16 December 2009

Long Overdue Update

I have been extremely busy for the past 30 days. The command I am attached to has been transformed under NATO command, under the NATO Flag. It has been a learning experience for everyone. I've said farewell to some of my troops as they head back to the states, and welcomed and trained their reliefs. I was able to get some face-time on the Today show and I got to watch Navy Beat Army at 3:30am...overall it has been a great month.

Over Thanksgiving, I was sent out into the field on a mission with the ANA (Afghan National Army). It was unbelievably crazy and in a morbidly sick way, unbelievably fun...For my family and friends, I'll be happy to share the story over a pint of stout or a cold IPA when I return. It's just not cleared for this forum.




I haven't had as much time to work the VCR missions as I would like, but there are troops working the COIN side of the house everyday and we still need your help.



Remember to send your donations to:

Chaplain's Office
VCR
CSTC-A, Pool House
APO, AE 09356

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!...and Happy Festus.

15 November 2009

Outskirts of Town

I just realized I had not posted anything for the last 3 weeks....

So to catch everyone up, I have been sequestered in a room with 20 other officers from various nations, services and specialities with orders to prepare a product for our Commanding General. In other words, no pictures and nothing I can report on in this blog...not very exciting I know, sorry.

However, Today I made it outside the wire and visited a make-shift displaced persons (aka refugee) camp on the outskirts of Kabul. This camp was the worst I have seen. We distributed items that you provided/donated to our VHS mission.
Please keep sending your donations and thanks for your support.


All kids want their picture taken.



Women hiding from us.



Too cold too bathe.



Remember to send your donations to:

Chaplain's Office
VCR
CSTC-A, Pool House
APO, AE 09356

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

26 October 2009

Busy

I apologize for not sending out an update for a few weeks. I've been very busy working on some stuff in which I can't divulge in this forum...since I don't/can't have photos from my recent events, I have substituted a photo taken a couple of weeks ago.



Enjoying a Cuban with my Aussie and Turk friends.


Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

15 October 2009

Three Cups of Tea



If you haven't read "Three Cups of Tea", I strongly recommend that you do so at once. It's required reading for all officers in USFOR-A. It offers a wonderful insight to the Pashto People. Available at your local bookstore or library.




I love the giggler on the end.




Not in keeping with the 3 cups theme, but a great photo nonetheless.


Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

12 October 2009

Humbled



Today was the most rewarding day that I can remember.

I had the opportunity to visit a school for the deaf and those with special needs. Words cannot describe the excitement that those children displayed as our group of US and NATO servicemen and women distributed school backpacks containing pens, pencils, paper, and other miscellaneous school supplies. We also distributed blankets, coats, shoes, etc., which were to be distributed later by the teachers based on need. The best part is we also passed out 20 foot balls (soccer balls). I spent over an hour playing footie (soccer) with the boys and girls.



We couldn't have made this trip without the donations from people like you.

Please mail your donation to:
VCR
CSTC-A, Pool House
APO, AE 09356

This is how we win wars.




We won't win this war with our tactics or weapon systems. To win this war, we need to put our our soft covers, and meet with the people.

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

30 September 2009

Mountain Views


Recently, most of the photos I have taken I am not able to publish due OPSEC...so I am left with mountain views from my hooch. It really does look a lot like Pocatello, Idaho.



This evening a few folks in my shop had dinner together to celebrate the promotion of our Albanian friend. Congrats to our new Lt Col.

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah

17 September 2009

Camp Eggers Volunteer Community Relations

The Camp Eggers Volunteer Community Relations (VCR) program enhances the partnership with the people of Afghanistan while providing a venue for US and Coalition troops to assist others. Through this program, Camp Eggers VCR volunteers interact with local nationals at various locations in the Kabul area, including schools, orphanages, medical centers and Internally Displaced Persons camps. The Afghan people in these locations are not as fortunate as we are and could greatly benefit from your support to improve their quality of life. With winter coming, items like gloves, mittens, hats, scarves, coats, and blankets are critical. Conservative clothing for men, women, and children are also needed. Shoes, non-electronic toys, school supplies, and hygiene items are of great assistance too.

The VCR program is also involved with forwarding items to US service members located at smaller forward operating bases (FOBs) and other locations that may not have the PX facilities that most of the larger camps have. Donations of personal hygiene items, CD or DVD tapes, magazines, and other items that service members would enjoy are welcome.

If you have any of the above mentioned items that are new or gently used and would like to donate them, please mail to:

VCR
CSTC-A, Pool House
APO, AE 09356


We can't give religious material to the Afghan people, so please refrain from including this in your donations.

