Political Critic posts a reaction to the Iraq Study Group. In it, he says

The ISG's second point focuses on the training of the Iraqi military, which should be the main focus. Unfortunately, the Iraqi military has not been trained properly for the 3+ years that we've been there and that is not addressed. Apparently, the ISG believes that all of a sudden the Iraqi military will get trained exponentially faster and before the American forces leave. The report is correct to focus on the training, but makes no mention of how to stop the corruption, infiltration, and safety issues that they face.

I think this is an easy complaint to make -- "the Iraqi military has not been trained properly" -- but proposals on how to be more efficient are hard to come by.

I've spent a lot of time around soldiers who've been to Iraq, and I've heard lots of stories about training Iraqi soldiers. That was one of the primary missions of my husband's brigade as far back as early 2004. Everywhere they went, Iraqis went with them. Everything they did, Iraqis were involved. I hate when politicians say that we'd be able to pull out of Iraq if we'd just concentrate on training Iraqis. We've been doing that since day one.

However, training Iraqis is not just a matter of teaching them to shoot and how to go on raids. Heck, I've heard that's nothing to sneeze at in and of itself: when you're trying to teach someone who thinks that bullets go wherever Allah wills them to go, it can apparently be a pain in the neck to get them to aim. And that's the larger point of training Iraqis: you're teaching culture as much as military training.

I heard a story about the Iraqi police, who proudly bragged that they had taken a suspect into their station and beaten him all night long. They were proud, telling the Americans because they thought that they had done something good. Look, we're keeping order! The Americans didn't know what to do except shake their head and try to explain why this was not a good thing.

In order to teach someone to stand up and fight for his own country, you have to teach him to love his country above everything else. How do you teach that? All the target practice in the world can't stop "corruption, infiltration, and safety issues." You can't teach Iraqis to be Americans, to all of a sudden erase decades (centuries?) of ingrained tribalism and mores and have them care about the same things we care about. It's like we're looking at this through the lens of our own history: settlers came to the US and learned to live in religious harmony and value freedom and democracy over everything, so why can't you? If we just teach them to use a rifle, then they'll rise up like colonial Americans did, right? But it's not that simple. We can't force them to want the same things early Americans wanted. That's the problem with this so-called Bush Doctrine, which was a noble idea because we Americans have been taught from birth that all men want to live free. But unfortunately we tried to free people who think sharia is the way to go. Just teaching them to raid a house and hunt for IEDs is not going to fix the underlying issues in their society.

I think this talk of training Iraqis has been grossly oversimplified in every discussion I've ever heard about it, except for the soldiers who've actually had to try to do it.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:20 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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What happens when they pack you out for a PCS is that invariably you will start to have desires for belongings you haven't looked at in years. The minute your stuff goes in boxes, you'll find yourself saying something like, "Honey, remember that Korean woman I taught English to five years ago? No? Well, when we get home I'll show you a picture. Oh wait. Nevermind." All of a sudden you'll have indescribable urges to look up the Whiskey Rebellion in your old history textbook, a book you haven't touched in ten years. It never fails, every PCS.

I miss my stuff already.

Oooh, and we had female movers. Heavenly. Male movers want you out of their way so they can do their job as quickly as possible. Female movers ask you questions about how you want something packed, whether you actually meant to leave this item out to take with you, and so on. All my worries dissipated when women walked through the front door.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:45 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I just came across photos of PFC Gunnar Becker's headstone. It's beautiful, and so fitting. I love it, Debey. The tank is so cool. And I'd like to think that his friends are leaving him Mt. Dew and whiskey...maybe to wash down that bug he ate!

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CaliValleyGirl sent me an email today, asking me if we know anything else about the craziness that is my husband's next assignment. She said,

Man, you know, it's strange...part of me almost misses the deployment...don't get me wrong, it sucked...however, I felt like I was part of something bigger. You know? The ups and downs, but I was in it together with all these other families. I felt more a part of the military...I miss that.

