Five Really Cool Things

With November finally here I have about two months to spend a little time thinking about how best to spend my two-week break with the family.  Normally a mid-tour leave from Afghanistan consists of a trip to Europe or some other exotic place but when the kids are in school it makes sense to stay close to home.  Fortunately there seems to be plenty to do in the Pacific Northwest so I’m doing my homework and trying to plot a course of action.  I’ve got some pretty good ideas but I’ll certainly take any suggestions you might have to offer.

So here are a few of my ideas on things to do on leave:

Reviewing Low Town

Low Town by Daniel Polansky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Meet the Warden of Low Town, a pure survivor in this post-apocalyptic world where plague decimated the population, likely setting the stage for a war that took even more lives on both sides. From a struggling street orphan to battlefield leader, he ascends to the top in a special operations investigative unit charged with maintaining order by any means necessary. Eventually the laws of gravity and women initiate the Warden’s fall from grace, leaving him back on the streets of Low Town, where he reinvents his identity using the tools he has learned as a survivor.

Back to their roots; bad news for Purdue

Maybe it was the opponent more than anything that left such a bitter taste in my mouth after the Wolverines lost their first game, a game I felt they could win up until the last minutes.  I was hoping for a repeat of the Notre Dame final performance, it just didn’t happen.  It was such a bad feeling all I could think about was the next opportunity to win a big rivalry game.  Don’t get me wrong; losing stinks no matter the opponent, it’s just far worse when it comes at the hands of a rival.  

Why I Came Back: Reason Five

Coming back to Afghanistan was a voluntary choice that has left some wondering why another back to back deployment.  I have to think that my inner circle had no trouble understanding my reasons.   From the outset of this latest adventure I decided that the key to continue driving hard through the 12 months would be to take the time to reflect on why I came back.

Reason Number 5:  The Voices

Reviewing Good Omens

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was my book of the year for 2010 and a fantastic gift from my wife. I read it while on deployment in Afghanistan so the humour worked wonders for my morale. One of the wittiest fiction reads I've had in a while; fast-paced and impossible to put down and here's why---

Taking back your vote - one ad at a time

Could a new trend in politics be emerging?  Could candidates actually be looking to reduce the billions they spend each cycle? 

DVIDS - Video - 2011 Mission Afghanistan Games

Video story of US Forces competing in the 2011 US Forces CrossFit competition at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Produced by Air Force Staff Sgt. Mary Dever.

DVIDS - Video - 2011 Mission Afghanistan Games

My Top Five Vacation Spots

I have to say from the outset that I didn’t consider Alaska for this list for no other reason than our nation’s largest state is really home to me.  I would certainly recommend it to anyone with the opportunity to go but please, don’t do the cruise and think you’ve experienced what the state has to offer.  No, the list before you covers a few of the places I’ve visited and found remarkable for a plethora of reasons unique to each.  I’m not a travel agent but I’d be happy to give you a point in the right direction if any of them strike your curiosity.

Book Review Posted

Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The 1%

AP Photo

There's been a lot of hubub in the media with this Occupy Wall street movement, which appears to be a whole lot of folks upset over how taxes are dispersed through the federal government's multitude of entitlement programs.  I'm on deployment so it's tough for me to say who these people really are but folks back home characterize them as the "entitled" who want to solidify their spot in line to continue siphoning money that our country doesn't have.

Seriously, I'm awake now

When did the puck drop?  I must have been sleeping or something because the Tigers were destroying the American League enroute to a pennant, the Wolverines were about to win the Rose Bowl and a Big Ten Championship, and the Lions were about to win the Superbowl. 

It was a euphoric dream in part because of how things have gone the last couple of years for most of the teams I love.  Then some Spartan was standing over my bunk slapping me awake (didn’t even get a flag) and it was all gone.  To make matters worse I wake up to realize it’s a bye week for Michigan and the Tigers are done until April. 

Time to move on Michigan

Detroit Free Press Photo

It’s almost time to move on from talking about suspensions and personal fouls, and fortunately it seems the Wolverines have despite the press.  It’s been such a focus I wonder if the Schawrtz-Harbaugh handshake didn’t exacerbate the story line.  At any rate Wolverine nation – our beloved team got outplayed by a better team last Saturday, flags be damned.  It just happened to be one of those teams Brady Hoke circles on his big calendar.  To put the exclamation point on it, Gholston did get a one-game suspension and of course it came from outside the program.  Time to move on for the last shot at redemption this season and to prove that Michigan is back to being Michigan.

On to Purdue?

East Lansing Aftermath

It’s been an interesting week as a Wolverine fan watching the media coverage in the wake of a disappointing loss last week in East Lansing.  Despite being an ocean away in land-locked Afghanistan, I've been able to follow most everything thanks to the Freep and Detroit News online.  

Best of all, and this is a shout out, to the UMGoBlog on Twitter.  Not only does the crew at UMGoBlog hook me up with some food for thought throughout the week, but on game days I can follow along.  Many thanks for standing up to the Spartan media handlers and keeping the tweets flowing last week.