Highland Sailor, Camp Eggers VCR and the people of Afghanistan thank you for your support.

16 September 2009

Chief Petty Officers


Today, I had the privilege of attending this year's CPO pinning ceremony. I was honestly surprised by the excellent turnout. BZ to our new Chiefs. (DOD Photo)

14 September 2009

Kabul



After a 4 hour C-17 ride, I landed at Bagram Airfield north of Kabul. 24 hours later, I was on a C-130 headed for Kabul and a short, eye opening convoy to my new home. Very limited photos due to OPSEC. More to follow...

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

Kuwaiti Desert Update



I spent the last week finishing training in the Udari Range in Western Kuwait. The training was very much the same as at Fort Jackson with the exception of the scenery and temperature (122 F).



Convoy Practice.



The facilities at Udari are very limited. All Hands share a common tent, no cots, porta potties for the head, no running water and my favorite MREs. This is a pic of our living arrangements, a cross between a slumber party and junior high summer camp.



Convoy back to my awaiting C-17.

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

07 September 2009

Stuck

Today, I spent most of the morning learning how to drive off road in my Hummvee. (I actually already know how to drive off road, but the Narmy said I needed the course.)

Things were going great until we got stuck in the soft sand...and that is when we broke the front drive shaft.


All of which led to our morning hike in the desert.


Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

06 September 2009

Boots on the Ground



This past week has been a busy one. Friday, Alpha Company, 1st Platoon, packed our sea bags, said another round of goodbyes and took the traditional platoon photo in front of a Fort Jackson ILAV (Iraq Light Armored Vehicle).



We left Fort Jackson/Camp McCrady and well over a hundred civilians (mostly veterans and civic group members) were there to see us off. We flew a charter (World Airways) DC-10 and stopped in Bangor, Maine where another hundred or so civilians were there to shake our hands. It is pretty humbling when so many people take time out of their lives to wish you well.


After our brief stop in Maine, we flew translant. Along the way we over flew Scotland unfortunately, we were at 30,000 feet. Hopefully, someday I'll get a better look. After a short stop in Germany, we landed in Kuwait. I will be in Kuwait for the last of my Narmy education, mostly weapons and convoy related training. Camp Virginia, Kuwait is dry, sandy, and very hot. It's like Phoenix or Hell (both very similar) without the air conditioning.

This is my hooch (Tent, General Purpose, Medium) for the next little while.


View of my "street" on Camp Virginia.



Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

30 August 2009

Get Some!

In Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket", the helo door gunner yelled "get some" as he gunned down VC in a rice paddy as his helo flew over. Gunner's have been yelling "get some" ever since. While my preferred target is Taliban/Al-Qaida, this week I was able to shoot at milspec silhouettes, old decommissioned tanks and a broken-down deuce and a half truck. Civilians pay good money to do this at the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot every year. Uncle Sam lets me do it for free.

Highland Sailor and the M249 - 5.56 Nato Light Machine Gun




Highland Sailor and the M240 - 7.62 Nato Medium Machine Gun in Turret Mock Up



Highland Sailor and the M2 (Ma Deuce) - .50BMG Heavy Machine Gun



Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

23 August 2009

NIACT Update

This past week was a busy one at Camp McCrady.
Alpha Company started the week with our Navy Individual Augment Combat Training (NIACT) Check In Brief and Gear Issue (4 sea bags of stuff, 2 of which I have been told I'll never use.) We also had our weapons issued (M16 A2 Rifle & M9 Pistol) and then spent some time learning how to assemble our IBAs (Individual Body Armor).

Later, we completed Basic and Advance Rifle Marksmanship Training, Combat First Aid Course, Heat Stress Training and Communication (aka Radio) Training. The Rifle Training was very good, the other training not so much.



HMMWV (Humvee) Convoy Intro and Practice was fun for the first five minutes then the novelty wore off.



After the HMMWV Training it was time to "Zero" the M16 Rifle.



We shot a lot of ammo during our M16 Practice session.



As busy as Alpha Company was, we also became well acquainted with the Army term "Hurry Up and Wait.



It is tradition that every time I go to sea, I grow a "Deployment Mustache". Here is a very sweaty, four day old one.

All in all this has been a good week. Very long, hot days but definitely worth while. Alpha Company's Drill Sergeants are great and are more than willing to help us as we learn to put our boots on the ground.

