As our nation observes the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September, 2001, I have a question: has anyone forgotten? I understand that for some, the memory has faded, a dark time in America has started to heal, only to be brought back to the forefront of our minds as the media covers people's decade-long reactions to this attack not only the American people, but the very ideology offered by the American Dream. The sites targeted by those unprovoked attacks...read more

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I entered the army in June, 2006, and went through the same basic training required for all enlisted soldiers. From there, I went through specialized training in emergency and battlefield medicine, and was ultimately named a combat medic. After graduating Advanced Individual Training, I was assigned to Fort Riley, KS. On 4 February, 2007, I arrived at Fort Riley and was promptly assigned to Third Brigade, First Armored Division. The unit was later "reflagged,"...read more

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As the US presence draws down, there are certainly still enemies of the United States in Iraq. They still don't like us, and they still would love to do us harm. Just don't tell that to my family. I generally don't worry too much about my own safety while I'm here: the threat is fairly small, and most attacks are against Iraqi Security Forces (Federal Police, local Iraqi Police, and Iraqi Army, respectively) ...but the threat is still...read more

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I have stayed busy for the past several months, and am finally blogging again. There isn't much to blog about in the present, but there's plenty of catching up to do. At the end of June, I went home for 2 weeks on R&R Leave from Baghdad. I had been telling my wife that it would be another month before I came home; she was surprised to see me, to say the least. We had a wonderful time, and then I came back to Iraq. When I got back to...read more

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This subject has bugged me since the event happened. On 8 January, 2011, Congresswoman Giffords of Arizona was shot while meeting with her constituents at a grocery store. While this event was a tragedy in itself, there was a severe injustice to the events that followed. Across the country, lawmakers scrambled to write and sponsor bills to be proposed to their respective houses of Congress. The event has quite obviously caused a ripple effect; the extent of the damage...read more

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Before I start, I should say that I do not intend to offend anyone. Quite the opposite, in fact: I wish to inform people, to prevent them from being offended later down the road. With that, I would like to present some ideas for what soldiers like to see in care packages, and what invariably lands in the "community box" within seconds after opening the package, never to be considered for use by that, or any other, soldier. Again, I don't want to offend...read more

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Back a couple years ago, when I was in high school, my guidance counsellor asked me what I wanted to do after graduation. I already knew my answer, I had known it almost all my life. I wanted to be a Firefighter for Sidney Fire Department, Sidney, Ohio, which was the only paid department in my county. I loved the idea of riding on the rescue truck, sirens blaring, to a house fire, going in, saving the family, putting out the fire, and calling it a day. I had all kinds...read more

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For new year's, everyone is "encouraged" to set resolutions for themselves, so here goes nothing... (1) I WILL be more dedicated to my wife and home life. (2) I WILL live an overall healthier lifestyle, including (a) eating healthier foods when available (b) dedicating a minimum of 60 minutes at least 3 days a week to exercise, outside my normal job...read more

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Yesterday was a special day throughout the Christian world, as everyone knows... it was Christmas. Any time a soldier is deployed furing the holiday season, there are mixed emotions... we have to be half-a-world away from loved ones, with the hopes of phone calls or, if we're lucky enough, webcam conferences. There are no guarantees that we can be there for arranged phone calls or webcams, as there is a higher threat of violence during our holidays. When we do hear our...read more

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Yesterday was an important day for me in my career. I reenlisted for the second time. My first reenlistment was all about money. I was short of cash, and I had just had major repairs done on my Jeep Wrangler. My parents were able to lend me the money to pay for the repairs, but I wanted to get them paid back as soon as possible, and the Army offered me a way to do that and have a little left over for personal expenses (in other words, fun toys to add to the...read more

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