Life

No kidding there I was.
You know. Not a whole lot going on lately. We were inop for a few days and then on lock down because of the bad man with an extremely expensive vest wandering the streets. One got picked off by the ANP right outside the gates of the compound and it was caught on video. That was interesting to watch. I'll stop there.
Next, thanks to the efforts of my wife and father I received my old laptop from school. 2003 technology at its finest and I forgot how slow and antiquated the old Compaq was. At any rate, I was glad to get another computer just to be able to download pictures etc. Well, I had it for 2 days and was minding my own business, spending about 45 minutes IMing and checking email before a mission and the damn thing crashed. We've got two computer gurus here, thanks to the 82 Airborne, and they reloaded windows XP on it.......after laughing at its antiquity. Well, I started downloading drivers for the hardware and the cursed thing loses all the memory blah blah. Well, they tell me to put it to rest. ARGH! Anyway, looking at Macbooks now......Anyone know Steve Jobs?
Next. We finally get outside the wire the last couple of days and had some great interaction with the locals in a fairly poor section of town next to one of our police check points. These kids came out of this makeshift medical clinic and we had the ANP hand out about 3 bags of stuffed animals and toys. It was so great. That's what its all about. We handed out paper, crayons and whatever else we had. I pulled out my medical bag and started to see people on the hood of my Humvee. The pic is of a little girl with a lacerated finger. Another is a girl that grabbed our hands and kissed them. It was breaking our hearts but it was so fulfilling to have and be able to give. Thank you all for sending what you have to give to these children who have nothing, literally. The joy that only comes from the one, true everlasting God was spread that day and man was it awesome. I have some better pics of us in action and I'll try to load those later.
Finally, I'm being moved to another Base. So, I'll be in transit for about a week. When I get my new address, I'll get it to Amanda and she can send out a mass email to let you all know. Hopefully, I'll have control of developing a small clinic. I'll still be riding out on missions but this location is going to allow me to do more VMOs (village medical outreaches), hopefully. All of you that know me know that I'm a fighter and a caregiver the same. So, depending on my mood, you may be healed or dead. Well, hopefully, I'll be able to lean toward the healing side now.

The Mobility Project

So, my life has turned into a little bit of, well, a lot of groundhog days with no end in site except for what I hope will turn into vacation sometime in the next 2-3 months. I've decided to take the focus off me and clue you into something more than, but not quite, Afghanistan. My cousin, Jenny, is the VP of the organization "The Mobility Project." It's a Christian organization that essentially works for what it says, at the mercy of funds outside of itself. They are based out of Louisville, KY. Sorry about that loss to KY by the way. hee hee. Moving on........Their next mission is here to Afghanistan in October. How ironic, that we would be in the same country at the same time so far away from home. Funny, eh. Well we haven't seen each other in about 15-20 years so for us to meet over here would be a nifty reunion. So, be praying that I can get out of here for a few days in October to get up to see her. Also, for those of you looking for a tax break, you may concider visiting www.mobilityproject.org for learning more about what they do and possibly donating to their cause. I'll link it down on the right. Feel free to give to a worthy cause as you are led.
Peace

LT Doc Groundhog Marsh

Toshiba Alert

Guess what? I'm down. Hurt. Cut down at the knees. Yep, no computer. Forget the IEDs. Forget the Taliban. I can live with those two. Heck, I can even work with the Canadians if I have too. Without a computer, though, that's just too much! Let me clue you in. Toshiba evidently has some issue with the BIOS system password making a random password that requires sending your computer to Toshiba when the random password occurs. It may never happen but if it does you must send your computer in to them. There is, however, a patch on the Toshiba website that you can download that will prevent it from occurring. So, if you own a Toshiba, I highly recommend you go to the website, plug your model number in and find out if there are any critical updates for your Toshiba. This is not a Windows issue. So, do it or else you'll have to send your computer from friggin Afghanistan to the US to get fixed! Well, not necessarily you, but you get my drift. So, I'm at the mercy of my fellow Dyncorp and Army buddies for their left overs until my beloved family gets the extra laptop over here. LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!! hint, hint.
Not much else occurring. We did some more over watch at the below place again. Our boys were back begging outside the wire, but it was girl day and we left them to their begging and threw stuff to the cute little girls walking by. Some boy tried to take a pack of crayons from one of the girls......didn't go over too well with me......I pulled my 9mm out and backed him down rapidly. The girl was appreciative and the American doc saved the day. You know, hearts and minds...hearts and minds.

