Wayne Wall - Army Strong Stories

The FAO Training Program Helped Me

Wayne Wall — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:56:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
It appears that I am only getting around to having anything important to say about once a month. I really wanted to do a bit better than that but as I've been saying, talking about the things going on around me can be a bit challenging. Today, however, is going to be a bit different. I am going to attempt to relay to you a particular account of something I've done here, how the FAO training program helped me to do it, and why that is so significant. When I first arrived in...read more

Day 84 (I think)

Wayne Wall — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 21:06:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Hello again everyone. I'm glad there are still a few of you looking on, thank you for taking the time to say so. As I keep saying, it is a bit harder to post updates nowadays because of the environment I'm in. But, that's not going to stop me from doing so when I get the opportunity and have something significant to say. In any case, I'm glad you are reading and I hope that those of you who are just hitting DLI are surviving well. I would like to throw a shout out to FAO Web....read more

Game On

Wayne Wall — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:26:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Hello again everyone. Just wanted to take a few minutes to tell you all a few things about my experiences over the past few weeks. As I said before, writing is a bit challenging for someone working in my position because at this level almost everything has some level of sensitivity to it. It also requires time that I still have to struggle to find. Life in this senior staff position has been very taxing. As a member of the DCG-O CAG I am bound to my boss's schedule, and he is a very...read more

Life on Mars

Wayne Wall — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:58:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Hello again everyone. I know it has been a while since my last post, but things have been a bit hectic. I've been thinking for quite a while on what I may want to talk about, and it has been challenging. In the process of trying to figure that out, I've determined that my posts from this point on are going to have to seem very generic and repetitive. There are several reasons for this. First of all, the work I'm doing is not something I can say much about. I'll have to choose...read more

Shipping Out

Wayne Wall — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:23:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Hi everyone. It's been a very, very busy couple of weeks and I really have not had enough time (or focus) as I would have liked to detail all the nuances of trying to in-process Ft. Bragg and prepare for deployment in such a short time. Suffice to say, the last few weeks have been a blur. BUT, I've been successful in squeezing 20 pounds into a 10-pound bag, having the opportunity to visit my family and a few of my friends has really kept me going. As I write, I'm logging off my...read more

See Spot Run

Wayne Wall — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:15:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Hello again everyone. I've been enjoying a couple of weeks being back home and now it is back to the REAL Army, as they say. First of all, let me just say how wonderful it was to spend the holidays with my family back in the Land of the Big PX. Although I was met with a few challenges here and there (not the least of which was some wicked jet lag), time with family and a few friends is priceless. And to boot, the Carolinas received its first significant snowfall on Christmas Day in over...read more

Farewell to Jordan

Wayne Wall — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:28:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
And farewell to the most bizarre year of my life thus far. Looking back, I'm almost struck with a feeling of guilt that my life would be so enjoyable during ICT. I think this is a carry-over from DLI, where you are made to feel as it is forbidden to have any kind of fun while there is language to still learn. But then again, if I look forward... everything is in balance and nothing to feel guilty about. I will be in Baghdad by the end of next month. As I sit now, I'm in an empty...read more

Greetings everyone!

Wayne Wall — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 01:28:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
The shadows are starting to get long here in Jordan, and there's lots going on as I finish out my year here. But first, let me catch you all up on what has been happening since my last post. I recently completed a regional travel trip to Saudi Arabia, a place I had not been back to since serving there between 2002 and 2003. It was very interesting to go back to Eskan Village, the place where I lived in my year there. A lot of it had changed but in most ways it still looked the same. Saudi...read more

Change of Plans

Wayne Wall — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 00:40:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well sports fans, to quote Robert Burns, "The best laid plans o' mice and men oft go awry." As I followed my usual routine of stopping by the embassy for a few hours several days ago, there sat in my email inbox a surprise from the FAO MAJ/LTC assignments officer that went something like this: "MAJ Wall, Greetings from FAO Branch at HRC. The purpose of this note is to inform you that you will be PCSing for deployment within the next 90 days." The...read more

Overdue Update

Wayne Wall — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:20:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well sports fans, the last few weeks have been a buzz of activity. The most significant accomplishment since my last update was the completion of five graduate school applications. As you already know, graduate school will be the next phase of my FAO training once I leave Jordan in December, en sha'allah. Therefore, a lot of energy has been put into organizing these applications. The process has been a long one, but also very educational. I've picked up some pointers that I will now...read more

Lebanon, Bahrain, and the U.A.E.

