So I think I have been here something like 28 days now. Since my last post US ARMY SOUTH (my home unit has moved in). You might say lucky me right. Well not exactly, what that means is that I can not leave with the groups of soldiers that are currently departing. I get to stay with ARMY SOUTH.

Also, since my last post I have moved again. I am now closer to the US Embassy, the conditions are better but it is still a mosquito infested tent and the latrines are farther away (but at least these are clean and working, unlike the last place). I have less mice here, last week in the middle of the night this little field mouse decided that going across my legs was the shortest route from one side of the tent to the other. Almost screamed like a teenage girl (almost) but I was just too dang tired.

The lizard that has taken up residence on my bug net is no big deal he is just getting fat from all the mosquitoes that are getting fat on me.

I got my first Haiti haircut last week, a pretty good deal for $3 American.

The conditions for the Haitians are getting better all the time, more and more rubble cleared, more streets open and more power and water. The IOs, NGOs and PVOs along with the UN forces (MINUSTAH) are finally getting enough capacity in country to allow the JTF to start scaling back and sending US troops back. Al large portion of the units here, not just Army troops, have missions in Iraq and Afghanistan within the next 6 months so they need, family time, training time and some refit of equipment.

The main issues currently are shelter and sanitation; the seasonal rains will be starting soon so the main effort is toward getting the gaps in those areas filled and getting all of ARMY SOUTH integrated into the JTF (Joint Task Force) before it happens.

Right now my main task is a contract that I am managing that is a national assessment of the priority categories of food, water, shelter and security. In addition to that I have been “promoted” in position to Deputy J9 JTF – Haiti. So between those two things, time for blogging is running short.

Disaster tourism is way down, I think people are finally starting to realize that you just can’t do things down here on a whim, and by the way, if your clothes and purse cost more than what a Haitian makes in a year, or, the paparazzi comes with you, stay home YOU ARE A DISASTER TOURIST. Please refer to my post on 28 FEB 10 for a more detailed list of signs).

My son got a new bike for his birthday and my wife and daughter went to “Morgan's Wonderland” an new park in San Antonio designed specifically for the disabled, my wife even thinks she may have found a replacement for me! Well, I she likes the swashbuckling type; I guess that’s her man. I wish I could have been there for all of those things, but as a soldier, you can't be home all the time. But what I can do is make the most of it when I am home. Fortunately for me I have a great spouse that understands and supports my career. That is the best thing any soldier could have when he (or she) goes overseas.

We were out at another smaller “Camp” this week, pretty typical, many are nothing more than sheets and plastic tarps over sticks, the lucky ones have tin or maybe some pallets to sleep on. But, USAID, UNICEF, WFP and others are starting to target these smaller camps and get them rolled into larger camps or moved to areas closer to support and infrastructure.

I went to the port this week too, what a mad house (picture of the guys and the USNS Comfort is in the background). I think that it is one of the most dangerous areas I have seen, not because of the quake damage but because of the amount of equipment, containers and moving vehicles, NOTHING is even close to a reasonable safety standard nor is it efficient. That place will take years to get sorted out and modernized let alone the repairs needed.

That’s enough for one night.

Thanks for reading.

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Hello readers,

****Before I begin I would like to think Mr. Lee Anderson for donating funds to the History Dept. of West Point and giving us the opportunity to better understand our history and backgrounds.****

     This is the first in a series of blogs that I will be typing and filming over the course of West Point's week long spring break. This won't be the usual spring break where I go home, but rather a unique opportunity afforded by the Academy to a foreign country. This blog will give you readers the opportunity to see what a spring break in west point is like, but first I want to write this preliminary blog out to let you know what the plan is.

Our spring break trip, which is called the "Normandy Staff Ride" will begin on Friday, the 12th of March, and end on the 20th. During the week we will be visiting important sites from the Normandy Campaign, and a few on the side. Places well be visiting include the towns of Bayeux and Centheaux, the Normandy Beachheads, Pegasus Bridge, Mt. Ormel, Paris and others. If youre not familiar with the names of some of these locations, you will be by the end of this blog. By visiting these locations and discussing the events which occured at each location in turn, we will gain a much better understanding of the tactical, operational, and strategic decisions made by the commanders and also how those decisions were carried out by the men under their command.

Also, be prepared for some pictures and imbedded videos, which will be taken over the course of the trip. In these videos, you will see myself, my roommate, Dave Douglas, and the rest of the 12 cadets + faculty which will be attending the trip. I hope you will enjoy this blog as much as I will enjoy the trip and learn more about our past.

This blog is dedicated to the sacrifice of those who fought for our freedom in the past, present, and future.

-Cadet Ryan Karohl,   class of 2011

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This is the first of hopefully many video blogs that I will be posting while attending the Harvard World Model UN Conference in Taiwan. This video will gives you a little insight as to what Model UN is and how driven our team is to compete and win at these conferences (As well as how we like to have a good time while doing it!).

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Greetings from Haiti!

This is my first post and I am very excited - so excited, I don't know what to write!