Shake Your Make Money Maker or Just Pick Up a Puppy

We actually went and did some training with the ANA and ANP not too long ago and while we were there gathered up a fan club of 3 mutt type puppies. To lay the framework here, it's Ramadon, the season in which Muslims fast (nothing past the lips) after 0400 until 1900 depending on when the sun sets. Well, we're not supposed to drink or eat in front them out of respect blah, blah, blah. Well, these pups came whimpering up to us and of course, we whipped it all out of our trucks for these dogs. Bottled water, peanut butter crackers, beef jerky etc right in front of the ANP and ANA. I'm sure they couldn't believe we'd bring all that out for dogs! Anyway, we lavished them while we were there and almost took a couple back to camp but the mother came looking for them. So, we fed her a little too. So, Sekula's soft heart was captured and the "money maker" shots were born. It's up to him now to see how far he can take them. He's had the pics on his myspace for about 6 hours and had multiple comments from random bleeding hearts.
The other picture: Sekula and I were pulling top cover over a berm protecting a check point. We always love to play with the kids on the other side and today we handed out some of the toys you all have generously have sent us. The recorders and paddle balls were favorites, even with the ANP!!
By the way, we had people asking us for water and food all day long. Seems that Ramadan fasting is like liquor for Baptist. Only bad if others see it.
Oh ya, we learned a valuable lesson. Don't throw bouncy balls to children in crowded streets of third world countries. Children tend to run for them and maybe get their feet run over........maybe. I'm not saying it happened.......but it could. So, don't do it.

Random Intertainment

Hey,
Found a pic from one of our checkpoints. Not quite as exciting as a kid playing with a 9MM but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Sekula and I hanging out a couple hundred feet above Helmand River.

WOW

Don't have much to report. Let me speak in secret squirrel language. Bad people want to hurt us. We are tracking bad people as close as possible. Most of us must stay inside until bad people hurt themselves.......boom! OK, anyone still need a translator? Hope not, don't want three letter agencies coming after me. All is well otherwise. Keep praying for them to get bored and boom themselves so we can get out of the rat cage. We debated putting signs on the Humvees saying "bet you can't hit me" but that didn't fly too well with the command. So, we sit.

So, until then enjoy the above photo. Nice kid learning to respect weapons.

Lighten Up

To counteract the intensity of my mood lately, I'll show you a picture of one of my new t-shirts. Not Army Regulation but sticking to my typical non uniformity type nature, I bought it. The next fire fight or argument I get in with Taliban or an Afghan, I'm going to rip off my outer jacket and point to it. Look! I'm here to make it better!

