Army Strong Stories

I am lucky enough to be participating in the Foreign Academy Exchange Program (FAEP) for the second time.  My first exchange was to Argentina in 2008.  FAEP is a program that is COMPLETELY paid for by the Academy, which sends you to a foreign military academy, Portugal in my case.  While you are at the foreign academy, you are partnered with cadets that serve as your guide to the country.  Common activities include visiting different units and cultural outings (soccer games, city tours, nightlife with locals, etc),  You are treated like royalty during your stay and have the distinct opportunity of being an embassador for the United States and West Point.  Many timies, the people you meet never interacted with cadets before and you provide that first impression we hear about so much in life. 

    This years program promises to be a great experience and something I know will teach me about the language, culture, and military of Portugal.  I wil continue posting throughout the trip, so stay current by logging on and checking out the new posts.  If you have any questions or comments feel free to post them.  Thank you and have a great one ;) 

PORTUGAL...HERE I COME!!!

 Email

 Print

 Comments

• Share:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Hey all, Today was Founder's Day at West Point.  We celebrated the 208th birthday of USMA tonight at dinner with surf and turf.  Check out the video below for a look into plebe life here at the Point.

 Email

 Print

 Comments

• Share:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Nous sommes voyager pour France a demain.

Were leaving for france tomorrow.

All expense paid for, great group of people, and one crazya$$ retired french COL. STOKED!!!

wish i had more time to give more info and update my info but too busy.

 Email

 Print

 Comments

• Share:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Well well well... lots to talk about on this one so excuse the length.

First of all lets talk about the Dead To Red Ultra Marathon Relay. What an experience THAT turned out to be. To begin, everyone on the team was so stoked about finally getting to the race that I don't think anyone got a good night's sleep the night prior. We all showed up with smiles on our faces at the starting point. It was great to finally lay eyes on the Dead Sea... looked more like a big lake across which you could see the West Bank. It was kind of cool to think "over there is where all the news has been about all these years". I couldn't really see much in the way of civilization on that side, but I knew it was there. The weather was PERFECT for a distance run, could not have asked for better. There were 26 teams of 10 competing in this year's race, which meant there was at least 52 vans, trucks, and at least one very annoying tour bus scampering throughout the night to get to the next hand-off point without running over a runner. We started out with our planned 2-km legs but quickly decided after one full iteration that we needed to cull that down to only 1-km legs. Therefore, whereas there originally was going to be time to sleep in between legs if you needed to, now there wasn't really enough time. All for the better... the one time I did try to grab a quick nap (sometime around 3am) my body went into repair mode and when I got out for my next leg I logged the slowest time in history. No more napping after that... just stay up and keep the legs warm between legs. I still don't know where we placed, but it was somewhere in the top half I believe, with a final time of 19 hours 31 minutes. It was a great time, and an interesting way to see the western edge of Jordan. Oh... and lets not forget all the bafoonery along the way... BBQ Pork Rib gel packet anyone?

Me in front of the very southern part of the Dead Sea just before the race kicked off. Smiling here... not so much at the finish!

If you are going to spend 20 hours running 242 km with a bunch of lunatics, might I suggest Aqaba as the finish line?

On to training with the Jordanians. It has been quite the eye-opening experience. I can't really get into great detail here, but suffice to say that I've learned a lot in two weeks with them. There is so much to take into consideration when working as a new advisor to another culture. You are getting as much if not more advise than you are receiving, actually. I'm finding it challenging to strike a balance between being myself and adapting to another way of thinking. For example, we Americans have a very type-A take-charge attitude towards a lot of things. That doesn't always win the hearts and minds of Arabs. Sometimes it takes a little strategy to finesse your will into the picture. I'm not very good at this at the moment. My impulse is to try to be a good example of an American officer, to set a good example of how WE behave. But that isn't always what is needed. Sometimes you have to go against your instinct and join the chaos in order to better understand it. I still have a hard time letting go of the old standards. I'll continue to work on this.