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

Birthday Dinner


Every year my wife takes me out to my favorite restaurant or makes one of my favorite meals for my birthday. This year Uncle Sam had the honor, Veggie Burger in Barbecue Sauce MRE...Yum. Honestly, the package would probably taste better.


Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

16 August 2009

Arrived: Camp McCrady

I made it to Camp McCrady located on Fort Jackson, SC.

A few posts ago I stated I was going to sit around San Diego (SD) until my flight to SC…Rather than sit around the barracks in SD, I decided to take 6 days leave. I flew home to Florida and spent some time with the family. After my leave the pace of the events started to quicken, I flew back to SD and two days later I flew a military hop back to the east coast.

My training unit arrived in our barracks and unpacked our sea bags, ready to call this open bay home for the next three weeks.



Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

06 August 2009

NArmy

A few of my civilian friends have asked, “What is the NArmy?” Having assumed everyone knew what the NArmy was I did not provide a definition of the word, and for that I apologize.

The NArmy is simply a word merge of the words Navy and Army. Sailors who are assigned to the Army are considered to be part of the NArmy. Sailors in the NArmy are considered ”Sailders” (Sail-jer) again a word merge of Sailor and solider.

There are currently 12,000 Sailders in the US NArmy serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the Horn of Africa.

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell! Hooah!

30 July 2009

Good To Go!

CENTCOM Medical stated no waiver is required and that I am good to go medically...so I guess I'll just sit back and enjoy sunny San Diego for a couple of weeks (until the next group of IAs fly to FT Jackson to finish training.)

The only question now is Alberto's or Santana's for dinner?

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell!

27 July 2009

NMPS/ECRC San Diego

Just a quick update...I am in San Diego on temporary medical hold awaiting a medical waiver from CENTCOM Medical. I will fill in the details later.

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell!

25 June 2009

Checked Out

This morning, I officially transferred from my Southeast Region Command [which I will not disclose due to OPSEC]. It is a great command and I will honestly miss the people who I worked with everyday. I will be on leave until mid July then I’ll report to NMPS and ECRC San Diego for processing and then transfer to Camp McCrady/Fort Jackson for training. Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell!

08 June 2009

ECRC Checklist

A while back I mentioned that I was working on my ECRC Checklist. I finished it and now I am ready to start it all over again. The good folks at the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center (ECRC) have changed their mandatory checklist for the third time since I was ordered to Afghanistan. This in itself would not be so bad, but they keep changing what information is required. Hopefully, third times a charm.

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell!

27 May 2009

USO Girls

Caroline and Jamie over at USO Girls are at it again…this time they are putting together travel pillows for the lads and lassies headed to the sand box. If you sew and have a few extra hours they would really appreciate your help.

I really appreciate all the work they do for the USO and for pimping out Jamie for the Defenders of Freedom organization. If you are ever in Dallas, let them know we all appreciate them.

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell!

26 May 2009

Linked on Other Blogs

Wow! I am now listed at http://afghanistan-analyst.org/blogs.aspx. and at http://navyaugmentee.blogspot.com

I only started blogging 24 days ago and have already been listed by "The Navy Augmentee" and "The Afghanistan Analyst: An Online Resource for Researching Afghanistan" websites. Check them out, they have a quite a few links to some great websites and blogs.

Here is the latest: I still have 30 days until I transfer, until then I am working full time on my ECRC Checklist. (ECRC Checklist is used to verify personal data, next of kin info, and that all prerequisites such as medical, dental, legal, and required training are complete. )

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell!

25 May 2009

Memorial Day - 2009


"Cuimhnichibh na suinn nach maireann.
Mairidh an cliu beo gu brath."

(In memory of the Heroes who are no more.
May their Fame live on forever.)
Gaelic Prayer

12 May 2009

END DADT

I have worked side by side with gay Sailors. I’ve shared meals with them, slept in the same quarters, showered in the same head. The gay Sailors I have known have been some of the most professional men (and women) I have had the pleasure to know. I don’t care what a Sailor’s sexual preference is, all I care about is if he (or she) can do the job. 1LT Choi did the job, in a time when we need Arabic linguist the most; the US Army has discharged him simply for telling the truth. For telling the world he is gay. 1LT Choi is now leading the charge to end DADT…From his Open Letter to the President and Congress at his CNN OP-ED

