Election Day

Lot's of chatter today about yesterday's historic election. And historic it was.

Record turnouts everywhere. Democracy broke out everywhere, in every community across the country.

But for the Red Falcons of the 82nd, who have been out in the field for 10 days, the soldiers patrolling in the deadly Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, to the Marines in Anbar, the airmen at Balad and the sailors at sea, it was just another day...another day at war.

And yesterday, we did our duty, which is why they do theirs.

A story of service and leadership

The Story by Dick Gordon



On the day when voters are choosing a new leader, this is one story that's certain to inspire.

Army Capt. Ivan Castro was on a rooftop in Iraq trying to secure a safer position for his unit when he was attacked by mortar rounds. Two soldiers under his command died in that attack, and Ivan sustained life-threatening injuries.

After months of rehab and dozens of surgeries, Ivan was finally able to get out of bed and start walking on his own. But he had one injury that could not be fixed: Ivan lost his sight. But blindness has not stopped Ivan Castro from achieving his goals. He has found way to continue to serve and lead despite his injury. He talks with Dick Gordon about how he made the decision to continue serving the nation as an officer in the Army's Special Forces.

To listen, click here.

NPR

SGT Mark says we should listen to NPR today at 1 p.m. One of the soldiers wounded in a mission that Mark participated is being interviewed. I will try to post the transcript or a link to audio file if that happens.

1984

This is SGT Mark's big brother Mike in 1984.

And now he is married. Where did all the time go?

If only he would finish the tiki bar. :)

Bark v. Bite

Today is the annual Georgia-Florida football. The city is full of Bulldog (bark) and Gator (bite) fans. The Gators football team went by in a full, sirens blaring, police-escorted motorcade this morning around 10 o'clock. By law, I have to root for the Gators because we live in Florida and because the Gator's quarterback played football at SGT Mark's high school (they didn't know each other).

I am betting on the Bulldogs this year because their fans have left all of their dogs at friends houses in our neighborhood and they are barking up a storm.

SGT Mark has the day off today and will be back in the field tomorrow. The good news is that is warming up a bit at Ft. Bragg. The bad news: he will miss the Jaguars game against Cincinnati.

News and notes

*The Red Falcons are still in the field and it is still very cold at Ft. Bragg, lows in the 30s. It should start to warm up over the weekend. Lots of funny stories from up there but that's for Mark to share;

*Sen. Obama will be in town Monday although details are unknown. Both he and Sen. McCain will have been here twice for public events. North Florida is a Republican stronghold and a high Republican turnout here is essential for Florida Republicans as a whole;

*Final toll from the wedding: One formal shirt. We believe it is swimming with the fishes;

*The Florida-Georgia game is in town this weekend. It is billed as the world's largest outdoor cocktail party, and rightly so. This town completely shuts down during the game and you don't want to be driving after the game;

*Gayle and I saw the Mayor at an event yesterday. He made sure to ask her about Mark and how he was doing. He is a very gracious man;

*Everyone returned safely from the wedding, even the Saudi travelers. We've had a few Skype conversations since;

*The wedding photographer promises us a website of all his wedding pictures. This could be our one and only consumer event of the holiday season.

Election Day

I am hoping the soldiers in 2nd Brigade had a chance to vote early or filed absentee ballots. They will be in the field Election Day with no opportunities to vote.

Miscellaneous notes

I watched a little of the delayed Phillies - Rays game last night. Now, I know the Rays are from Florida and play in an air conditioned/heated stadium. But a number of them were wearing blue hoodies and baseball caps with flaps. Some looked like they were members of the Blue Man Group. I know it was cold but it seemed a tad silly (they lost by the way).

Then I thought of 2nd Brigade, which is out in the field for an extended period. They slept (well maybe not slept) through a hail storm Tuesday with just ponchos. And of course the troops in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan are now heading into the winter season in the most spartan of conditions.

Baseball caps with flaps. Hmmmmm!

