I'm sitting in the engineering computer lab at my college. The fact that I can use these computers is a surprise to me. It's something I learned today in my surveying class. Things are going well in school so far. I am happy to be away from the daily grind, and onto something that I fell is more productive. At least I am getting closer to my goal each day that I come to class.

A few of my classes are going to be challenging for me. I am glad that right now I am not working. This means that I have the rest of the day to concentrate on studying. This is good because I have a lot of studying to do. I feel like I'm way behind in Calculus and Chemistry at this point. I don't remember anything from Trig and it apperears that I will be needing the things that I learned in that class to pass Calc. Concerning Chemistry; I hope that I am not really as far behind as I appear. My professor assured me that I shouldn't have much trouble if I apply myself. I am definatly starting pretty much from scratch. I took a bunch of physics in high school, but not much chemistry. At least I am familiar with the scietific method.

There appers to be a spider living in this keyboard. He is hanging out on the "Wake" key at the moment. I gess I will leave his house alone.

Brandon

Settling in to Anchorage

I am still alive and well. I have been busy getting settled into my new home. I started school today, it went well. I'll post more when I get internet at my home, I'm having a few problems. Things will slow down soon, I hope, and I will have more time to blog. Lots of stories and pictures (I got my new camera!!!).

Brandon

Heading Out

Today’s the day. I am finally going home. I am more than ready to see everyone again. I can’t believe I got this home-sick in such a short amount of time. It was nothing to spend seven months over seas. I guess it’s all about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. The purpose of coming here was to advance myself in my current job. This is far less important to me than what I was doing on float. I think it would have been helpful if I was a little more busy the last couple of weeks. At any rate, this has been an informative assignment. I have learned a great deal and have had the opportunity to see a city I hadn’t seen before. I am now more baffled than ever by those who insist that going to college in Fairbanks is better than going in Anchorage. Not only is Fairbanks ridiculously colder than Anchorage, its downright boring. I will have to investigate further at some point.

I finished the "Matrix" movie that I started. I guess I’m glad I finally know how it all ends. I have closure. The other movie I had rented, "Be Cool" maybe, turned out to be a sequel…I think. Basically; I was very confused by this movie. I don’t think it was really all that bad, but I am unqualified to say for sure. Either way it killed some time last night. Once it was over I was able to get to sleep relatively quick. Now I am getting dangerously close to time to leave. I had better get this posted before I run out of time.

Brandon

A Little About My Job

Suffering from a compete lack of inspiration at the moment. Perhaps I should describe my job. Tomorrow is actually my last day for the summer so it’s a little late, but whatever. I went into the local state forestry office looking for a job fighting wild fire. I wanted to be part of one of the firefighting crews up here. It just happened that May was too late in the year to get into one of the classes. After a discussion with the very helpful administrator at the front desk, I was set up with a chance to take a dispatching class. Not what I wanted, but I was assured it was a job that was in demand and paid well. I was a little uneasy when I found out that I was the only person in the class who was not already employed. When I brought up the concern, I was quickly assured the office in Palmer would have no problem finding a job for me. This in fact proved true. After finishing the class and submitting an application, I was called and asked to come and work. No interview, just strait to work. Works for me.

I went into a 12+ hour a day job, working seven days a week. This was a huge improvement over the job I had as an electrician. My company wasn’t letting us work overtime, and they paid several dollars less an hour. My job consisted of keeping folks updated with current information (resources, weather, etc.) and dispatching local fire resources in Palmer. This dispatching is like a simpler version of 911. We take calls and send fire trucks or helicopters to fight the fires. We keep track of what everyone does and get them whatever they want. After a month or so of doing this, I moved over to work with our aircraft. Again I was working with a radio, this time talking to planes flying all types of missions. Most flying was moving people or supplies. We also had air tankers that were dispatched from our office. This is the fun part of the job, making the big DC-6 tanker fly away.

I left all that glory behind 24 days ago. I came to Fairbanks to work in a logistics office. Out of this office I move people all over the state and country. Different areas send requests for people to fill whatever position they have open, and I find them the people they need. I have a pool that consist of the entire state of Alaska, and extends into the entire US via a central office in Idaho. There’s no radio here, just the computer, a fax machine, and the phone. These are the tools of my job. Once I have located the person needed to fill the position, it is my job to make whatever arraignments are required to get them where they’re going. This usually consists of a phone call to the travel agent.

Tomorrow will be my last day in this position. I head back to school and will hopefully return to my office in Palmer when school is out. I also hope to have the chance to work in my electrician job on my days off, like I did this year. We’ll see if they want to give me the work; it makes for a long summer, but a profitable one.