September 11

It's an interesting perspective from this side of the world concerning the "War on Terror." There's this constant barrage of mindless, fear inspiring news from American CNN and other news networks as well as Sky News, a British counterpart to the Fox, CNN et al, concerning our place in the war and meaningless polls pronouncing the public's position on it. As I raised a special flag over my Humvee today, all I could think about wer the Tower's falling to the ground, the thousands of people that died in them and the sacrifices of the troops and families that have fought to keep the war abroad instead of at home. I have this deep seeded desire to see this war fought and finished correctly without the chasm that partisan politicians sell their souls for. This is not a political commentary, I'm dissatisfied with both parties severely, especially when they use this date and tragedy to better position themselves for a venomous political posture.
Bottom line is that some of us serve to kill, some serve to save (both in my particular situation) but all of us serve, as did the veterans that have gone before us for nearly 300 years, to prevent our children from being in this god forsaken position in the future. There are bad people that cannot be rehabed in this world. Some people need judgment sooner than others and that's our job. So, ask a soldier, marine, sailor or airman what they think. It's probably more accurate to ask the guys in the field, despite their branch. Turn off CNN and Fox and support your local paper that hasn't bought into the machine. I've seen a lot of local articles that really share the views of the soldiers over here in Afghanistan without the hype and sensationalism of the "big boys" that would love nothing more than for you to babble their half truths to your friends and further boost their program ratings and advertisement dollars.
You guys figure out who depleted my day yet. Yep, politicians and the big news channels that hype the crap they speak. I've probably watched 10 hours of television in the last 6 months and it's been the best thing for my mind as well as my body (lowers blood pressure). Today, I check out a little news to see what's happening for 9/11 and I get Hillary Clinton and George Bush and blah blah blah from both sides of the fence thanks to the giant "non-biased" media.
You may ask yourself, what does one do then. Hmm, some internet blogging perhaps, maybe some journaling, fitness, local hobbies like looking for Taliban through your scope, avoiding IEDs while "hunting" and maybe, just maybe, lots of reading about nothing to do with current events.
Glad I got that off my chest. Do I sound like I'm rambling? Must have been the TV influence today!
Back to what matters. Today is a day of remembrance, a day that should arouse the painful memories of 6 years ago. Peal the scab away and remember. Remember the blood that has shed by all Americans and coalition forces that have been returning the favor to the Taliban.
So, above is my track (Humvee) on 9/11. We fly flags in a war zone every day to let them know whose roaming around in their house. What do you fly in front of your house before you leave for work?
And......... lastly, this is why I'm here.
WHEW! Glad that's over with. You probably are too!

ARGH!

You all ever felt like scooping your eyeballs out with a grapefruit spoon? Ya, that's about what I'd rather have done than congratulate all the "cocks" around here this morning. Don't usually shake hands and confess good job to that appendage too often, but they did when. Spurrier, the bane of Georgia's existence. I'll hold out hopes for the Dawgs to beat Tennessee and with luck, Florida. how about my boys from Michigan again. heehee. Go Buckeyes!!!!!!!!!! You know though, with our luck there, Michigan will keep losing and then beat OSU in the one game a year that counts! Don't get me wrong, I'd never wish that on the Buckeyes but irony is in play already with the Dawgs loss to SC. Anyway, good job SC. You've gotten the hang of football. Time to work on literacy, hooah!
I know,that was a low blow but I can't let this slide without expelling some of my pain. You know, talk bad about someone else to cover your own insecurities...blah, blah, blah......Yes, even ortho types remember a little about psychology and emotional stuff. Not that we care....but we remember it. Just like the British medical officer here tells me "Nathan, there's more to life than bones and joints!" My usual response is "Sure, like surgery n stuff!"
Anyway, enough babbling.
Go Dawgs! Keep up the good work and carry on. The integrity in the program with leadership from the likes of Mark Richt keeps me loyal!!! Go Buckeyes! Way to go Michigan, keep up the good work! God bless us all, football's back in town and the passion is thick!!!!!!!!!!

