This morning my company completed our annual NBC training requirement. This is quite possibly my least favourite day of the year. The dread the night before of knowing the next day you have to go through a gas chamber, the trying on of the gas mask that makes your face burn because the prior user didn't bother to clean it properly, making notes everywhere to remember to wear glasses instead of contacts......the whole process is just awful. Because this is a yearly requirement, some people...read more

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This past weekend I got to attend the Milblog Conference in Arlington, VA. For some reason they let me on a panel to talk about blogging in the military today, which kind of evolved into a discussion about what kind of social media bloggers are using today to get their stories heard. Many of the other people who were also on the panel had been blogging about the military for almost ten years, so I definitely felt a little out of place. On the other hand, I never really had to...read more

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Sometimes I can't really think of something to write about, so I start thinking about boring things to write about. Today, I decided to write about the stuff that I have on my desk, since this is where I spend so much of my time. Going from left to right: - Several binders holding hard copies of past training guidance from Corps and Brigade. As the training officer, I get to read Corps guidance and update Brigade guidance every quarter. We just finished the training guidance for the...read more

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This past weekend I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Milspace Rendezvous again, this year in Boston, Massachusets. In addition to all the long hours of discussion and sitting over my laptop reviewing forum details, the branch topic leads for the Platoon Leader forums took time to have some fun. I checked a few things off my bucket list (climbed the Bunker Hill Monument, attend a game at Fenway park, drink some tea in Boston) and also had the opportunity to reflect on how important it...read more

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Now that I have finished all three Hunger Games books, and fulfilling a random urge for some light fiction, I have finally gotten around to starting to read The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, by Robert M. Edsel. This book is about the members of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program that fell under the Civil Affairs and Military Government sections of the Allied forces in Europe. Some reviews say this book is about a bunch of...read more

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Growing up, I recall my dad being confused by the number of shoes I felt was necessary to be socially acceptable. Obviously I needed white church shoes and black church shoes, tennis shoes, sandals, flip flops, flats, running shoes....the list went on. As I recently surveyed my current shoe collection, I realized my father's protests that you only need a few pairs of shoes isn't a philosophy accepted by the Army. For starters, I keep on hand atleast three pairs of usable boots,...read more

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The Army recently launched a survey asking for Soldiers' opinions about the current PT uniform. The Army homepage has some more info and a link to the survey itself. Here's my opinion on the current uniform: It doesn't fit females very well, the fabrics are uncomfortable and stinky, and we could do better. I understand the "constraints" placed on the uniform by having to be made in the US, but that shouldn't constrain the way it is fitted. There's also really...read more

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Last week I spent another week on the night shift in the TOC for 67th, as our Brigade did another FTX, Operation Vanguard Lion II. The twelves hours every night spent in the battalion TOC area, this time only two tents plus one for the ALOC, left me rather tired during the day, rather hungry during the night, and able to finish several of the books I've started over the past month. One new book that I started and finish during the week was 'All In: The Education of General David...read more

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In January, I like to start with a few new goals and resolutions for the coming year. Some of them are reoccuring, like a list of 12 books I want to read. I adjusted that one this year to reading one biography a month. I also usually select a few events I want to attend, some local and some a little farther away. Two events I have pinpointed this year are the Augusta Half Marathon, here in Augusta, GA, on February 26th, and the Iron Girl Triathlon in Atlanta on May 20th. Since I started...read more

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I hope everyone had a very merry and safe Christmas weekend! I went home for the weekend, and learned I am allergic to my family's new dog, a 75 pound "puppy" Rottweiler named Tank. On coming back in to work today, I browsed through my news and saw that the FLEP board results were released last week. Congrats to my friend Sommerville, I know he's going to be a great JAG officer. I didn't make the list this year, probably for a number of reasons, but there's...read more

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