I think that life during deployment feels more precious than life out of it. I didn't think OIF II was that bad for me. I have no memory of how I passed the time though; my husband's been in the field two days now and I'm bored out of my mind. But when we're facing deployment, I think we try to find the silver lining as best we can. We relish the tight community that develops between those on the homefront and feel a part of something big and meaningful. And, on a more practical level, we come up with all these things we will accomplish when they're gone: next year I'll lose weight because I won't cook as well, I'll make those two quilts I've been talking about for years, I'll read all those books, I'll fly to L.A. to visit CaliValleyGirl, and so on. We convince ourselves that the year will go by fast because we'll be so busy. And then, when he gets home, we'll start a family. Everything will be perfect, because we've convinced ourselves that it's all working out according to plan.

But that's not what's happening now. My husband found out that his switch went through. He originally had made a scratch-my-back deal with his branch manager that she'd let him leave if he took this slot in the deploying unit that no one else wanted. We were all set to do that, when he got word that he's going directly to Civil Affairs training. No more deployment for us.

ArmyWifeToddlerMom always says that when you're on the outside looking in, people think that reintegration is just jumping up and down with a handmade sign and life is all flowers and sausages. But for the people going through it, it's not always that simple. That's how I feel today about this non-deployment. I would never say that making a quilt or reading a book is better than (or even comparable to) having my husband living in the house with me, but I had psyched myself up with all the ways I would get through next year, and it's just strange to turn all those thoughts off all of a sudden.

And the family thing, the family thing is killing me.

I heard my husband tell his mom on the phone the other day that we just had our hearts set on having a baby "like a normal couple." The way he phrased it, "like a normal couple," broke my heart. I want that so bad, and I thought it was within reach. He'd come home from deployment and have time where he was stuck in school and not going anywhere. And we'd be together for the entire pregnancy and birth. Like a normal couple. Unlike nearly every other Army wife I know who has done it alone. We had found a way to control our destiny, if only for a while.

And now, now he starts training a year early. And we're not ready to be parents just yet. Our options have now become 1) go for it before we're ready, or 2) take the chance of doing it apart. I don't like either of those options.

Civil Affairs most likely means more deployments in our future. We're fine with that, but we just wanted to get a leg up on the Army, one last stint of normalcy before he gives his life over to the whims of current events. And I find myself extremely disappointed.

I'm disappointed that my husband isn't deploying. Try explaining that complex emotion to family and friends.

So I milked all that patriotic praise out of you guys earlier this month, and apparently we don't deserve it at this time. My husband isn't going anywhere just yet.

Which is a good thing. Just a different thing.

Posted by: Sarah at 12:25 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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1 "...and apparently we don't deserve it at this time..." Just because he's not deploying? No you're wrong. Nothing has changed. He's just going to do something different. In the long run it will be something he really wants to be doing and something that will help in a bigger way. You both deserve every bit of praise for doing a difficult job. As for children... I have to say, there is no "good" time to have them. Trust me on this one. If it's good in one way it will suck pond water in another way. Kids are one thing that can never be properly prepared for. It's more difficult in the military because of all the moving, deployments, etc. but still there is no good time. Many people "think" themselves out of having kids because they never "think" the time is right and they wait too long. This comes to you from someone who had 2 kids at the "worst" possible times. :-)

Posted by: Teresa at November 17, 2006 05:40 PM (gsbs5)

2 sarah, please cross post this over at SpouseBuzz... I too am on this hurry up and wait thing...

Posted by: armywifetoddlermom at November 17, 2006 05:45 PM (GrO13)

3 It'll happen for you when the time is right. I know that sounds trite and cliche. But from what I've seen there is no perfect time. Thanks for the note you left on my blog. Was much appreciated. I am checking my reads, just not as much.

Posted by: Mare at November 20, 2006 02:55 AM (3cGBi)

4 Ditto to Teresa's first comments. I have no idea about the kid thing! Give Charlie a pat on the head for me!

Posted by: MaryIndiana at November 21, 2006 05:11 AM (YwdKL)

5 Well Sarah, I can confirm that there is no "good" or "right" time to have kids. The "good time" comes AFTER you've had them. It is a new adventure that you are never fully prepared for. Think of everything you've been through with your puppy. Now imagine the love you have for that puppy multiplied by 100 or 1000. That is a kid! Good luck to you both. Incidentally, I encourage you to have kids in the military, it is much cheaper! Jim

Posted by: Jim "The Cat" at November 23, 2006 06:33 AM (bapGX)

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Deskmerc keeps asking what Finance officers could possibly be doing in the field. I ask the same question every time he goes. Seriously, they play with fake money and pretend to pay contractors and stuff, while getting "mortared." I know, I know.