I have been in Haiti for about six weeks, providing public affairs support  for the Joint Task Force - Haiti command team. It has been very interesting for me (this is my first deployment) and I am in no rush to leave.

My job responsibilities here are to gather command information products and distribute them via electronic means.  I am also assisting in the publication of the JTF-H twice-weekly newsletter, The Responder, and provide photographic support.

My unit, the XVIII Airborne Corps, based out of Fort Bragg, N.C., was a first responder to the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake that rocked the nation of Haiti. The Corps, as the command and control element, doesn't have a large public affairs team, so we had to tag two members of the Fort Bliss, Texas-based 16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

Our team currently includes a joint forces team of public affairs officers, a public affairs sergeant major, a broadcast journalist noncommissioned officer and two print journalists.  We are in the process of changing PA support over the U.S. Army South and the 11th Public Affairs Detachment.

I wish I would have started this earlier so that I would have been able to share the last month or so of my Haiti experiences.

Some of the products that we have put out can be accessed here,the 18ABC facebook here, and the JTF-H facebook here.

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Have some things to say but no time :)  will add a few photos

Yes, KFC exists in the desert :)  i have not eatend there for fear of my stomach not accepting it

but in case i decide too there are also some nice port-johns nearby

there is a small Starbucks beyond the KFC too!

Cool photo today from the DOD Flickr site

Caption "U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates exits a V-22 Osprey aircraft at Forward Operating Base Cafferata, Afghanistan, March 9, 2010. DoD photo by Cherie Cullen"

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Sometimes we catch ourselves asking this very fundamental question about military serivce:

"Why did I sign up to wear this uniform and serve my Country with my life?"

For me all I have to do is look around my office and see a few poignant reminders of what this protection of my beloved USA is all about.

Today it is as simple as this little hand-made tie created for me last Father's Day by my little angel 8-year-old Helena, which hangs prominently on my "love-me" wall. Check out the photo below and tell me if there is a better reason than leaving my little girl a better America than the one I was given by my Army-serving father before me....and to pass this legacy and love affair with America and my deeply held love for my family on down the line to generations still unborn.

Honored to keep on "rocking" for the ones I love, like all my band of brothers and sisters who wear the uniform alongside me, just as my little Helena reaches out to love me for what I do…(you have to love the green tie against that white shirt collar she drew)
 

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So,

      This is my first blog while on DSEP ( Drill Sergeant Exhibitor Program) the purpose of the program is have a active duty Drill Sergeant on location where all types of event are held to help spread the Army message. Recently we have participated in the 2010 Chicago auto show, Viva LA, and a MLB event held in Compton California.  All of the events are top quality and recieve help  from the local community and the Army. The last event I went to was in California held at Lincoln HS were we helped by interacting with JROTC and students intrested in engineering. Of course we had a guest speaker a CSM of the engineer corps we spent the day building structures that can with stand a earth quake, Of course they had a platfrom that simulated earthquakes. Most the buildings held up pretty good some not so well. Just goes to show a engineer needs to know what there doing. Our next events will be Texas, Brownsville and San Antonio and Six Flags. So if your in the area and want to here about Army life or just have some questions stop on in and talk with the drill sergeants. Yes drill sergeants talk also were not always yelling. Untill next time

DS O

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Saturday was the birthday ball for the North Atlantic Regional Command at Ft. Belvoir.  The guest of honor for the ball was Major General Czerw.  You can see from COL Pannes' posting that he is a busy guy trying to support the Corps.

At the ball were several other current and retired general officer's as well as current American Dental Association president Dr. Ron Tankersley.  With it's location in the national capital region, there were many attendees from other services that came out to support.

We were also able to have many HPSP students (dental students on Army scholarships) that were able to attend.  The students came from as far away as VCU on the south and Tufts on the North with many others represented in between.  Hopefully they had a fun time and look forward to coming on active duty.

This was the receiving line prior to the ball beginning.  Starting on the right.  COL Priscilla Hamilton was the mistress of ceremonies (current regional commander - incoming DENCOM Commander). Next to her was MG Czerw, and COL Ted Wong (outgoing DENCOM Commander).

My wife had to attend a function for my son, so my daughter became my date.  Standing in front of the windows in the ballroom with the Potomac in the background.

Standing in front of the birthday cake.

Dr. Ron Tankersley current ADA president with retired Major General Bill Lefler.

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All is well here in the desert. I was able to get away today to workout during lunch. I need to buy some actual boxing gloves because the weightlifting gloves are not enough. They work for about 10-15 minutes but after that my hands start blistering. I’m definitely going to buy some or order some today because 30 minutes of heavy bag boxing equals knuckle blisters without gloves.

Yesterday, we had a two star Army General that went very well. We ended up having an informal dinner at the dining facility where about 8 General Officers attended. I was in charge of the logistics of the trip down to arranging the General and his staff lodging, scheduling all of the events of the day to include meetings, office calls, and ceremonies, and lastly picking up and dropping off at the airport. One thing that I learned yesterday is that I am also in charge of the safety and security of the Generals once we venture off base camp. I carried my M9 with me to the airport and back just as a force protection measure.