Brandon

A Movie, a Phone, and Laundry

Didn’t get to finish my movie last night. Besides the fact that "Matrix Revolutions" is a really long movie, I had some distractions. Actually one distraction…my phone. Not that I am complaining, I would rather be talking with a friend than watching a movie. There was also laundry to distract me, but that wasn’t a big deal. Once I found detergent that is. The barracks office issues detergent, but by the time I made it down there it was closed. By chance a lady with whom I have been to the bar came into the lobby area and I asked if she knew where I could find detergent. She offered me the use of hers, so I followed to her room. Detergent in hand I set out to conquer my dirty laundry!

Anyway…after getting my laundry in I made my first call. My cousin didn’t answer. On to option two; Shaughna did answer. Shaughna and I talked for a while, good conversation about nothing. Sometimes the best thing to talk about is nothing. My cousin tried calling while I was talking to Shaughna, I don’t ever pick up the call waiting...I don’t even know why I have it, ‘cause it’s free I guess. So after ending the conversation with Shaughna I called my cousin. Short conversation. She wanted to know the whereabouts of a key and a garage door opener. With that out of the way, I started the movie. After about an hour and a half my phone started ringing again. This time it was my girlfriend. After about 20 minutes of conversation I shut the movie off and laid down. We continued to talk until I was ready to pass out, then we said goodnight and I went to sleep. All in all it was a good night.

Brandon

p.s. I did get my laundry done amidst all that.

Just Another Day

Once again I find myself staring into this computer screen. I have been here for...23 days (had to count). Thankfully I have only one full day left. I am ready to return to my "normal" life. I will be back just in time to undergo another major change. Thankfully this change is a welcomed one. I am finally moving to Anchorage to attend UAA. I have been living in the Mat-Su Valley for the past two years. It's a beautiful area, but there is a severe lack of things to do. I should specify...there is a severe lack of things to do in winter. If a person does not own a snowmachine (snowmobile for any outsiders), there is little to do. Dog sledding requires dogs, and skiing requires light (something that is limited in Alaskan winters). A person who works days (during the few hours of daylight) has very few options of entertainment after hours. I am hopeful that Anchorage will prove more entertaining.

My last three movie choices were not worth spending much time on. I watched "Spanglish," "Starsky and Hutch," and "Mr. Deeds." I don't have any desire to see any of these movies again. My next two offerings will be "Matrix Revolutions," and "Be Cool." I am not expecting much from either of these movies. I've seen the first two "Matrix" movies. The first was better than the second. Other than that...Shaughna and my cousin Jen have both called today, so I must return those calls. Also I have decided to do my laundry tonight...pack tomorrow...leave Wednesday. I hope my life becomes more exciting soon.

Brandon

Some Motivational Shots of Operation Enduring Freedom
Courtesy of 26th MEU combat camera.

Some Thoughts on Idiots

I can’t begin to imagine where these people come from. I’m talking about the likes of Cindy Sheehan and her friends. The media is still feeling the need to give her and her supporters a national voice, and every time I hear from them I feel more confounded. What experience in their lives lead them to believe that leaving a defenseless people surrounded by their enemies to fend for themselves was a good idea? This kind of policy has come back to bite us in the ass again and again, and yet here they are calling for it once more. Where were Sheehan and her friends in 1991 when we encouraged the Kurds in Iraq to rise up against Saddam? Did they not see what happened to them because they trusted us? They believed that they had our support, and what happened? We sat back and watched them get slaughtered by a madman!!! Were Sheehan and her friends just not paying attention? Did they not see what price these people paid for trusting us? Now they call for us to remove our troops from Iraq. Now they want us to leave these people in the valley of the shadow of death with no one to watch their backs? Our troops have marched through that valley many times before; they can guide the Iraqis through. The terrorists inside of Iraq are already massacring the patriots of that nation. If we leave the Tigris and Euphrates will flow red. They will flow with the blood of freedom fighters let loose by those who would enslave the people of Iraq in the extremist Muslim bondage that they hope to someday impose upon us.

Our country has failed in diplomacy enough times; we have paid a dear price for our failures. When Ho Chi Minh asked for our help to free his people after WWII from French colonialism we failed to act. We had supported a free Vietnam when they were fighting Japan, but after the war we turned our backs on Vietnam. We funded the return of the French to a country that could have been an alley in the East. We chose the allegiance of France over the freedom of Vietnam. Now we have the allegiance of neither, and have paid the price of Vietnam with American blood.

We can ignore our Nation’s mistakes or we can learn from them. We have stabbed allies in the back before and paid the price. If we heed the words of the grieving mother, desperate to bring meaning to the death of her son, we will once again cause devastation to befall an alley. Removing our troops from Iraq will not bring them peace. They will be attacked by the terrorists who have been hardened in this conflict wherever they go. The freedom fighters in Iraq will be slaughtered, and our country will once again have the blood of patriots on its hands.