The last time he went out, he told me a great story. They were getting "attacked" and he and another hooah guy ran out and started "shooting" at the enemy, hamming it up with some m-f words as they valiantly, and fakely, fought back. And the officer in charge of the exercise told them to watch their mouths.

Remember: Horrific, deplorable violence is OK, as long as people don't say any naughty words.

Posted by: Sarah at 12:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Do you know the story of Joe and Tommy?

To the eye, Bloody Omaha is just a sandy beach.

No white crosses, no huge memorial, no visible signs of those who sacrificed themselves and fought for freedom. No sign of those who fell for it.

Yet I remember "Joe" and "Tommy", heroes with no names but so many faces, who came here one day, fighters for a just cause, in a liberation army.

I was told about them, I read books about them, I saw pictures of them, and I watched interviews and movies. I heard their stories. The Joe and Tommy who got through this, told me about their brothers who didn't.

And they show me why they didn't fall in vain.

One day in July, standing on the sand of bloody Omaha a long time ago, I learned about Joe and Tommy. I learned that my own Grand Pa' and Grand Ma' once hid Joe, whose plane had been shot down, in their attic, to save him from Fritz. I learned that Fritz could have killed Joe and my grand parents for that. I learned that Fritz killed and imprisoned a lot of people because they weren't like him or just because they didn't think like him and disagreed with him. And I learned that Joe and Tommy came to stop Fritz acting like this and send him back to his country.

I know I wanted to thank Joe and Tommy for that.

Who wouldn't?

So I guess I asked: "And where is Joe now? Where is Tommy?"

My parents probably answered that they were gone, back home long before I was born. Joe and Tommy didn't come to conquer like Fritz did, you know, hence they went back to their own countries. That's why, since I wasn't born when Joe and Tommy shed their blood to make sure I would come to life free in a free land, I learned about them by my father and mother, many years later.

And that's why I couldn't thank Joe and Tommy, like I wanted.

I know that today, there are fathers and mothers in Kosovo telling their kids about Joe and Tommy. I know there will be others tomorrow in Iraq.

I don't know if there are memorials to Joe and Tommy in Kosovo today and I don't know if there will be in Iraq tomorrow.

But I know that as long as I and other kids born free in a liberated land, here, in Kosovo or in Iraq, remember them, the fallen Joe and Tommy will live forever.

I know a fallen Tommy; his name is Sean Sims.
His own son lost him two years ago today.
But may he live forever in the hearts of kids born free in Iraq.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:49 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I wanted to wait and write this post when we know for sure whatÂ’s going on. But as the weeks rolled by, I realized that this is the Army, and weÂ’re never going to know for sure whatÂ’s going on. So I will tell you what I know today, and weÂ’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Last spring I wrote a proud post about my husband answering the call for active duty Civil Affairs. We had begun to plan our life around this decision, because we considered it a done deal: they were desperate for people, my husbandÂ’s language proficiency score was forty points higher than they were looking for, and he had recommendations and award citations all stating that, yes, he does in fact walk on water and should be considered for the job. That made the two-line form-letter rejection email he got in May a crushing blow.

We had just been back in the US for a couple of days, and my husband was completely depressed. He tried to find out why he had been rejected, but just ended up with more form letters. And he didnÂ’t want me to post anything about it because he was embarrassed. I was just angry. I couldnÂ’t understand why the Army would make such a stupid decision: they had someone who was begging to learn Arabic and deploy as much as they needed, and they turned their back on him. We figured the only thing that made sense was that Finance wouldnÂ’t release him from their grasp, which just made me madder. Which is more important, winning this war or running a cash cage? Neither of us could understand. He started talking about getting out of the Army, which naturally threw me into a panic. Our homecoming from Germany was not what we expected.