Wayne Wall — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:47:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Lebanon is one of the most difficult countries for a Middle East FAO to travel to. As you might guess, the security situation inside that country is prohibitive to having a normal, casual tour like in other countries. As such, anyone going into Lebanon who is an official must travel on their official passport, stay on the embassy compound, and only leave through pre-arranged trips that include armored vehicles and armed guards. As you can imagine, this makes seeing the country very difficult....read more

A Return to Israel

Wayne Wall — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:13:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
After returning from Israel without speaking to anyone in the embassy back in June, I decided that if another opportunity opened up I would utilize my close proximity (and multiple-entry visa) to go back to Tel Aviv to catch up on what I viewed as some of the most critical information in my region. So, I'm back in Tel Aviv finishing up the return visit, and it hasn't been disappointing. I've met with some key folks on both the civilian and military sides of the house and it is...read more

Distant Heat, Morocco, and my Big Fat Greek Adventure

Wayne Wall — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:36:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Okay, so the title for this one has a lot going on, but so have I! First of all, I was not back in Amman for long after my Oman trip before I was driving south to Aqaba to attend a very special event. The "Distant Heat" music concert has been going on annually for a number of years now and has grown fairly popular. This concert is reminiscent of the rave days but has a much more modern feel to it. Originally slated to take place in the middle of Wadi Rum, a very popular valley in...read more

Oman - Day 5

Wayne Wall — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:59:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
So far Oman has been great. This country has been through a renaissance since the current Sultan came to power in the early 70's. He has instituted progressive reforms that have increased the prosperity, infrastructure, and industry of his country many times over from what it was when he first took control of the government. I've enjoyed my time here so far, taking time in the capital city of Muscat to do a little scuba diving, or "visiting an underwater museum" as I like to...read more

Israel, Take Two

Wayne Wall — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:42:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
It was unfortunate that I was unable to post information on Israel more closely to the trip itself, but now that I am in Oman on yet another trip and finding myself in need of a little break I'm taking this opportunity to do a little catching up. Without giving a day-by-day narrative on every move we made, I would like to hit the highlights. First and foremost, Israel is a completely different country from all of its neighbors. Western style, influence, and to a large degree,...read more

Quick Update

Wayne Wall — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 12:05:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well, due to a power outage in my apartment recently I was unable to post my latest update which covered my trip into Israel, the Embassy Duty Officer position I held for a week, and a couple of other things. It was quite a long update and I will have to go back and re-create it. In the meantime, I wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive and that I haven't forgotten to keep the updates coming. In fact, I'm going to try to start doing at least one update per week so long as...read more

Quiet Time... And the Next Trip

Wayne Wall — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:54:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Greetings to everyone. I hope you have all been doing well the past couple of weeks. My apologies for taking so long to post since my last but as many other bloggers are saying, I find it much better to wait until I have something significant to say, in a quality-over-quantity sort of speaking. As the title of this entry suggests, the last few weeks have been very quiet compared to the previous months. I've spent a week in seclusion with my good friends the Jordanians, gone on an extended...read more

SOFEX

Wayne Wall — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:09:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
This past week was full of activity, and yours truly was busy for the first time this year with actual work to do. It was a welcome change, as I have been fighting the sluggish feeling that comes with not having a real purpose other than to serve one's self for such a long period of time. The Jordanian government hosted the 8th Annual Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference in Amman this week with hundreds of exhibitors representing a wide range of products and about a hundred...read more

Back in Amman, Again

Wayne Wall — Tue, 04 May 2010 07:40:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
I arrived back in Amman a few days ago from my second regional travel experience to Turkey, and what an experience it was. This time was quite different from the trip to Egypt, as I was traveling alone and in a country where none of the languages I speak seemed to be of any use at all. It made me a little nervous but in the end I had no real issues with getting myself where I needed to be. The only real disadvantage was not being able to have discussions with the locals, since most people in...read more

Routine?