Let’s begin with the ugly. 

Five More Little Things

It’s time to share with you the weekly list of some little things that make a difference on deployment.  The last two weeks have focused on some of the positives you only get while deployed.  This week I’m going back to a few of the things I’m really looking forward to having when I get back.  While there is nothing more special than having your family with you, these are a few of the little things I certainly appreciate more now that I’m without them.

Why I Came Back: Reason 4

When I think about what drove me to come back here there are several things that come to mind but number four is a driving force for coming back and for most everything I’ve been able to do over the last 19 years.  Even when I’m in the zone, this single consideration is always at the fore of my mind.

Reason Number 4:  The Team

Rough day for this fan

Detroit News Photo

I could have avoided the television and internet over the last 24 hours and went about my day in complete bliss.  Last night was a big night for this fan, landlocked in Afghanistan and completely at the mercy of the American Forces Network for live/taped sports and ESPN.com and twitter for the latest scores and stats.  Not a good statistical day for the two biggest games on my slate, Michigan – Michigan State football, and Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.

A case for Verlander

Photo By:  Julian H. Gonzolez (Detroit Free Press)  

You can talk stats until you’re blue in the face and let’s be honest, a CPA could make a case for more than a dozen guys in each league where it concerns the statistical duel for Most Valuable Player.  It’s really simple, Justin Verlander is the 2011 American League Most Valuable Player.

Hype? Wolverines have their first test

It has to say something when the AP and a whole bunch of college football coaches rank your program number 11 or 12 in the country but I haven’t bought into all the hub-a-baloo.  The Wolverines looked solid against lesser teams with a much improved defense and a sometimes dynamic offense that brought them back against Notre Dame and completely overpowered Minnesota.  Still, an objective viewer could see the chinks in the armor.

Five Additional Things

Like every deployment I find the occasion to take a moment and reflect on the little things I miss and the little things I’m grateful for while far from home.  Because they’re not big things you don’t dwell on any of them and they’re easy to overlook so thinking on them helps me exercise my curious side.

So this week I have five additional things I’m grateful to have here in Afghanistan:

Why I Came Back – Reason 3

A couple of weeks ago I decided to put fingers to keyboard and revisit the reasons that compelled me to volunteer for this third consecutive deployment.  If nothing else it serves to help me see a larger view of why I am here.  Each is enough to satisfy the question in my mind, why.  The thing is, when you get so ‘in the zone’ with the pace of the work here your reasons for doing it get lost and I think it’s important, for me at least, to take a step back and remember.

There are several, but for now let’s focus on Reason 3:

Pumpkin Patch at Picha Farm

Rinni here, sharing some pumpkin patch pics and fun!

Rows and rows of lovely pumpkins!

30 Days in Afghanistan: Part Two -- On the hunt for IEDs

Reporter Jeff Van Sant shares his month with I Corps Soldiers in Part two of this five part series:
30 Days in Afghanistan: Part Two -- On the hunt for IEDs

30 Days in Afghanistan: Part One 'The box of death'

A great piece of work below by one of our embedded reporters, Jeff Van Sant from Q13 in Seattle-Tacoma. Jeff spent a month with the I Corps out of Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington on his very first embed in Afghanistan. Very impressive work for an 'old school' story telling journalist. Give it a look and follow is series: 30 Days in Afghanistan.

30 Days in Afghanistan: Part One 'The box of death'

Qubel Bay High School Renovation

                                                The link below will take you to a story near and dear to me and many at the NATO base here in Kabul, Afghanistan - and it certainly ties into my post last week: Why I Came Back - Reason 2. At any rate, this story was produced by our newest team member, Air Force Staff Sgt. Mary Dever, and we're very proud she took the time to cover something you'll rarely see in the commercial media.  Check it out and help spread the good work our troops are doing with their very limited free time

DVIDS - Video - Qubel Bay High School Renovation

Five Other Things

A little over a week ago I posted a list of the five little things I missed being away from home.  While there is no replacement for time with my wife and boys, the time off on the weekends, or the freedom of movement without fear of being blown up, there are some small benefits you learn to leverage on a deployment.

This week it’s the glass-half-full; five other things that are good you only have while being deployed.

Why I Came Back - Reason 2

In an effort to reflect on this second consecutive trip to Afghanistan and remind myself that what we're doing matters, I'm posting the reasons here.  Agree or don't, that's not the point because we can all banter on about the politics, the winning and losing, the cost, the sacrifice and whether or not it's been worth it.  A year ago it was simple, a discussion with my wife and a lot of soul searching and we decided I needed to be back.  Beyond all the motivations then I am weekly finding and experiencing things that reinforce my resolve.

Reason number 2 ( a pair):

Hey Michigan, One Game At A Time

I have to start by disclosing that I love the University of Michigan football program, particularly now with the coaching changes.  Now, on to the college football thoughts for the week.