Fast forward to September, when my husbandÂ’s branch manager came to speak to the captains course. She explained that the Finance branch is dwindling fast, and since theyÂ’re overflowing with extra captains, maybe some of them might consider the new and exciting field ofÂ…Civil Affairs. My husband was stunned and outraged. When he finally sat down with his branch manager, he explained that he had already tried to leave for Civil Affairs. And she explained that Finance had blocked him; his packet never even made it onto a Civil AffairÂ’s desk. Information that wouldÂ’ve been nice to know in May, before he tore himself into knots thinking that maybe he couldÂ’ve used one more recommendation letter! So he asked if he could have another shot at Civil Affairs. As of yesterday, this looks promising. WeÂ’re still trying to figure out the exact schedule, but it looks like it might finally happen.

But in the meantimeÂ…

Since there are far more Finance captains than jobs, everyone in his course is getting farmed out to random taskings. He and another soldier were assigned jobs at the same post, but my husband got a Finance job and this other guy was assigned to a unit thatÂ’s deploying to Iraq in December.

My husband came home and asked me if he could trade assignments with the guy.

Every time I think I couldn't be prouder of my husband, he does something to amaze me. This other soldier just returned from a deployment, and my husband doesn't think it's fair that this guy should do another so soon when my husband hasn't been since OIF II. But there's more to his decision than just equality of downrangedness: my husband thinks that the War on Terror is important, and he has an emotional investment in the future of Iraq.

Our old neighbor in Germany was all set to get out of the Army when he got stop-lossed and deployed. He could’ve been quite bitter about it, but instead he sent out an email that really grabbed me by the heart. In it he said, “In Texas, people thank you for serving in the Armed Forces all of the time. I know they do not mean thanks ‘for living in Germany, drinking beer, and eating bratwurst.’ When it is all said and done I will be able to look them straight in the eye and know I have done my part.”

My husband also doesnÂ’t think that people are thanking him for cashing social security checks for German widows so they can hide the income from their government, which was what he spent a lot of time doing in Germany. He wants his service to mean more than that. He wants to do anything he can to help our country win this war. He gets personal satisfaction and meaning from doing a job that matters in the world, and right now he thinks he could matter more on a deployment.

So he asked my permission. And I granted it.

Most people IÂ’ve told this story to think weÂ’re certifiably insane. But the truth is, everyone reading this knows how we feel about this War on Terror. And if we feel that way, we canÂ’t let some other family fight it for us. Morally, I canÂ’t support the war but hope someone elseÂ’s husband will go fight it. And I think we need the best and brightest soldiers out there doing the job if weÂ’re going to winÂ…and you all know I think my soldier is the absolute best and brightest!

So my husband traded assignments with this guy, in exchange for a case of Budweiser Select. I told him IÂ’m contacting Anheuser-Busch, because they should know that a man agreed to spend a year in Iraq for a case of their beer.

And then he got an email yesterday saying that heÂ’s going to Afghanistan, not Iraq.

At this point, IÂ’m throwing my hands in the air and giving up. He may or may not switch from Finance to Civil Affairs. He may or may not go to either Iraq or Afghanistan at the end of this year or beginning of next year. He got another email saying he could start Civil Affairs training in May, which is smackdab in the middle of when heÂ’s supposed to be in Iraq. Or Afghanistan.

WeÂ’re going house-hunting this weekend. Hopefully weÂ’ll find something and move me into it before my husband goes wherever heÂ’s going to do whatever it is heÂ’s doing. IÂ’m getting the hang of this Army thing and just taking it as it comes.

More when we know it, faithful readers.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:04 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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Please go read this comment from Chuck Ziegenfuss. He was the inspiration behind Project Valour-IT, which provides voice-activated laptops to wounded troops. The comment he posted was remarkable for its insight into how he deals with his wounds. And then donate to Valour-IT if you're so moved.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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There's a monument up in Iraq to honor the fallen soldiers from my husband's old brigade. Just take a moment to look at the pictures and absorb this statement: "This is a very special place on Forward Operating Base Warhorse. No one is allowed to walk on the grass and the grass is watered daily." There are names on there of men I never met but think of all the time: Ludlam, Rosales, Kondor, Kenny, Prewitt, Sims, and Becker.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Since my husband is the smartest man I know (go on, Erin, tell 'em what a genius he is), I have been seething today about what John Kerry said. I kept trying to think of something ba-zing to pimpslap him with, but other than a list of all the soldiers I know and how smart they are, I wasn't coming up with anything. Turns out I don't need to, because others have done the job for me. Head over to Michelle Malkin's to watch Kerry look like an elitist douche and then read all the hatemail that's pouring in.

