switch with what I learned. Spent 10 years working on some really wonderful acft, tours in Alaska, VN, P.I., Thailand x 2, Korea, Germany and many extended TDY's away from home - lots of stuff in between but my wife, living mostly in Family Housing (base quarters) kept the car's oil changed, the lawn edged and mowed, the snow shoveled, the kids on the bus to school on time and their/her medical care up-to-date and as-needed. She and I are no longer together but I owe that lady a lot; she had the moxie to take things in hand and do what was needed on her end of the relationship. Military spouses, by far and large, are the linch-pins for the family. Men, as military members only have to report to duty on any given day and for a specified period of time; wives/mates are 24 hour/day hinges upon which their husbands', their family's and childrens' welfare swing in their daily lives. Your task is to keep your butt and other parts in as much as-issued condition as possible, finish that tour, get back to your mate and go from there. Never any guarantees for any of us but you and your mate will smooth any rough edges and get on with your relationship. Pity the soldier who has no one back home to put his life back into normal order once the trouble is over. ed NRA Endowment member LECS #2

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