By Lt. Daniel Choi
Special to CNN

Open Letter to President Obama and Every Member of Congress:
I have learned many lessons in the ten years since I first raised my right hand at the United States Military Academy at West Point and committed to fighting for my country. The lessons of courage, integrity, honesty and selfless service are some of the most important.
At West Point, I recited the Cadet Prayer every Sunday. It taught us to “choose the harder right over the easier wrong” and to “never be content with a half truth when the whole can be won.” The Cadet Honor Code demanded truthfulness and honesty. It imposed a zero-tolerance policy against deception, or hiding behind comfort.
Following the Honor Code never bowed to comfortable timing or popularity. Honor and integrity are 24-hour values. That is why I refuse to lie about my identity.
I have personally served for a decade under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: an immoral law and policy that forces American soldiers to deceive and lie about their sexual orientation. Worse, it forces others to tolerate deception and lying. These values are completely opposed to anything I learned at West Point. Deception and lies poison a unit and cripple a fighting force.
As an infantry officer, an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic, I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates. I demand honesty and courage from my soldiers. They should demand the same from me.
I am committed to applying the leadership lessons I learned at West Point. With 60 other LGBT West Point graduates, I helped form our organization, Knights Out, to fight for the repeal of this discriminatory law and educate cadets and soldiers after the repeal occurs. When I receive emails from deployed soldiers and veterans who feel isolated, alone, and even suicidal because the torment of rejection and discrimination, I remember my leadership training: soldiers cannot feel alone, especially in combat. Leaders must reach out. They can never diminish the fighting spirit of a soldier by tolerating discrimination and isolation. Leaders respect the honor of service. Respecting each soldier’s service is my personal promise.
The Department of the Army sent a letter discharging me on April 23rd. I will not lie to you; the letter is a slap in the face. It is a slap in the face to me. It is a slap in the face to my soldiers, peers and leaders who have demonstrated that an infantry unit can be professional enough to accept diversity, to accept capable leaders, to accept skilled soldiers.
My subordinates know I’m gay. They don’t care. They are professional.
Further, they are respectable infantrymen who work as a team. Many told me that they respect me even more because I trusted them enough to let them know the truth. Trust is the foundation of unit cohesion.
After I publicly announced that I am gay, I reported for training and led rifle marksmanship. I ordered hundreds of soldiers to fire live rounds and qualify on their weapons. I qualified on my own weapon. I showered after training and slept in an open bay with 40 other infantrymen. I cannot understand the claim that I “negatively affected good order and discipline in the New York Army National Guard.” I refuse to accept this statement as true.
As an infantry officer, I am not accustomed to begging. But I beg you today: Do not fire me. Do not fire me because my soldiers are more than a unit or a fighting force – we are a family and we support each other. We should not learn that honesty and courage leads to punishment and insult. Their professionalism should not be rewarded with losing their leader. I understand if you must fire me, but please do not discredit and insult my soldiers for their professionalism.
When I was commissioned I was told that I serve at the pleasure of the President. I hope I have not displeased anyone by my honesty. I love my job. I want to deploy and continue to serve with the unit I respect and admire. I want to continue to serve our country because of everything it stands for.
Please do not wait to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Please do not fire me.
Very Respectfully,
Daniel W. Choi
1LT, IN
New York Army National Guard

06 May 2009

Predeployment Reading

I consider myself relatively proficient in the area of naval tactics, both in surface warfare and submarine warfare, but, I know almost nothing of land tactics/strategies. So I am quickly trying to educate myself.

Tactics: To start, I reread the timeless classic "The Art of War", by Sun Tzu. Written more than 2,500 years ago, it is still one of the best books on tactics ever written.

History: After reading the very confusing and dry "Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War against the Taliban" by Stephen Tanner, I was not looking forward to reading another history book about Afghanistan. But since I had already picked up a copy of "Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics "by Martin Ewans at the Exchange, I decided I had better read it. I was pleasantly surprised. Sir Martin Ewans, a member of the British Diplomatic Service, provides a clear and concise history of the region. Sir Ewans briefly covers the period prior to 1838 and then goes into great detail of the historical events following the First Anglo–Afghan War. I highly recommend this book to anyone with orders to the AFPAK area.

Next book: "Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife", by John A. Nagal

Until next time: Keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell!

02 May 2009

Welcome

After 20 years of Naval Service including tours on 3 submarines and an aircraft carrier, I have orders to Afghanistan ...with the NARMY.

Over the next year and a half, Highland Sailor hopes to provide you a "boots on the ground" view of our brave young men and women serving in Afghanistan. I will be attending NARMY Training in July, until then keep your eye on a shipmate, head on a swivel and stand by to Give'em Hell!
 
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