The commander I work for is turning into a good friend already. He and I share casual conversation as much as we do business talk. I asked him to describe Jordan's relationship with its neighbors and the rest of the world, and I thought I'd share his comment with you. "If you want to survive, you have to be a friend to the lion and to the mouse... the lion will eat you and the mouse will ruin all your things." An old Arab saying, but it really sums up the political landscape that Jordan is in. He also said I needed to find a "long-haired dictionary" to help me with my Arabic. I almost fell out of my chair. Didn't see that one coming.

Now to Egypt... this will be the first regional travel I've conducted since arriving in Jordan, and I have to say I'm really excited. I will be traveling with one of the other FAO's and his wife and we have quite the trip planned. Two days in Aqaba kicks it off, then we take the ferry to Egypt, cross the Sinai Peninsula, and then on to Cairo, Alexandria, and a Nile river cruise to catch all the tombs and valleys of kings and such. I can't wait to lay eyes on one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. Of course, we will be spending some time at the embassy in Cairo to get a little education on the country and our role there as well. Plus... I get to see my old buddy Tom from DLI who is there doing ICT with his family. Should be a great trip. I'll be gone for about three weeks, so there might be a long delay before my next entry depending on what the internet situation is as we hop around.

As always... be sure to check out the videos on my YouTube page: UncleTravelingWayne. I should have a couple more up there shortly.

 Email

 Print

 Comments

• Share:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Long time no see!  For those of you who have followed this cadet thread you may remember that I blogged last December during Army-Navy week.  I really enjoyed sharing that week with everyone on armystrongstories.com and am very excited to do it once again with everyone as I prepare for my last Spring Break as a cadet.

I am a certified SCUBA instructor through the USMA SCUBA team, which I have been a member of since my Plebe (Freshman) year.  I am also the CIC (Cadet-in-Charge) of the Spring Break trip this year and after discussing with my teammates decided to undertake the most ambitious trip the team has ever done.  We decided to go to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt this year in the bottom tip of the Sinai Peninsula.  For those of you unfamiliary with Egyptian geography, you can find Sharm el-Sheikh on the bottom tip of the Sinai peninsula on the map below Southeast of Cairo.

 We depart tomorrow at 14:30 for JFK airport in NYC and then take off on a 12-hour flight at 18:30 to Cairo and then a short layover to Sharm.  There are 15 team members, 1 officer and his wife, 1 Sergeant First Class and his wife, and 21 non-team member cadets and civilian girlfriends going.  It's going to be an amazing time and everyone's been really excited for it as it draws closer to Spring Break.

For the past two Tuesdays we've held refresher pool sessions for everyone to refamiliarize themselves with SCUBA diving skills before we depart.  Below is a video of SFC Miller's wife, Sheryle Miller, practicing the "trace" method to recover a lost regulator while team member Cadet Joe Sattler, '12, supervises.

Here is another video from the pool session.  This one CDT Chrissy Rath, '11, and her boyfriend CDT James Whitler, '11, practice "buddy breathing," which is executed when one diver runs out of air. 

 Email

 Print

 Comments

• Share:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  It has been awhile since my first post, Recruiting Command demands a lot of my time!

  I last left off talking about my first unit, the 514th Ground Ambulance Company at FT. Lewis, WA.  I was there from 1994 to 1999, and I had a good time.  Finally though, it was time for me to move on.  I was a newly promoted E-5 and I wanted to challenge myself both mentally and physically.  The opportunity arose for me to Reenlist for Germany!  I jumped at the chance, and willingly rose my Right Hand.

  My unit of assigment was 2nd BN, 2nd Infantry Regiment, part of 3rd BDE, 1st Infantry Division.  I was proud to be a part of the Army's most prestigious and battle tested Division.  I arrived in Germany to find out that my unit was in Kosovo.  My first deployment!  I was excited to go!  I was made a Platoon medic in Aco, 2-2IN.  I LOVED my job, it was everything I was hoping it would be.  I was "Doc", the guy to come to when you were sick, or injured, or just needed to talk.