Wayne Wall — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 07:13:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
As I drove back to Amman a few days ago from hanging out in the desert with the Jordanian Army it occurred to me that life, in Amman at least, was starting to settle into somewhat of a rhythm. I am spending my weekends getting my entertainment and rest in, three days hanging out in the desert with the Jordanians, and the remaining work days at the embassy filing travel vouchers for completed trips and getting things organized for the next trip. Most of the "newness" of things has...read more

Heading "Home" Again

Wayne Wall — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:24:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
After nearly two weeks in Egypt we have accomplished the main objectives of our stay and are finally ready to head back to good ole Amman, Jordan. As I write this, I'm sitting in a hotel in Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast pondering the events of the last two weeks, and how to condense such a story into something easily digestible. I could tell you all the things we saw and how numb my mind went after the third or fourth "really old thing with hieroglyphics on it", and I could tell you...read more

Egypt...

Wayne Wall — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:16:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Our arrival in Egypt was anything but easy. Our plan was to put our vehicle on a ferry from Aqaba and land in the Sinai in the town of Neweba. We did not expect to encounter as many problems as we did. On the Aqaba side, the immigration officer giving us our exit stamps "somehow" missed stamping one of our passports, something we didn't know about until a minute before we were supposed to drive the vehicle onto the ship. Fortunately the dock manager was sympathetic and allowed us to go...read more

The Adventure Continues

Wayne Wall — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:34:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
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...read more

Quick Update

Wayne Wall — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:20:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well I've gone from having very little to do to having quite a lot to do, but I'm not complaining. I have begun embedding with a Jordanian unit some distance from Amman and that has been an adventure unto itself. I am unfortunately not able to provide a lot of observations right now but later I will tell you what I can about the things I'm seeing. For now, suffice to say that they are quite different from us in a number of ways. They want to be much better, but change is slow because their ways...read more

Getting Settled In

Wayne Wall — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:14:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Everything continues to go very well here in Amman. About the only thing I can complain about is having a bed and a couple of couches that I think came from the Inquisition. But, I'm working on having that stuff fixed, enshallah. For now, my day-to-day activities consist of going to the embassy for anywhere between one and four hours, depending on what I am trying to accomplish, going for a run every other day to keep preparations up for the Dead To Red Ultra Marathon Relay next month, and...read more

Update from Amman

Wayne Wall — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:30:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well, it's been about two weeks since arriving and I finally feel like I'm getting settled into life here. There's been a lot going on between work and "home". Most of my time at work has been spent checking all of the blocks necessary to get established in the embassy. Part of that process was having a short office call with the Ambassador, which was a great opportunity for me to meet the Chief of Mission and hear his thoughts on how to best support our objectives here. Aside from that, I've...read more

Amman!

Wayne Wall — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well... it seems I have gone from having too little to talk about in school to having too much to talk about after it. I will do my best to condense all that has gone on since my last post into something easily digestible. For starters, the flight to Amman was a breeze... literally. According to the in-flight screens we had a 220 mph tail wind for a good bit of the flight (thanks, Jet Stream...) so we ended up getting in about an hour and a half early. I was picked up at the airport by an...read more

Smells like... victory.

Wayne Wall — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:26:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
This note was handed to me on my way out the door from re-taking the DLPT today. Enough said!...read more

Almost Time!

