Our next trip was to Teotuhuacan, an ancient ruins site about 50km to the northeast of Mexico City. Teotuhuacan was incredible. The below picture is an internet download. I was unable to get up quite that high to get the whole landscape view. The grounds are huge and the two primary temples are massive. The word Teotuhuacan is an Aztec word (in the Nahuatl language) and means birthplace of the gods. The city is not an Aztec city, it predates...read more

• Post Comment

Okay, it has been a very very long time since my last post. For that I apologize. Since my last post a lot has happened to me in real time. I think at the time of my last post, my daughter had just been born. She's is a very mobile and precocious nine month old. I graduated from my master's program and I have begun CGSC (ILE). So, I have a lot of things to blog about, but before I can get to those more recent developments, I...read more

• 1 Comment

Well, I have now completed eight weeks of classes at the Estado Mayor. Since it has been six weeks since my last update, I figured it was time to stop being lazy with my blog. I’ll pick up right where my last entry ended, and that is with PT. It turns out that PT is actually three times a week. We have PT every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, in the manner I described previously. But, we also have PT every Wednesday...read more

• 3 Comments

Below is the first of a couple posts I made about my expereinces at the Estado Mayor - or El Salvador's ILE. While there were some frustrations involved with my time there, overall it was a great experience. I was thoroughly impressed with the caliber and professionalism of all of my companeros de clase. They are good guys and the definition of "brothers in arms". I have now completed one week and one day of the...read more

• Post Comment

Happy Halloween from El Salvador. The Embassy tries very hard to act as your home away from home, or rather your USA away from the USA. Yesterday, we celebrated Halloween. It was a very family oriented event. The Embassy held a decorating contest and trick or treating in the halls of the office buildings followed by a family party. It was really a lot of fun. Each of the agencies within the Embassy decorated and then passed out candy to the kids as...read more

• Post Comment

The Marine Corps has its annual birthday celebration every year on 10 November. All across the world Marine units celebrate the founding of the Corps, which includes the Marine Corps Security detachments at the Embassies. It is one of the biggest parties of the Embassy year. It is hosted 100% by the Marine Corps (which means they foot the bill) but it is also a huge representational event for the Embassys. High ranking foreign officers (host nation and other...read more

• Post Comment

Okay, more about in-processing the Embassy. Housing. If you are your average, run of the mill, new person to the Embassy (State, USAID etc…) you are eligible to get a house from the Embassy housing pool. The Embassy maintains a pool of houses to facilitate easy transitions for new personnel. Therefore, your average new guy to the Embassy arrives and three days later has a house....read more

• 4 Comments

I started out very strong with this blog. I began the blog in February and subsequently posted a half dozen or so entries. And then, nothing. In my defense, my wife and I were blessed with our third child in March and then term ends and term papers came crashing down around my head in April. So with those excuses firmly establisehd, let me continue where I left off... In processing at the US Embassy in San Salvador was actually pretty painless. It was much...read more

• Post Comment

"the Pentagon's relationships with the Egyptian military are now among the most crucial avenues of communication and influence for U.S. policy toward Egypt going forward" - Josh Rogin, Foreign Policy Magazine Okay, I have to admit, I hate when bloggers simply cut and past or share links to other articles or blogs and call it a post. However, I am still transfixed by the events unfolding in Egypt (as imgaine many many people are as well). I thought this...read more

• Post Comment

(My family and I at the Izalco Volcano in western El Salvador) I conducted my In Country Training (ICT) in El Salvador from the summer of 09 to the summer of 10 immediately following language training. It was an incredible experience all around. With the exception of my time in command, it had to have been the best year of my military career. We arrived to El Salvador Airport on the 8th of July 2009. Now, I can't guarantee that every FAO's arrival...read more

• 3 Comments