Update

Here we go again waiting on a plane. The delay gives me Yuma flashbacks for sure. We'll be back on Friday night around 9pm or so. It should make an interesting ride home.

My former employee goes to trial today and it seems like they might do the sentencing  right after the trial. I hope he get exactly what he deserves. After today hopefully I can get him pushed so far out of the military that he will never be able to join again. It should be easy if the charges fall correctly. We'll see what happens.

I spent last night in Chattanooga TN with Dusty and Lauren. I went to Bible study with Dusty and it was a blast. It's always fun to meet other believers. We may have to visit their church sometime soon.

Relaxing day at home

Today was a great time. I got to lay in the bed with Vanessa and Ellie this morning like I love to do on the weekends. We had a block party and met several of our neighbors that we didn't know. Far more people showed up than I expected. We had a lazy afternoon and then went to have some sushi. We walked around the Avenue and did some shopping. I bought a couple of books about Afghanistan to read on the trip to Kansas. We bought Ellie a couple of books as well. One of them is her first book of Bible stories. What a great time. I'll miss my girls again next week but it will be another great homecoming next week!

attitude confirmed

I spent the last week in a training course designed to be a train-the-trainer. Overall it was a good course. What really got my attention was the soldiers from the support unit that couldn't fight there way out of a paper sack. They were useless with the weapons and more useless with tactics and maneuvering. Jessica Lynch has nothing on these people. I've always made fun of them but I thought it was just useless bravado. I hope we can bring some of them in during our mobilization training and show them at least how to defend themselves. I guess they don't understand the magnitude of the situation they are about to encounter.

On a positive note it was great to see the guys from the former E Troop all in the same place again. We'll see how Kansas goes; I'm hoping for some Internet availability.

Crazy Schedule

I'll be kind of busy for the next little while. I'm going to miss my girls for sure.

26 OCT-1 NOV more grunt training in Savannah

2-7 NOV workshop for leadership in Leavenworth KS

8-9 NOV drill

15-22 NOV staff battle sim in Louisianna

All is quiet

I've been really busy lately but I've been home. It is the "calm before the storm." Next week I will be at Ft. Stewart near Savannah and the week after that I will spend at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. I look forward to the training and knowledge. It's nice to watch the battle-focused training step up as mobilization nears. It's harder and harder to find some quiet time.

Yesterday we talked about irony and how to explain it to 8th grade students. Today I ran across several ironic situations. A guy that is unemployed but has no time, a guy that gets a raise but has no desk or computer, a fuel pump for a 79 corvette is over 10 times cheaper than for a Nissan Exterra. Weird

I'm looking forward to a lunch with Dusty tomorrow. No one is more excited about discussing God's word. There's a range 10 minutes away from my new job too. Dusty and I might be hanging out a lot soon. 

I'm also ready to see Mom and Dad.

Replacement for the M4

The Army is looking for a replacement for the M4. Word on the street is that it will start showing up in summer 09. Realistically we can look for it about 2011. In the 60,000 round stress test the XM8 outperformed all other models. All three prospects combined malfunctioned less that the M4 alone. I'm very excited about this transition. Researchers are also testing terminal ballistic effects on target. That makes a lot of sense. It is very obvious that it was not done before. The 6.8mm SPC is also swirling around. I think it will be fielding inside Special Operations Command but joe will keep the .223. Here's a look at the three. I personally think the XM8 will reign. Now if we can just get the M9 replaced with ANYTHING.

From left to right: H&K XM8, FN SCAR, H&K 416

Hard Times

I'm in one of those unique professions that you become more important as situations get worse. The awesome thing about my job (optimistic?) is that I often get to see how little it takes for a person to survive. Do we need flashy cars, huge houses, and the latest in technology? I don't think so. I sometimes get by living under canvas, eating mass production food, and sharing a few cars with 100 dudes. If you bought a house too big, drive too much, eat out too much, and don't budget there are hard times now and in your future. I'm not saying I don't enjoy these American tendencies. I'm saying that we need a strong plan B. A stronger sense of community would also help (church).

The masses are too comfortable and this is our greatest weakness as a country. Terrorist cells abroad will not let this opportunity pass. Some analyst are saying an attack could be planned after the election to greet the new president. I hope they are wrong.

The gas crisis and the recent financial issues have made me wonder how many current North Americans can process their own food. Much less, keep themselves healthy enough to get by if needed. I'm not a survivalist freak by any means but the government can only do so much. The last thing we need right now is more reliance on government systems and money. Anyone can see how carelessly it is thrown around right now. We'll see what happens.