  I spent 6 months in Kosovo and returned to Germany to refit and train for our next deployment, which ended up being back in Kosovo, to the same place as before.  By that time I was the Senior Medic for Aco.  I was the head medical authority of the Company, the Commanders right hand man when it came to his Infantrymens' medical health.  I was in charge of 3 Platoon medics, and two M113 Tracked ambulances and the crews.  We had another succesful deployment in Kosovo, and watched the initial invasion of Iraq on the T.V.  our deployment was extended by 3 months, and we just knew that our turn would come to go to Iraq.

  February 2004 we were on a plane headed to beautiful sunny Iraq.  We all knew that this would not be like our deployments to Kosovo, this was the real deal this time.  The Big Red One was ready, we were going to make our mark in Iraq, and in the history books.

  We were based at FOB Normandy, near Muqdadiyah, in the Diyala province.  The BN had many fights during our time there, and always came out victorious.  We lost many good friends and leaders, especially during Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, but they did not die in vain.  The 2nd BN 2nd IN regiment will forever be in the annals of history, and in my thoughts.  I am proud to have served.

  My medical skills were tested the whole year in Iraq.  I had a great Physicians Assistant, and BN Surgeon.  I learned so much there, that I could operate independently if the need arose.  I knew my stuff, and the men of Aco respected me and trusted me with their lives.

  I reenlisted in Iraq, and upon our redeployment  I was moving back to FT. Lewis.  My next blog will be about my experiences as a medic in one of the Army's newest units, a Stryker BDE............

 Email

 Print

 Comments

• Share:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

The year is 2003, and I take a deep breath as I wait in line with my robed and capped counterparts for the sound of my name.  "Crystal Rose Guerrero,” I heard the announcer say, so with a tug on my honor cord to straighten it, I stepped onto the stage, searching the crowd for a familiar face that I knew I wouldn't find as I walked across.  I grabbed my Bachelor's Degree (from who-knows-who now) shook hands, and glanced at the crowd to see mom, grandma and little sis, I give a half-hearted smile. Something is missing.  Awaiting me at the end of the stage, were two of my favorite professors who knew what a tough day this would be for me, smiling broadly, arms open for big hugs and congratulations.

Walking back to my seat from the stage, I again scan the crowd as if he'd magically appear.  Nope, no dad.  Dad is in Iraq.  At this point, my eyes well up, as I think of my dad's words to me upon our last conversation, "I won't be there physically, but I'll be thinking of you. I am so proud of you."

Now, I should point out that at this point my dad was no longer technically a Soldier; he had retired as a Master Sgt. after 24 years of service.  Still, he was working as a contractor for the Army and when asked to go for a year, did not consider it a question.  I recall our conversation prior to his leaving, with my reasoning at the time being "just quit, you don't HAVE to go anymore, dad."  To which he replied, "It’s not a matter of have-to, it's my duty to go."  Once a Soldier, always a Soldier.  As I sat there in the auditorium, I couldn't decide who was more proud-he of me, or I of him.

It wasn't until his retirement ceremony that I learned that my dad graduated with honors from just about every Army School he'd attended to include Air Assault.  All I knew was "daddy is a Soldier, he's gone for periods of time, and I miss him, and he comes home."  I knew he went to PT at 0530 every morning, after being up late-nights helping me with homework, and that he made it home to take my sister to daycare, and make sure I ate breakfast, before going to work.  I knew that dad that was at just about every parent-teacher conference and game and even chaperoned some of our school trips in Germany.  I knew that he was very supportive as my mom was working long, hard hours to excel in her career (which I also admire her for) and that he made sure all of our medical and dental appointments were tracked.  What I didn't know was what that took in conjunction with both being a model Soldier, and taking care of his Soldiers.