Weather forecast

The guys are in the field for the next few days or so. It was below freezing last night at Bragg and will stay cold for the remainder of the week. Winds are out of the northwest at 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. And they are sleeping under impromptu lean-tos made out of ponchos. If there were any residual hangovers, this ought to clear them up. Hmmmmmm!

It's a delightful 49 in FLORIDA this a.m.

Wedding notes

Gayle was out yesterday hunting for the tuxedos worn for the wedding. She found one tuxedo bag at the hotel. Inside the bag, she found a wet t-shirt, wet underwear, one sock, two pair of shoes and a lot of sand. No tux. The search goes on.

The perils of living in a beach community :)

Wedding pictures - first blast

The rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner (noreaster kept us inside), wedding and reception went off without a hitch. We are heading back to the hotel to hang out with the Saudi Arabia bound Middlebrooks and, I am hopeful, finding SGT Mark.



Tara and Mike during the rehearsal



Mike's friend Evan with Airborne Dad.



The groom with his grandmother.




Bob and Debbie Ryan, Mike and Tara Middlebrook

A little humor

from www.ptsdnetwork.net

THE DIFFERENTIAL THEORY OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES
(Snake Model)
Upon encountering a snake in the Area of Operation (AO)

Snake model not best for the snake

Paratrooper:
Kills the snake

Armor:
Runs over snake, giggles and looks for more snakes.

Infantry:
Ugh! Me See Snake. Me Like Snake. Ouch! Me No Like Snake.

Army Aviation:
Has GPS grid to snake. Couldn't find snake. Back to base for crew rest and a manicure.

Ranger:
Plays with the snake, then eats it.
Ranger (alt):
Assaults the snake’s home and secures it for use by friendly snakes.

SEAL:
Expends all ammunition., several grenades and calls for naval gunfire in a failed attempt to kill the snake. The snake bites the SEAL then retreats to safety.

Corps Artillery:
Kills snake, but in the process kills several hundred civilians with a massive TOT with three Field Artillery battalions in support. Mission is considered a success and all participants are awarded Silver Stars. (Cooks, Mechanics, Legal Clerks etc)

Marine Recon:
Follows the snake and gets lost.

Para rescue:
Wounds the snake in first encounter, and then feverishly works to save the snakes life.

U.S. Special Forces:
Makes contact with the snake, builds rapport, wins its heart and mind, then trains it to kill other snakes.

And the computer says....

Sigh

We are planning an outdoor wedding rehearsal dinner tomorrow night, but it looks like Mother Nature has other plans. Yikes. Last time we had a weather forecast like this - yep, you guessed it - TS Fay.




Friday
Windy. Showers and chance of thunderstorms. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Highs in the mid 70s. Southeast winds 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.

There is a 100 percent chance of something else happening this weekend though: Mike and Tara's wedding.

As expected, still no word from SGT Mark because he is in the field. But his tux is hanging in the closet.

War reporting

With the election in its final days, some of the mainstream media have gone back to do some war reporting. But this time they are in Afghanistan, particularly in the Korengal Valley, a Taliban and Al Qaida stronghold. It's a treacherous place where international troops are woefully undermanned. Vanity Fair has written two amazing stories about the Valley and now NBC's Richard Engel was in. You can see it here.

Hurry up and wait

The brigade is deploying to the field today for 10 days. After some teeth gnashing and butt chewing, the Sergeant Major relented and let Mark off for the wedding. He will be in Friday and out on Sunday. But at least we will have a Best Man.

Five days to go

The clock is ticking. The remnants of TS Fay are being hauled away. There has been a spike in mulch sales at the local Home Depot. It can mean only one thing: the wedding is almost here. Being our first wedding, we are obsessed with details.

Kudos to young Jon. He stepped up yesterday after a Saturday tussle between myself and a 15x20 nasty old carpet left me hobbling around the house like an 80 year old. Jon mulched most of the yard but not without an economic incentive. Seems like TS Hannah left him without the right sized surf board and Mom, the chief financial officer, relented in return for some chores around the yard.

Seems like teenagers are recession proof.