Wayne Wall — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:47:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Leave time has been great. I can't say enough how great it is to spend time with family and friends. I think this is the first time I've been able to spend an entire 30 days at home between assignments. The only down side has been figuring out what to do with so much time. Everyone keeps telling me that doing nothing is the point... and I get that... but it WAS a bit challenging to go from running 100mph to idle overnight. But, as I said it has been fun. The trip to Disney World was terrific,...read more

Home on Leave

Wayne Wall — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:38:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well, getting out of Monterey proved to be a logistical nightmare. Overseas assignment into a furnished apartment meant sending three different shipments (two to Jordan, one to storage), putting the truck on a boat to Jordan from a port north of San Fran, and shipping the bike via private hauler to my parents' house. Plus, packing the things I need to have with me for a month of leave and travel to Jordan. But, with a little help from my very cool neighbors, I was able to get it all done and...read more

Not My Finest Hour

Wayne Wall — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:59:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well... I've been putting off this update long enough. Unfortunately for yours truly I was unable to cross the level 2 threshold on the DLPT in Listening, finishing with a 1+. As such, I will not receive a diploma, but rather a certificate of completion. It has been a difficult week. The news came as I was on my way to the east coast for the Thanksgiving holiday. I had intended to celebrate, but that was very hard to do considering I didn't make the cut. Needless to say, I am quite disappointed....read more

Arab/Muslim Americans

Wayne Wall — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:32:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
I was planning on starting this entry off by talking about how life is treating me here at the last 100 meters of this marathon of learning Arabic, but in light of what has happened at Ft. Hood this last week I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts on its affects as someone who has learned a great deal about Arabs and Muslims over the last year and a half. When I returned from lunch the other day reports of the shootings had just begun to broadcast. We all sat down to start...read more

T-minus 5 Weeks and Counting

Wayne Wall — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:33:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
My apologies to those who are reading this blog regularly for the scarcity of updates here in the past couple of weeks. As things start to come to a close here, the to-do list starts to grow. Not only am I starting to kick into high gear on the studying, but the I'm also figuring out the pieces of the logistics puzzle for leaving Monterey in December and conducting the move to Jordan at the beginning of next year. This move is a bit more complicated than most others have been because the...read more

8 WEEKS

Wayne Wall — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:29:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
I couldn't be happier to have the end somewhere in sight. Seems like this last 14 months has all been one big blur. I think perhaps the thing I am looking forward to most is getting my personality back. Maybe it has been my own doing but it seems like I've really lost touch with the "old" me during this last year. My overall level of activity has diminished significantly and my normally active self has taken a back seat to the got-things-to-do side of me. Aside from that, I'm also looking...read more

MAJ Wall Update

Wayne Wall — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:19:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
The beat goes on here in Monterey. I've been sort of quiet lately because frankly there hasn't been much to update you all on. Day to day life rarely changes here, as everyone is stuck in a very regular schedule. I did recently have the opportunity to travel out of town for a few days, which was great because it gave me a change of scenery and a chance to see some very good friends. We are now fully into the third and final semester of training, and I think just about everyone is running out of...read more

One Plus and Two

Wayne Wall — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:15:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
We took the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) for the first time last week. It was a nervous time, as this is the first real indicator of how we've progressed in the course. Academic grades don't really count for much in the final analysis because they are based on tests that are narrow in scope and you can do well on them if you have excellent short-term memory. The DLPT is tested entirely from authentic recordings and reading passages and is cumulative, therefore you are really getting...read more

Quick Update

Wayne Wall — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:14:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well sports fans, seems I had a few technical difficulties last night that prevented me from updating my blog. I had everything typed out and when I started adding photos it erased the entire thing. I'll have to get back to it again later in the week but for now I wanted to give everyone a brief update. Had a really excellent weekend, to include a very late night/early morning at my favorite Arabic restaurant in Carmel called "Dametras", as well as an air show on Sunday in Salinas, CA...read more