Very busy here and between the different routes into Afghanistan, diplomatic negotiations with neighboring Afghan nations, and the Iraq drawdown we will be very busy through the summer. We, as a unit, have some very exciting trips coming up around the area that I will take part in at least some of them. They include Jordan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Dubai, Al Asad Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Krgyzstan, and multiple locations in Afghanistan. Some very interesting places!

In my position here as deputy chief of staff, it has given me the opportunity to think about leadership and motivation a great deal. The library here had a great book about motivation that states external motivators don’t work as well in the end. As an example, people may be less motivated if they have to do something than if they are told or are exploring something. Wikipedia is one example they use where literally millions of people work for free and it is the most well known encyclopedia even over corporate one.

I agree that intrinsic motivation brings out much more in people, military and civilian alike. Although people like to be recognized for what they do, they also like to have autonomy and the ability to own projects, experiment, spend time to think, and set their own goals. Anyway, that is my rant and something that I am thinking about a lot. We have a really good group of people here that I am working with from all branches of service and DOD civilians. The DOD civilians where tan desert uniforms with DOD civilian on then
 

A DOD civilian in the back with tan desert fatigues.  He works ammo moves for my unit and sort of looks like a pirate with his goatee and earing.  Picture is at a morale center where civilian clothes and near beer (no alcohol) is allowed.

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I'm sure by now if you are in any way involved with the Army be it an officer, NCO, enlisted, future soldier, cadet, warrant officer, whatever you may be you know what LDRSHIP stands for. The Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage. We also all know what a leader is, both good and bad. I would like to give my perspective as a PFC to anyone who would like to listen.

As I said last week, I had drill this weekend and was sure I was going to have stories to tell. Many things happened over the weekend that are worth noting, but due to OPSEC, I'll try to stick to generalities. Ready? The primary focus of this weekend for my company was land navigation as part of our pre-deployment checklist. Yes, that scary word no one wants to say, deployment. Anyway, land nav is probably one of the easiest parts of being a soldier provided the right tools and a little common sense. However, missing either one of these makes things VERY interesting.

This is where the different forms of leadership come in to play. My company is fortunate to have multiple NCO's who have been on one or more deployments with each other and other companies, allowing each of them to bring unique experiences and life lessons to the table each drill. I believe this is what makes a good NCO from an enlisted point-of-view, someone who is confident but not cocky, self-aware, not afraid to admit when they are wrong, I could go on all day. Pretty much all good soldier skills, some confidence, some leadership experience, and of course common sense. The best example of leadership this weekend I saw was an E6 squad leader who after he sent his two teams on the course rounded up the pre-basic soldiers that were there to learn and get a jump start on soldiering before basic training and walked them through pace counts and actually accompanied them on the course teaching them about the landscape, shooting an azthmus, and just general terrain association. It was enlightening for me to see an NCO putting forth all this extra effort for a few kids who weren't even officially in the Army yet. He could have left them in the rear or just stood around with them, instead he took it as an opportunity to learn. That is good leadership if I have ever seen it.

So where does LDRSHIP fall into place? Being medic on-site gave me an opportunity to watch all three platoons go through the course and watch the way the different line leaders approached the situations, and some of it suprised me. I watched enlisted soldiers who knew what was going on more then their team and squad leaders- all corporals and above- get ignored because the NCO's were so determined to do it their way and I watched enlisted members who had no clue get left out to dry because they either didn't speak up or tried to speak up and were ignored.

Now in no way am I bashing anyone in my company, I believe my company is one of the best around with one of the best company commanders and first sergeants around. I am however trying to highlight one of the greatest faults there seems to be among the lower ranks. Now back to LDRSHIP. Each letter could easily have fallen into play this weekend on the course if it would have been given the opportunity. Loyalty to each member of your team and/or squad ensuring not only they knew what they were doing but could keep up physically as well, Duty for the same reasons, Respect for all members of the company utilizing an opportunity to train up the pre-basic soldiers and refresh the memories of some of the soldiers who haven't done this type of thing in awhile, Selfless Service for all the reasons listed above plus just regular desire to serve, Honor to the system, our fellow soldiers, and the country, Integrity is another good example I'll highlight in a minute, and the Personal Courage of the NCO's to admit that they were a little rusty and of the enlisted that knew what they were doing to speak up. Each of these did make or would have made the land navigation experience one everyone could have and did benefit from.

Integrity- Former Infantry Corporal getting ready to reclass to MP swore up and down he didn't need anyone's help on anything because he "did this all the time." Needless to say he and his team emerged from the woods about 30 minutes after everyone started on their courses completely lost because he read the map wrong. Even though he knew he had been to cocky and made a fool of himself he was not too cocky to admit he was wrong and promptly take his team back to the starting point to start again.

I guess if I had to sum up the above paragraphs in as few words as possible, they would run something along the line of "NCO's and all line leaders are to be respected and learned from. However if you know you have something to contribute and are afraid to speak up because your enlisted, IT DOESN'T MATTER! SPEAK UP! trust me, your team will thank you for it when you aren't the last team wandering in the woods."

Until next week, be strong, be safe, and be smart.

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