And what Kerry said -- “You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” -- ain't exactly the most eloquent sentence I've ever heard. Good thing he spent top-dollar on that prissy degree of his.

Posted by: Sarah at 07:22 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
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Watch this video on the good news from Iraq. It reminds me of why we could still use Tim behind a keyboard.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I just heard about these Active Duty servicemembers who are speaking out against the war. Whatever, that's their business. But I do take issue with one thing the ringleader, SGT Liam Madden, says:

The goal is to have 2,000 names on the Appeal for Redress list when the messages are delivered to members of Congress in January.

"I think that's easily attainable," he said. "There's a seed of dissent in the military against this policy, and a core of people who are acting."

He doesn't believe many military personnel are politically opposed to the war, he said. But, he said, he believes a continuing cycle of redeployment has worn the patience of the troops.

"As far as widespread disapproval of the occupation of Iraq, I know no one likes being deployed over and over again and being away from their families for months at a time," Madden said.

Because of that, "I'm pretty sure there's a base of support" for the appeal to Congress, he said.

I'm not sure I really like the idea that he plans to get more signatures just because people don't want to deploy. If someone honestly thinks that we shouldn't be in Iraq, then he should sign this petition. But someone who just doesn't want to do his job (i.e. deploy where the military says to) shouldn't be lumped in the same category. Most soldiers and marines are growing weary from on-a-year-off-a-year, but they aren't the same as those who are anti-war.

One thing I found humorous was the quote from Madden's mother:

The clashing philosophies expressed by antiwar activists and the administration on Wednesday may ring familiar for Madden, who found himself in friendly debates with his mother, a supporter of using force against tyranny.

"We were direct opposites for a long time," said Oona Madden, a former restaurant owner in Bellows Falls. "I did support the war and still do to some extent. I don't buy into everything Liam tells me, but I support what he's doing -- as long as he covers his butt."

It's not too often you find an anti-war marine with a pro-war mama!

Posted by: Sarah at 01:03 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Darned Cardinals and their darned seven-game NLCS series and their darned rain delays. Now I've got a major dilemma on my hands.

This weekend I'll be at the SpouseBUZZ conference at Fort Hood. I'm very excited about participating in this panel, and I know it will be fun to meet fellow bloggers and hear their stories. But I also know that half my mind will be focused on the darned World Series.

Of course, that's not as bad as my friend from college, who had a wedding to attend last Saturday. She spent most of the reception with her face pressed against the reception hall window, trying to see the TV in the bar across the street! She says it should be illegal for people to get married during the World Series or March Madness.

I'd love for the Cardinals to just go ahead and win the thing, but I can't stand the thought of them winning the World Series while I'm 1000 miles away from my favorite Cards fan.

Anyway, if you're in the Fort Hood area and would like to say hi, I'll be at the SpouseBUZZ conference on Saturday. Should be a fun time. And let's pray for torrents of rain so the rest of the series gets postponed until next week.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:50 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I wrote before about how much I love the stained glass window in the chapel on our old post. Now, according to my old neighbor, they're getting rid of it and designing a new one. I hope they keep the old one intact and put it somewhere else. For whatever reason, that window touches my heart in a way I can't describe.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:22 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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A thread worth reading:
Iraq Was a Worthy Mistake
Ace's response to Goldberg
The comments are worth a glance too.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:31 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I've got a story that might freak you out -- it's certainly a bit more intense than what you'll find in "Humor in Uniform" -- but someone somewhere out there will understand this story and think it's funny.

I ordered some photos online from our digital camera before I realized I forgot to order one that I wanted. I decided to take the one photo to Walmart with me and just print it off of that Kodak machine. So I grabbed my husband's thumb drive and saved the photo. Piece of cake, right? Well, those photo machines work by searching the thumb drive for all photo files. So there I am at the store and the Kodak machine is asking me which photo I want. It's afternoon on a Sunday, so the Walmart is swarming with people, and I'm about to have a heart attack.

Because, you see, I had saved it to my husband's thumb drive from Iraq.

So there I was in Walmart, on the very big, very public Kodak machine, frantically scrolling through photos of dead insurgents trying to find the stinkin' picture of our dog.