Vineyards and Lockdown

Wayne Wall — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:32:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
This past weekend I had the great fortune of heading to wine country... Napa Valley. Never thought I'd get out there given how much time I've had to bury myself in studying, but Christy finally convinced me to get off my duff and go see something. I'm so glad she did... we had a great time with the neighbors and were able to visit about seven or eight wineries in a single day. I was in the middle of taking antibiotics for bronchitis (fun) so I did the driving. The views were spectacular! Napa...read more

GRE

Wayne Wall — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:23:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
As part of the FAO training program all officers are required to attend graduate school through the Army's Advanced Civil Schooling (ACS) program. The first step in getting to grad school through ACS is to take the Graduate Record Evaluation. For those who don't know, this is like the SAT, but a bit higher level. I knocked that out this past weekend in San Francisco and was pleased to have done very well in both the analytical and English sections. Better than expected actually. I was actually...read more

Back to work!

Wayne Wall — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:28:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well, I'm back at it again. Thank God for one-week academic breaks! I really needed it. My mind was worn out and I needed to step away for a while. The trip back to see my family in NC was perfect. I made few plans for the week and took each day as it came. I loved NOT planning and being on a schedule for once. I did take an impromptu trip to the mountains for two days, but other than that... just hung out with the family and some good friends. I even did some liesure reading! Whoa! But... now...read more

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back... We've All Been There

Wayne Wall — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:48:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well... taking a peak around the other blogs I've noticed that my updates aren't coming quite as frequently as others. I suppose the main reasons for that are that I haven't found anything lately to be that blog-worthy, and I've had to focus quite a bit on studying. There have been a few developments lately, though, so I figure its time for an update. Primarily, the victory I reported in Listening on the last unit exam was short lived, as immediately after my last post I learned that I received...read more

Success!

Wayne Wall — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 01:28:23 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
I've had a major victory this week. I've FINALLY scored higher than a C in Listening. Last week we had several exams, to include a mid-term-like exam. On both the Unit 8 and the mid-term I scored a solid "B" in Listening. I think a major contributing factor to this was that I pushed through several all-nighters listening to every single audio clip I could find from the last few weeks before the test. Or... maybe I'm just finally starting to "get it". Whatever the case, it was a HUGE relief to...read more

Cramming!

Wayne Wall — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:38:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
It always seems to me that no matter how much I study or how much extra effort I seem to give, I consistently feel as if I've done nothing at all. As usual, exam week is upon us and I'm planning a late night to squeeze in as much Arabic as possible. The schedule for the week runs like this: Monday P.M. Unit 8 Speaking Test Tuesday A.M. Unit 8 Reading and Listening Tests Tuesday P.M. Unit 8 Test Feedback Wednesday Review Thursday A.M. 2...read more

Honoring the Fallen

Wayne Wall — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:09:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Although I've always taken "a moment" in years past to remember what Memorial Day is all about, I think I've cherished time off from work and a long weekend far more than the opportunity to take a day to remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for life and liberty. Today I was honored to change that pattern, and it felt good. I volunteered my time to set up a memorial on Carmel Beach honoring all who have fallen in combat since 9-11. Christy and I were...read more

Update from MAJ Wall

Wayne Wall — Wed, 13 May 2009 09:00:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
We've been really busy lately. Today I actually had to go to one of my professors and cancel out of a study hall session that was supposed to be held this evening because, quite simply, I had run completely out of energy. From time to time you find yourself pushing a little too hard between your personal and private life and you really do need to take a tactical pause to regather your stamina before you go on. That's what happened to me today... but not without a good cause. The FAO's...read more

We're Halfway There

Wayne Wall — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:12:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
As we pass from Unit 7 to Unit 8, we mark the halfway point in the 16- month training program. I look back and reflect a bit on what we've been able to accomplish so far with mixed emotions. It's easy to see how some things that were extremely difficult in the beginning...things we never thought we would be able to wrap our heads around...are now easy, yet after so much time we, as a whole, are still far from where we want and need to be. The feeling that we know a lot at this point...read more

3.0!!!

