Sunday news and notes

• Mark's former 1SG (now SGM) retired Thursday and was awarded the Legion of Merit for his service. He had a profound impact on my son and his wife, who was one of  our Family Readiness Group's leaders, kept Gayle and I grounded during what was arguably one of the more difficult times in our lives. Congratulations to both and thank you for being there when we needed it. The Legion of Merit, by the way, is a very big deal.

•  Health update: I cease to be radioactive March 6. That means I can take down the radioactive "danger to small children and pregnant women" signs and have to pay up for the thin mints I ordered from the Girl Scouts pre-surgery. I will also lose my excuse for not doing the grocery shopping :)

• My very generous brother and SIL gave me an Amazon.com Kindle (an e-reader) to help recuperate and I have been plowed through three e-books in the last couple of weeks.  On my fourth now. It's been very helpful getting through some of the more tedious Winter Olympic events.

Facebook phenomena

I was late to the Facebook phenomenon. Like many, I am annoyed every time Facebook changes the format. However, I have reconnected with some old friends and that's been fun.

But more amazingly, the U.S. Army is now regularly using Facebook as a way of communicating with their military families. This is a big change from just two years ago, when we were totally dependent on Family Readiness Groups. Right now, I am following the Falcon Brigade (2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne), my son's former unit, which is in Haiti, and the Devil Brigade (1st BCT, 82nd Airborne), which is in Al Anbar in Iraq. If nothing else, this makes Facebook a worthwhile endeavor.

Fort Hood, Army still seeing suicide problem

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By Sig Christenson - Express-News

Fort Hood had more suicides in January than any other installation as the Army searched for solutions to a baffling mystery.
Despite a series of programs designed to tackle the problem at the post and throughout the Army, the service's January suicide mark still came close to matching the one from the same month last year — 29.
Three of the 27 suicides reported Wednesday occurred on Fort Hood, which has sent soldiers to combat since the 2003 Iraq invasion.
The chief of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force talked of the service's efforts to counter the problem rather than discussing the latest numbers, which picked up where a grim 2009 left off.
“We've made significant changes in our health promotion, risk reduction, and suicide prevention programs, policies and initiatives,” Col. Christopher Philbrick said. “Now in 2010, we're going to move from a floodlight to a laser light — identifying our most effective programs, so we can target and reinforce what's working and fix what isn't.”
Last year was the worst for suicides among active-duty soldiers since the Army began tracking those deaths in 1980, with 160 GIs killing themselves at home and in the war zone. That was up from 140 in 2008.

The rest of the story can be found here.

Off topic: Birthday T-shirt

Well, if you can't laugh.....

My son has a unique sense of humor.

Off topic: Monday headlines

 

But what are the options?

Please click on image to see it larger.

Off topic: Monday headlines

 

Click on this to see the image better.

This is from the Jacksonville Journal.

Haiti stats from 2nd Brigade Combat Team

The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the World Food Program distributed 1,430,220 lbs. of food at distribution points throughout Port-au-Prince, bringing the total for the operation to 5,149,675 lbs. U.S. forces were present at all 14 sites and 8 sites were secured solely by the Paratroopers.

Thoughts and prayers to the Ft. Bragg family

This week's fallen in Afghanistan and Pakistan:

Capt. Daniel Whitten, 28, of Grimes, Iowa

Pfc. Zachary G. Lovejoy, 20, of Albuquerque, N.M.
. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Feb. 3 in Timagara, Pakistan
Fallen soldiers:

Sgt. 1st Class David J. Hartman, 27, of Okinawa, Japan. He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

Sgt. 1st Class Matthew S. Sluss-Tiller, 35, of Callettsburg, Ky. He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

Staff Sgt. Mark A. Stets, 39, of El Cajon, Calif. He was assigned to the 8th Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne), 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

Off topic: You Light Up My Life Lyrics // LeAnn Rimes

Sort of has a new meaning today now that the radiologist and surgeon have lit me up.

:)

Red Falcons in Haiti

Clearly a daunting task

Photos by Julie Dermansky

Courtesy of 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne's Facebook page

Off topic: Monday headlines

 

He was very popular but ...