Reflections

I pride myself on screening my blog to minimize the stresses at home about our safety over here and I'll continue to do so but we all know we are at war and men and boys are dieing in and around our area of battle. The British have lost several men since we've been here and mostly you can shuck it off and carry on but lately I've been a little reflective.
I'm so grateful for my wife and daughter and I can't wait to get home to see them. My family and friends have been so supportive that words cannot express my gratitude and not a day goes by that I don't think about all of you for some reason or another.
My father served 21 years in the Air Force. My grandfather was a B17 navigator and POW in Germany during WWII. Now I'm here. I think about all of you that have supported us with prayer, care packages, letters and more prayers and I can't help but reflect on my life and how blessed I've been and how amazing God has been to bless us all so much.
We are hanging low for a few days and I've been mellow on music and searching the net for memories. I clicked on that classmates.com thing to see where some of my classmates were in Florida and then I found myself looking for evidence of my existence in the Philippines. Well, I found this website www.whoa.org that highlights graduates or students and teachers from Wagner High School at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. Some of you may know that the base was essentially destroyed when Mt Pinatubo erupted and this website carries on some of the memories for those of us that went to school there.
So, why am I talking about this? Most of you that know me, mostly my wonderful wife, know that I can't be serious too long without throwing something funny into the mix to break the stress. So, go to the web page, click on yearbooks, 88, then Freshman and you'll see my name and get a good laugh at that handsome 14 year old stud. For another laugh, click on seniors and look up my brother, Shane. And Kristin, don't think you'll get away. My wonderful sister-in-law can be found in the Junior section, last name Iverson.
So, I've shared my heart and what God gave me to raise my spirits.
Love you all. Thanks so much.

Thank Yous

Hi all. Got mail today. Thanks to the Buckeye Gang and Scotty for the care packages.
Scotty, thanks for getting the Georgia Bulldogs to autograph the poster. Thanks to you friends in Athens for helping get it done as well. Go DAWGS!!!!! I'll post the poster proudly when I get my room squared away. By the way, please God let them beat South Carolina. It'll be a long 8 months if not.
My lovely Buckeyes, thanks for the mags and food. The reading helps break the monotony. You guys are the best. Thanks for all your support. Love you all. Sorry about the heat wave. Hope it ends soon and some gentle rains fall on your paths. How about Michigan!!!!!!!!!! I thought last year was embarrassing for us. At least UF was actually the best team in the nation last year. That pained me to say being the Dawg I am but I'll give respect to whom its due.

Not much to say

Hi there everyone. It's been a long week without much cool stuff to talk about. We've been back checking on our "people" and same old same old.....
We did find our guy with the monkey however, the monkey is new and improved and looks much less depressed than the last. We couldn't bring ourselves to ask what happened to the last one.
So, this is where I've been depleted to over the last week or so. Here are pics of the new monkey. I picked the monkey up first and he was climbing all over. By the time MAJ Wallace got him the monkey knew where the most comfortable spot was with the best view.

Let me sum it up for you

Hey, are these bottle rockets? Can we play?

Come on. Who is it? Who do they belong to? Oh ya, the proud husbands of Monet and Amanda. You know you love us despite our idiocy! Anyone wanna play with bottle rockets? They only hurt when you repeatedly bang the tips together. Here. Let me show you.........Hey! Where you guys going? Come back!! Don't run its OK, I'm a trained expert!!! Plus, I have plenty of tourniquets........

Back Again!

Alright, here we are in September and the internet its up finally. People, we've had some serious changes around here in the last couple of weeks. MAJ Berry was moved into another management position that he was doing well and then again moved to another position at another base.....close to the Frappe. SGM Allman was robbed from us as well and take close to Frappe Land. Not sure he'd come back if he could. He's got a pretty sweet gig from what I hear. We are still here carrying on with the changes. MAJ Wallace is in charge now and doing a fine job despite the frustrations that have come with the changes. He's a "Razorback" alumni and fan so it can be difficult working with him at times but we give him grace. People from Arkansas need grace you know!
So, we are missing some folks pretty bad but moving on none-the-less. 8 months or so to go.
I'm going to break up this party by ending with some thank yous. I'll put some recent pics together and catch you all up to speed on the viewing pleasure I always try to provide.
My dear wife--------God bless you for the Cappuccino maker/coffee pot. My room has become a social center and coffee usage has doubled.
My brother, Shane------I started with Eraggon. Thanks so much for the snacks and mags. Love you man.
Greg and Billi------One pound down. A true favorite. The candy is on the move as well as the toys. I'll try to stage one of the National Geographic photo ops next time I feel safe enough to bail out of the Hummer. Love you both. Send my love to Jason, Josh and Kristin.

My pic. sometimes you just have to carry your own pain relievers. The other, Sekula and me checking out a CP with underground rooms.