Could've died of embarrassment.

[Disclaimer: Before anyone gets too freaked out by this story, I must point out that these weren't "trophy photos." One of my husband's tasks in Iraq was to document anything that happened to his platoon while they were out on patrol. He had to take these photos back to battalion so they could cross-reference them against high-value targets and known troublemakers.]

Posted by: Sarah at 03:35 PM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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1 Too funny! I've been warned several times by my husband not to ever use his thumb drive for that very reason!

Posted by: Rachel at October 15, 2006 06:41 PM (ta8UF)

2 Both of my grandfathers fought in world war 2. My grandfather Joe was in Patton's third army and fought through the battle of the bulge. I remember him as an unassuming man, talking about all the "skinny guys" they kept finding on trains as they marched to Berlin. When my father with a child, my grandmother gave him my grandfather's medals to play with, and he and his brothers ended up losing them around the farm - he always felt bad about that. Anyway, my grandfather was a good guy - a regular guy who fought and saved the world. I didn't know my other grandfather who fought in the Pacific so well, but I know he had brought back a few Japanese dishes and cups and stuff, and that kind of freaked me out - it always made me think of him stalking through some Japanese family's hut and taking their stuff - but I accept that these indescretions happen. However, neither of them had secret picture collections of the enemy dead that they brought home with them. That shit didn't happen in my grandfather's army.

Posted by: Will at October 16, 2006 09:12 AM (QRBGL)

3 Jesus, Will, did you totally ignore the last paragraph of my post?

Posted by: Sarah at October 16, 2006 09:52 AM (7Wklx)

4 Wow, that is kind of funny. In a really twisted way. I can only imagine what you looked like as you tried to scroll through all those nasty pictures. And Scout's "Iraq" thumb drive got stolen (while it was in someone else's posession). So much for OPSEC.

Posted by: Erin at October 16, 2006 12:42 PM (023Of)

5 Yeah, but your disclaimer doesn't explain everything. I mean, is your husband part of the DIA? Is this the kind of task they farm out to anybody in the army? Has the DIA not checked the photos yet - why does your husband still have them at all? Isn't that stuff turned over to people who need it? It just rings my 'this-seems-shady' bell. I would honestly be disappointed if I came across a box in the attic with my grandfather's pictures of dead germans in it. IF, everything here is on the up and up, then I agree that it's a funny story. My parents love the Walmart photo center too.

Posted by: Will at October 16, 2006 01:19 PM (QRBGL)

6 "Farm out to anybody in the Army"? If "giving responsibility to trained Army officers" is what you mean by farmed out, then I guess so. Do you really think that my husband, out on patrol in the middle of nowhere Iraq, is supposed to call someone from the DIA out there to check out a body? How do you really think that intelligence is gathered? Perhaps you never really thought about it that deeply, but each individual platoon/company/battalion in Iraq is responsible for gathering local intelligence. And it's not "turned over", as in confiscated. My husband has all important after-action reports saved for documentation. Because he's a professional soldier entrusted with handling this sort of responsibility. Or maybe you just relish the thought of me and my husband gleefully scrolling through our collection of photos of dead people. Does that make you feel better about yourself? And neither your grandfather nor mine has photos of dead Germans. They didn't have to bother with the overwhelming task of making sure that a dead body was not an innocent, because they killed soldier and innocent alike in WWII. When your grandfather fought at the Bulge, he wasn't ordered into the forest when the firing stopped to document the dead bodies, not knowing if there were more live bodies waiting to jump out. So don't get all sanctimonious about your grandfather's service while saying that my husband's is "shady".

Posted by: Sarah at October 16, 2006 01:37 PM (7Wklx)

7 Sarah, I guess it's a good thing my husband has the photos he had to take on CDs and I think he has them hidden pretty well. Because we also swap thumb drives to share files fairly often. I read your story to him, because he and I can appreciate how you must have felt, and are able to see the humor in it.

Posted by: Robin at October 16, 2006 05:14 PM (6G8cC)

8 No, it wouldn't make me feel better about myself if I thought that. And I'm glad it seems to be otherwise because I want to love my country and its military.

