Asia Bound

Tomorrow I will fly from the U.S. to the Middle East in my first international leg of my deployment. I have been here at Ft. Benning for a week longer than expected because of my late arrival due to the weather in Atlanta last weekend. After hanging out and reading for a week, I will board a plane sometime tomorrow (time unknown even to me) and fly across the Atlantic. The days here have been very hectic--once I was able to start processing, so I will be glad to pass out on the plane for a few hours and relax. I expect to be at my first stop for about a week before being forwarded on to my final destination. There are so many people that have to get moved around that it seems to take some time to catch the flight you need.

Thankfully, I have had time to reach some family members by phone and say farewell. I apologize to those I did not call, but know that I appreciate all of you who support my family and my mission. This is an easier task because of your support.

On My Way (To Army Purgatory)

After a two day snow delay, I made it to Ft. Benning, GA today. It looks like I will be here a while, though. The reason I am here is to outprocess at the CONUS Replacement Center (CRC), which is a week-long program. I was supposed to arrive on Saturday and begin the cycle, which would have me flying out on Friday. However, I have already missed two and a half days of the process, so they are going to recycle those who arrived today. That means that I am stuck here waiting to outprocess until the next cycle starts on this coming Saturday. The fact that today was a federal holiday compounded the problem because many of the civilian employees who work here were off, and therefore they have reduced capacity to try to catch up the late arrivers.

The CRC compound is just that--a compound. It is way out in the forrest on Ft. Benning all by itself. It has its own fence around it with access control, barracks, office areas, shoppette, dining facility (DFAC), and MWR day room in which I am typing this blog. It reminds me of what I would imagine a POW camp would look like. It looks like an Army in miniature and feels like purgatory. There are scruffy looking contractors mixed in with soldiers in uniform, and there is an air of restless expectation. Most people are only here one week (as the program is designed), so everyone is collegial but aloof. I already have a feeling that the next few days will feel like an eternity while waiting to start the next cycle. Also, I only have one set of uniforms (because I will be issued 4 more--whenever I get to that part of the cycle), and one set of civies (which is all I am supposed to have). Thankfully there are laundry machines across the hall from my room. The rooms consist of four bunkbeds and four wall lockers. Not very cozy, hence the high traffic at the MWR day room with its pool tables, TV, and couches. I never thought I would look forward to a 20-hour flight.

Trip to Ft. Worth Zoo

On Sunday Mandy, Jackson, and I went to the Ft. Worth Zoo. It was litterally freezing the whole time, but we still had a good time. We bundled up, and it was nice to have the place nearly to ourselves. Some of the animals were not out, but Jackson still got to see lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my!). He even got to see the male lion roar, which will send chills down your spine--even when he cannot reach you.

The Packing has Begun!!

My deployment to Afghanistan is rapidly approaching, so it is time to start packing. Everyone has given me roughly the same advice about packing: "Travel very light. Pack your gear, then lose 30%. Mail the rest."

I have taken this advice to heart, so I am mailing virtually all of my stuff that is not essential until I am well settled at my FOB. This includes: extra toiletries, sheets, books, snacks, weapons accessories, and cigars.

Cigars are about the only creature comfort I am affording myself while gone. I am determined to eat my three squares at the dining facility, live in my Army gear, and basically hunker down for the year. However, I want to enjoy a good cigar on a regular basis.

My collection at home has grown steadily over the last year or so, despite the constant threat of spousal budgetary oversight. So I have quite a few to choose from. If you want to contribute to the cause, like every red-blooded American should, just send me your email address in a comment and I will give you my deployed mailing address. I will also have it available on facebook. I just don't want to put it on the web with unrestricted viewing for security reasons.

Welcome Back to the Blogosphere

It has been quite a while since either Mandy or I have darkened the proverbial web doors of our blog. I expect our frequency of update to change substantialy in the coming months. I deploy to Afghanistan in less than a month, and I intend to use this space as a place to keep everyone informed. That means that whatever I put up here will already have to be sanitized for web usage. Obviously we are at war and loose lips enable and embolden the enemy. Therefore don't expect great operative insight into the 101st Airborne. However, I hope that it will be an easy way to journal my own experiences and stay in touch with many friends and family back home (and some of my Army pals elsewhere in harm's way).

Oldies, But Goodies

This is a classic video of us trying to feed him some baby food that he did not care for. Its funny how babies let you know what they like and do not like even without speaking. This was shot in August, so its a bit dated. He seems so "young" to me in this video because he has changed so much between August and now.

Jackson loves his Aunt Rachel, and he loves "Mr. B". He calls his bear "B", and we added the Mr. for fun. This was shot in September, so its about 3 months old. I think he could really take that bear now.

Playing Outside

This was shot in early October, and we had fun playing outside.