Journal 05-11 Oct

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05 Oct 09

Bible Reading: II Samuel 14-15

TAPA 1703, Theologian Jonathan Edwards is born in East Windsor, Connecticut

Workout: 60 mins on elliptical (5 miles); sit ups, stretching

Breakfast: Protein Shake, oatmeal w mixed berry yogurt, coffee

Lunch: Pastrami wrap, pineapple chunks, V-8, diet coke

Supper: Taco salad, buffalo wings, V-8, diet pepsi

06 Oct 09

Bible Reading: II Samuel 16-18

TAPA 1866, In Indiana, brothers John and Simeon Reno stage the first robbery of a moving train in the United States.

Workout: 60 mins on elliptical (5 miles); sit ups, stretching

Breakfast: Protein Shake, oatmeal w mixed berry yogurt, coffee

Lunch: Turkey wrap, fruit salad, V-8, Diet Coke

Supper: Chicken wings, chili beans, broccoli salad, V-8, diet pepsi

Box from Lora!: LS Shirts, wintersilks, Kabul Beauty School book

Box from Drugstore.com: liquid soap, deodorant, vitamins, alka-seltzer cold, papaya enzyme (protein digestion), waterpik flosser!

Was asked (told) I was going to Bagram Saturday with the S2 (Major Violand) at his request to attend an Intelligence sharing conference with him.

When asked whether I had any restrictions along those lines, I whimpered, “I promised my wife that I would not leave the FOB any more than I absolutely had to…” I am going.

07 Oct 09

Bible Reading: II Samuel 19-21

TAPA 2001, U.S. troops launch Operation Enduring Freedom, the campaign to destroy terrorist training camps in Afghanistan.

Workout: 60 mins on elliptical (5 miles); sit ups, stretching

Breakfast: Protein Shake, oatmeal w peach yogurt, coffee

Lunch: Chicken enchilada, chicken quesadilla, fruit salad, pecan pie, V-8, diet coke

Supper: Beef stew over noodles, steamed cauliflower, collard greens, V-8, diet pepsi

08 Oct 09

Bible Reading: II Samuel 22-23

TAPA 1918, Alvin York almost singlehandedly kills two dozen German soldiers and captures 132 prisoners in France’s Argonne Forest.

Workout: 60 mins on elliptical (5 miles); sit ups, stretching

Breakfast: Protein Shake, oatmeal w mixed berry yogurt, coffee

Lunch: Buffalo wings, cheese enchilada, carrots, fruit salad, V-8, diet pepsi

Supper: Jambalaya, corn, pecan pie, cranberry juice, pineapple juice

09 Oct 09

Bible Reading: II Samuel 24 – I Kings 1a

TAPA 1876, Alexander Graham Bell, in Boston, and Thomas Watson, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hold the first telephone conversation over outdoor wires.

Workout: 60 mins on elliptical (5 miles); sit ups, stretching

Breakfast: Protein Shake, oatmeal w mixed berry yogurt, coffee

Lunch: Cheeseburger w sautéed mushrooms and onions, chili beans, fruit salad, pecan pie, V-8, diet coke

Two bouts of diarrhea, trip to medic for Immodium and Pepto Bismol. Hope I am not still sick in the morning when I take a helo ride!

Supper: Crab cakes, green beans, rice, grapes, V-8, diet pepsi

10 Oct 09

What a wonderful way to start the day: No diarrhea!

Bible Reading: I Kings 1b - 3

TAPA 1845, The U.S. Naval Academy opens in Annapolis, Maryland, with 56 students.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, coffee

Just after breakfast, I boarded an up-armored HumVee with full “battle-rattle” (Kevlar helmet and Individual body armor – all 53 pounds of it.) The four of us, Major David Violand, Sgt Kimberly Zelton, Specialist Howell and I drove across the street to the helicopter boarding area. We waited a few minutes, weighed our baggage and ourselves, and then boarded the helo. All 14 of us got situated, there were others, and were told we were to take a 30 second flight to the refueling station, disembark, refuel, then head to Bagram. That we did. Once in the air, we were told we were all on the wrong bird. So, we turned around and exchanged passengers and baggage with another helo, same model, Sikorsky S-61, Russian. Then, we got as far as FOB Airborne, where we had to land, refuel that bird then onto Bagram. There were several firsts for me during that two hour period:

First time I ever flew backward

First time I ever flew sideways

First time I ever flew on two helicopters in the same day

First time I ever refueled two helicopters in the same day

First time I ever was in Wardak province (FOB Airborne)

I made sure Major Violand knew about all these “firsts.”

While attending the National Intelligence sharing conference in the Jirga Center at Bagram Air Base, an Afghani Police chief was telling a joke. All the Afghanis (and the interpreter) laughed. Then, when the interpreter finished the retelling in English, all we English-speakers laughed – at which point I leaned over to Major Violand and uttered, “That’s the first time I ever laughed at an Afghani joke.” The rest of the conference was not so funny.

I spent the evening with the Task Force Paladin, ORSA director and some 82^nd Airborne Division Analysts talking shop. Then, again the next morning. Got some Burger King, Dairy Queen and Popeye’s while there. Even though there are thousands of people at Bagram, they are mostly transient, therefore, without a real mission. The place has no heart, no soul. I felt very alone there and could not wait to get back to Shank (words I never thought I would utter.)

Lunch: Beef/chicken fajita meat, cheese enchilada, salad, mexicorn, mexirice, soda

Supper: Whopper, Chicken Sandwich, Strawberry Shake (Burger King and ‘Diary’ Queen – the locals mispelled Dairy)

11 Oct 09

Bible Reading: I Kings 4-7

TAPA 1986, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev open two days of arms-control talks in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Breakfast: two eggs over hard (that’s the only way they make them at Bagram) biscuit, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, bread/raisin pudding, coffee, GJ Juice

Lunch: Popeye’s 3 piece meal: spicy!

Flight back to Shank was quite welcome. Took only one helo, and no refueling stops, to get there, this time!

Supper: Spaghetti w meat sauce, Italian sausage, corn, fruit salad, V-8, diet coke