Posted by: Will at October 16, 2006 09:59 PM (QRBGL)

9 That's hilarious! People are so used to seeing murdered bodies everywhere it's no big whoop!

Posted by: Karl at October 17, 2006 10:51 AM (/HpIA)

10 My only objection is the word insurgents. Let's call these MFs what they are. Terrorists. I don't care what the DoD says. The rest of you need to remember the purpose of a military is to kill people and break things. HOOAH

Posted by: MaryIndiana at October 17, 2006 04:51 PM (YwdKL)

11 "However, neither of them had secret picture collections of the enemy dead that they brought home with them. That shit didn't happen in my grandfather's army." Will,you are seriously delusional if you think this hasn't been happening since 1861. You don't attend many auctions,do you? With a 1000 WWII vets a day passing away,you can find these types of photos very commonly. Grim and inappropriate if they are 'trophy' photos? Yes. But you cannot honestly think they are rare.

Posted by: Matthew Brady at October 17, 2006 05:06 PM (YwdKL)

12 "The rest of you need to remember the purpose of a military is to kill people and break things." Incidently, this is also the purpose of terrorists.

Posted by: Karl at October 18, 2006 09:27 AM (/HpIA)

13 ..yes,this is true. Which makes me all the more proud of Sarah's husband. Thank you for serving our country,S.H.

Posted by: Uncle Sam at October 18, 2006 10:24 AM (YwdKL)

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We haven't seen the movie Jarhead in our household, but we do gleefully work the phrase "I hear their bombs and I'm afraid" into conversation as often as we can. I've had zero interest in seeing the movie, until I read this review at Cold Fury. If you've already seen the movie, definitely go over and read both the review and the comments.

Oh, and how ridiculous was it when I saw a soldier on Law and Order call another soldier a "jarhead"? Sheesh, google could've helped them avoid that bonehead script gaff.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:15 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Chances are if you're a military spouse you know what Military.com is. Well, did you know that they host milblogs? And did you know that Andi from Andi's World got the great idea to urge them to host a spouse blog?

Andi approached me a while back to ask if I'd contribute. I'm in good company with some other familiar military spouse names -- Air Force Wife, AWTM, Homefront Six, Most Certainly Not, My Life as a Military Spouse and Molly Pitcher -- and a handful of other folks who are new to blogging. There's even a dude involved!

Anyway, I know a lot of Army spouses from our old post read this blog, and I know other folks have come here in the past looking for information on deployment (that's you, Terri and CaliValleyGirl). I just want to point out that this new milspouse blog at Military.com intends to be a wealth of spouse information. I recommend that you check it out and contribute to the dialogue.

It's called SpouseBUZZ, located at www.spousebuzz.com
Check it out.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:06 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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At the doctor today (another speedy and awesome visit), I was reminded of the ABCD's of skin cancer detection. I listened to the lecture and thanked the doctor, but what I really wanted to say was, "Thanks, dude, but we had AFN."

Posted by: Sarah at 09:30 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Now THAT is funny! Hubby and I still comment to this day about AFN and sometimes we even miss it!

Posted by: LMT at September 08, 2006 11:11 AM (DhMbx)

2 Alas AFN...I get misty-eyed thinking of the commercial where they are trying to throw the paper in the garage, but calling their shots first. I should also give an honorable mention to "Click it or ticket, don't be a dipstick, when you get in your car just click it".

Posted by: Vonn at September 08, 2006 12:42 PM (zn1zt)

3 You're totally missing it now... apparently, AFN got more funding 1 September. There are all KINDS of new "commercials" out now. Even 2 new ones with Kay haha

Posted by: The Girl at September 09, 2006 08:40 AM (yuPDN)

4 I actually grew to like those gooofy things. We'd try to guess where the location was before the other person. Oh the days of AFN.....*sigh*

Posted by: Household6 at September 09, 2006 11:02 AM (AJdDU)

5 It would only have been funnier if your appointment was good old "Doc" Foglesong (sp?) You just gotta love AFN!

Posted by: Angie at September 09, 2006 11:19 AM (SA3c9)

6 was *with* good

Posted by: Angie at September 09, 2006 11:20 AM (SA3c9)

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We got orders yesterday. It's official: we're going somewhere hooah.

Posted by: Sarah at 05:44 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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