Since Jay Leno won't be back on the air until after the Winter Olympics, I am reviving a bit he used to do on Monday's called Headlines. These ran in newspapers for which I once worked. . .some in papers I used to read.  I've had them in a file for a very long time. Enjoy.

Sigh. Another outrage

If there is a benefit to spending so much time being stuck with needles and registering for procedures, it's some of the interesting people you meet.

On Friday, a young intake clerk was running through all of the permission forms needed for next week's seed implant. She asked if there was another person beyond my wife that should be listed as an emergency contact. SGT Mark, of course (the medical training he received in the Army has been very helpful).

She started talking about her twin brother who has recently completed his tour of duty with the Marine Corps. He is now in Charlotte, NC attending school and waiting on his GI Bill benefits. He went to a restaurant that was hiring servers and applied for a job to make ends meet.

On his application, he listed his recent job experience:

Squad leader.
One tour in Iraq. Just back from Afghanistan.

The restaurant manager looked at the application and said "You haven't really served anyone in quite a while."

He didn't get the job.

He told his twin later: "Served anyone? What did he think I was doing the last five years. I was making life-and-death decisions every day. And I'm not qualified to wait tables?"

His sister was outraged and so are we.

82nd Airborne's Mission in Haiti

Video from the CBS report

82nd Airborne Makes a Difference in Haiti

Trained for War, the 3,400 Troop Brigade has a Different Mission in Haiti

By Bill Whitaker

(CBS)  At 6:00 a.m. in Port-au-Prince, troops from the 82nd Airborne wade into the heart of desolation - handing out 55-pound bags of rice to the desperately hungry. Afternoons, they're at it again.

CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports they've been doing this every day for two weeks -- and every day it's a contact operation.

After every delivery 28-year-old Captain Edward Kim from Tacoma, Washington and his men assess what went right, and what went wrong.

"How do we get better at this," Capt. Kim asked.

How to Help Victims

Food distribution is just one of the 82nd's missions. The 3,400 troop brigade has a huge footprint in this crumbled capital: treating almost 500 wounded and sick, flying 50 of those worse off to the U.S. medical ship Comfort; supplying and feeding a sprawling tent city of 50,000 displaced citizens. It's a round-the-clock operation.

They're on the front line of the massive clean-up and fixing the destroyed power grid - America's mighty military arm extending a helping hand.

"It's rewarding to see people smile," said Staff Sgt. Adam Farmer. "And actually know that a little bit of something you're doing can change someone's day."

Complete Coverage: Devastation in Haiti

Helping can be hazardous, but rewarding.

"I thank God for the American People is coming in Haiti, try to help Haitians," said Pierre Dubrezil an earthquake victim.

"We're the face of the Army," said Sgt. Brian Robinson. "You see an 82nd patch, and you know the Army's out there making a difference.

Making a difference and saving lives.

NY Times: Foot on Bomb, Marine Defies a Taliban Trap

Lance Cpl. Ryan T. Mathison, left, after stepping on a mine that did not go off. An ordnance disposal team destroyed the explosive. More Photos >

By C. J. CHIVERS

Published: January 23, 2010

SHOSHARAK, Afghanistan — If luck is the battlefield’s final arbiter — the wild card that can trump fitness, training, teamwork, equipment, character and skill — then Lance Cpl. Ryan T. Mathison experienced its purest and most welcome form.

On a Marine foot patrol here through the predawn chill of Friday morning, he stepped on a pressure-plate rigged to roughly 25 pounds of explosives. The device, enough to destroy a pickup truck or tear apart several men, was buried beneath him in the dusty soil.

It did not explode.

Lance Corporal Mathison’s weight triggered the detonation of one of the booby trap’s two blasting caps. But upon giving an audible pop and tossing small stones into the air, the device failed to ignite its fuller charge — a powerful mix of Eastern Bloc mortar rounds and homemade explosives spiked with motorcycle parts, rusty spark plugs and jagged chunks of steel.

The rest of the story can be found here.

Cool graphic

Let's go Falcons.

Haiti aid mission uses lessons of war

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — This is not war, this overwhelming humanitarian effort. But after eight years of dealing with counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, the lessons learned there — getting into the communities to understand the people’s needs — apply here to the job of distributing food and water and providing medical help.

Haiti+aid+mission+uses+lessons+of+war