Charles Simonyi

Is the next guy in the pipeline for going to the International Space Station. He retired from Microsoft a couple of years ago but if you don’t recognize the name, he oversaw the development of Microsoft Word and Excel. He’s a huge aircraft buff, I had the pleasure of meeting him when I was working the Aviation Medicine Department in China Lake back in the late 90’s. He had come in for a select

Knott's Berry Farm Veteran's Tribute Nov 1-23

I'm making up for some lost blogging time as you may see, one of the best military deals on the west coast. This is from their website. Check out the Silver Bullet, no, not the one I give silly, the ride at Knotts! (if you don't know what a silver bullet is, ask any Sailor or Marine)Veteran's Tribute - Nov. 1 - 23 Knott's annual tribute to our Military, past and present. FREE admission for

A picture worth a thousand words

Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain NewsThe night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if she wanted

Medical needs more bodies

I’ve been watching on how the military I beefing up the numbers of people to handle the wartime workload. On paper it’s looking good, everybody but the Navy Reserve is meeting their recruiting goals (they’re 1500 down). Being at the tip of the spear and going into harms way the way, the Army and Marine Corps are staying ahead. They’re offering huge bonus’s to their service people and bonus’s for

A week out

I was driving to work the other day and it hit me that I was home. No more port-a-johns, being able to walk around the house without shower shoes or for that matter clothes and waking up to a kiss. There is so much color and movement, everything is eye candy that I’m sure will fall back into a normal tone in a couple of weeks but I’m taking advantage of the wonder that my eyes see.Taking some

Back in San Diego

Made a very smooth trip out of the middle east, I must be getting used to flying around the world. I’m at home safe and sound but I can’t come out and play because I’m grounded to my room. Thanks for reading and the support, I’ll be back up for air in a couple of days. Have a great weekend!

Kuwaiting take 6

For the sixth time in my life, I am Kuwaiting, it's sort of like the Purgatory you go through before going back into real life. Just about every time I come to Kuwait, it seems like I'm going to a new base and they say the base I was at last time was closed down. This new base as usual, is just another plot of sand in the middle of vast desert. I'm not sure there is a rhyme or reason for picking

Where I stand with Google

Just a brief post about some of the search terms people used to find their way here."sailors deployed in iraq not calling home" I'm somehow number one, yet I call home every day."soldiers cheating while deployed to iraq" I'm also number one yet if you know me, I worship the ground my bride walks on.I'm number 15 for "spider video", ok, I can see that."Navy Iraq" I'm number 7, wow, do you know how

Quarter of a Mil goes too..

Somebody from Corpus Christi Texas who visited me for a grand total of "0" seconds!

One of my Marines wrote this Poem

I clutch to your every resonance as though they were your last.You continue to utter the exact words my soul desires.I crave more, I want more!Some instances I feel remorse. I feel more than regret.The distance frustrates me.I must stay focused, I tell myself.I worry, can you handle it? A temporary leash applied at will.A letter size paper, 4 bold digits above. Your voice, secluded to a telephone

Quarter of a million this week

I started my blog back in January of 2004 days before I left on my first trip to Iraq, I was in a different relationship and different unit.  I remember those first days in Kuwait thinking to myself, what in the world have I got myself into?  Almost everybody going forward from Kuwait had no clue, good or bad what the next 6 months to a year would hold for them or even if they would make it

Safe back at my home away from home

With Ramadan going on, most of the fun trips off base have been canceled and there are hordes of upset troops but not I.   I was perfectly happy staying on base, I would have liked the deep sea fishing trip but alas, I'll have to wait till some later date back in the states.  Instead I went on an orgy of surfing the internet and phone calls home.   I went around MySpace posting messages strange

The sound of sadness

I was talking on the phones at the USO to my wife and the guy next to me started sobbing uncontrollably. I didn’t say anything to her but for the final 5 minutes of our conversation, the sound of his hushed sobs were ringing in my ears, what could cause this grown man so much sadness? Earlier I heard him talking about making command decisions, (I wasn’t trying to overhear couldn’t help catching a