Overall, I'd like to think I was a pretty good kid, but I recall times where I probably added a lot to his already heavy rucksack.  I am grateful for him, for the life he and my mother provided, for his wanting to provide a better life for his family and acting upon it through the Army.  I look back upon all the places I've seen, lived and experienced, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Korea (and the list goes on...)--all this from a little rock in the pacific my parents grew up on-Guam.  I know that none of this, and nothing I have accomplished in life thus far, would have been possible without the Army, without my dad's dedication to not only living the Army Values, but raising his kids by them.

Most people go their whole lives searching for a hero; they derive them from television, from books, from history.  I found my hero the day I was born, right in my own home...My dad, a U.S. Army Soldier.  How many people can say that?

 

(This was my first blog, hope you enjoyed...more to come...ARMY (BRAT) STRONG!)
 

 Email

 Print

 Comments

• Share:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

We had a meeting the other day with some Special Oeprations logisticians.  The Special OPS guys specialize in foreign internal defense, counter-insurgency, and clandestine ops.  Much of what they do is secret so can't really discuss on a blog.  However, during the interest roundtable discussion, one officer mentioned the concept of the starfish and the spider.  The idea is that a starfish keeps re-generating no matter where it gets cut.  However, a spider can be killed by cutting at the center.

One thing the special ops guys try to do against adversaries like Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Taliban, etc  . . .is to kill the Starfish.  Many of these organizations have leaders, but, in essence are run as leaderless orgranizations.  Instead of trying to continually trying to cut off an arm that goes back, they try to pul the starfish in two directions at one time.  Here is an excerpt from the book that may be more clear

"IT'S A STARFISH WORLD AND MOST PEOPLE DON'T EVEN REALIZE IT

One thing that business, institutions, governments and key individuals will have to realize is spiders and starfish may look alike, but starfish have a miraculous quality to them. Cut off the leg of a spider, and you have a seven-legged creature on your hands; cut off its head and you have a dead spider. But cut off the arm of a starfish and it will grow a new one. Not only that, but the severed arm can grow an entirely new body. Starfish can achieve this feat because, unlike spiders, they are decentralized; every major organ is replicated across each arm.

But starfish don't just exist in the animal kingdom. Starfish organizations are taking society and the business world by storm, and are changing the rules of strategy and competition. Like starfish in the sea, starfish organizations are organized on very different principles than we are used to seeing in traditional organizations. Spider organizations are centralized and have clear organs and structure. You know who is in charge. You see them coming."
 

We work with 3rd Army a lot, both here in Kuwait, and in Qatar, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  In Kuwait, they play a major role in fixing broken/battle damaged/used equipment so that it can be sent to Afghanistan, back to Iraq, or back to the States.  Some photos . . .

Thousands of vehicles and equipment that have returned from Iraq wait to be retro graded in a Third Army lot at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Not limited to rolling stock, the base receives hundreds of trailer-sized containers a week filled with everything from medical supplies to ammunitions. The 24/7 process of repairing the battle-worn equipment remains a top priority for Third Army as it pushes the repaired and usable equipment into other areas of operation. (9MAR2010)

Heavy Equipment transporters wait to be unloaded from trailers in a lot at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. HETs, along with Third Army transportation units who drive them, are a vital part of Third Army's mission in the Iraq drawdown. The trucks are designed to carry heavy equipment such as MineResistant Ambush Protected vehicles, M-1 Abrams tanks, troop carriers and other HETs.

A humvee is power-washed before being inspected and repaired in a Third Army retrograde lot at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Feb. 27. The lot, one of many at Camp Arifjan, receives hundreds of vehicles a week that are returning from the drawdown of equipment in Iraq. Third Army's mission to retrieve and repair the battle-worn equipment remains a top priority. After being repaired, the equipment will be sent back into theater to support other operations.

 Email

 Print

 Comments

• Share:
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•