Wayne Wall — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:12:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Finally, I've managed to pull my GPA up above the 3.0 threshold. What that means for me and five others in our class of 12 is that we will no longer be required to attend mandatory "7th hour" training each day after the regular classes. It also means that we will not have to attend an additional study hall session (usually 6:30 - 8:30 pm on Thursday evenings). I can't describe what a good feeling it is to finally be among the hundreds of students I've watched day after...read more

Ranger School

Wayne Wall — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:11:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
I've never been to Ranger School. Ever since my earlier years as a cadet at the Univ. of North Carolina (Go Heels!) I knew I wanted to be on tanks, and it didn't occur to me how Ranger School could help me until it was essentially too late for me to go. It is widely known to be one of the most physically demanding schools in the Army in that it constantly deprives you of comfort (sleep, food, dry clothes, etc.) in order to cause you to adapt to stressful combat conditions and maintain...read more

Immersion!

Wayne Wall — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:11:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
As I mentioned last time, each semester brings with it an immersion training event. For the first semester this lasts one duty day, and for following semesters (II and III) one day is added to each so that by the third semester all students are required to be away from home for three days and two nights. This past Friday was our first semester immersion day. The training is always conducted at a special facility at the old Ft. Ord. It is a fenced compound, complete with working areas and...read more

Semester Exams

Wayne Wall — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:00:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Yikes... have we been busy! The class had a long list of exams over the past week and a half and everyone is finally able to get a little oxygen after it all. As usual, we've had to bury ourselves in long vocabulary lists, listening passages, and speaking scenarios to prepare for it all. The Unit 5 exam and the end-of-semester exams were intense, and back-to-back, so time in between to study for the next exam equated to a normal school night. The lesson we've all learned is that you have to...read more

Crunch Time!

Wayne Wall — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:10:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Well, it's that time again. We have two major exams coming up next week and everyone is in full study mode... or at least we're trying to be. It's extremely difficult to find a balance between normal life activities and studying. One thing I'll say about being in school... any school... is that you never feel like you're done. No matter how much you know, you always get caught not remembering something and you get an overwhelming urge to barricade yourself at home and...read more

Al J'mal A'teybee Moonteree – The Natural Beauty of Monterey

Wayne Wall — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:27:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Rather than blogging about things going on this week I thought I would try to spice things up a bit and show you a bit of the area around Monterey. This will be a short post because I am a firm believer that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words... and I've brought several this time. I don't want anyone reading this to get the impression that all I do at language school is sit in front of three computers (sad, I know) and study 24/7. As I stated a few weeks ago, Monterey... and...read more

FAO Conference

Wayne Wall — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:00:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
What a tremendous week this has been for professional development! As the title says, this week most FAO's at the DLI are participating in the semi-annual Foreign Area Officer Conference (FAOC). The FAOC is an exceptional program designed to prepare FAO's for the years ahead as we continue the training program, and the assignments that follow our training. Many of us who have been at DLI for the past six months or so since the last FAOC have been doing our best to learn our languages while not...read more

Exam Week!

Wayne Wall — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:24:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Hello again! Well... everyone in my class is breathing a sigh of relief, and frustration, after this week's Unit 4 test. Relief because the last hard push to cram as much Arabic into our brains as possible (I watched the Super Bowl at a house party with a vocab list in my lap) is at an end and we can now settle back into our more normal study routines. Frustration because, as usual, everyone could have done something better, silly and often careless mistakes cost critical points, and...read more

About MAJ Wall

Wayne Wall — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:19:00 GMT

By: Wayne Wall
Hi! My name is Wayne Wall (go ahead... say it a few times quickly... everyone does!). I'm a Major in the Army and I am currently assigned to the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in sunny Monterey, CA. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to share some of my ongoing story with you and provide you with another view of Army life. I hope that if you are considering joining the Army, or making career decisions from within the Army, that you will find my tale both interesting and...read more