Brandon

Brief Update

My day is winding down. I thought I'd make a short post before I headed out. The weather here has made a drastic change. It's now overcast and raining. The sun had been somewhat blocked out by the smoke, and now it is just gone. I can't tell how much smoke is hanging out, or if any is. The people here are hoping that this is a permanent change of weather. We could have our fires put out the natural way. Either way I'm out of here Wednesday and my fire season will be over. Right on.

Brandon

My Beginnings in the Marines

The day is getting off to a slow start. I hope it stays that way. I like busy days, but Sunday is not a good day to be busy. My job consists of trying to find people to work at a moment's notice. This is not a good thing to try and do on a Sunday. I hate to call around to people who are at home on a Sunday to ask if they want to go work on a fire. It's much better to do all that on the weekdays, when I can call people at work.

Since things are slow, I think this would be a good chance to write a little about my time in the Marines. I guess the story starts in Oregon, the fall after I graduated high school. I started college at the local community college in Salem, and had a miserable semester. About the only class I did well in was the writing class I took. It hadn't occurred to me that in my other classes I would have to put out an effort to pass. In high school, effort was never required. I got abysmal grades that first semester. In addition I had foolishly fallen for a girl who had other things in mind. I was too short and had the wrong eye and hair color for her, so my friendship with her was impossible to maintain. Simply put, I was frustrated in my situation and was looking for a way out. The out I was looking for came in the form of a phone call from a recruiter.

I had decided before that the only branch of service I would join was the Marine Corps. My grandfather had been a Marine, and the more I learned about them the more I respected them. The recruiter that called me was a Marine recruiter, and he told me of this thing called the "reserves." I hadn't realized before that the Marines had reserves, and was now very interested. Next thing I knew I was in the recruiter's office, and was learning all about the Marines. It wasn't long before I forgot about the reserve thing, and was looking at the options of active duty. The idea attracted me. It was a chance to get away and to move out of my mom's house. I think that there was one extra strong draw for me.

I'm from a single parent household. I have one older sister and one younger. I was raised by my mom, with limited male interaction. I had a stepfather for a couple of years when I was around ten, but other than that the men in my life had all been friends and neighbors. I can't complain about the quality of my young life, my mother could not have been any more loving and supportive. However, when I reached my adult life, I felt that something was missing. I didn't know how to be a man, I was deathly afraid of someday having children. How could I be a father? As I sat in the recruiter's office, I realized that I had a chance to learn about being a man. I had a chance to see what it's like to have brothers, to have male role-models. This alone would have been enough to get me to sign up.

Now that I have described why I joined, I must address a sensitive issue. Do recruiters lie? Honestly, what I was told about the Marines was true. There is a brotherhood, we can accomplish anything because of the Marine standing to our left and right. There is a bond that ties us together and although we don't always get along, I know I can count on my fellow Marine to do everything in his power to protect me. I know this because I would do anything in my power to protect my fellow Marine. This being said, the details of my enlistment didn't match what I had been told in the recruiter's office.

I initially signed up as a combat engineer. After learning more about what it was a combat engineer did, I had a change of heart. I went back into the recruiter's office to change my MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) to the 0300 field...infantry. This did not make my recruiter happy. My ASVAB scores were high, much higher than average. After asking for my MOS change, the head of the recruiting station called me into his office and went to work on me. He told me that there were no available positions in the 0300 field for months. I would not be able to go to boot camp when I had planned to. He talked to me then about his MOS. He had been a radio operator. He showed me pictures of himself with the infantry platoon he served with. He explained to me how as a radio operator I could serve with an infantry platoon and still learn a marketable skill. What he told me made sense, and I respected him enough to value his opinion. I would go in as a radio operator.

As things progressed, I became concerned about where I would be stationed. I was aware that there was a policy in the Marines that required me to serve a year overseas. This didn't concern me, I was more concerned with the possibility of being stationed on the East Coast. The farthest east I had ever been was Ohio. My family was on the West Coast, I had no family on the East Coast, and didn't want to be that far away. My recruiters explained to me that since I didn't want to be stationed on the East Coast, it shouldn't be a problem for me to stay in the West. I was being recruited on the West Coast, boot camp was on the West Coast, radio operator school was on the West Coast, it didn't make any sense to send me to the East Coast for anything. In addition I was told that it was a common practice to give the best performing students in MOS school their choice of duty station.

The first time I sensed something amiss with what I was told by my recruiters was the day I signed the contract for my MOS. It's possible to get a "guaranteed" MOS in the Marines, so when you choose your MOS you sign a contract with that choice on it. The recruiter pointed out the code showing what MOS I had chosen on this contract, but my eyes caught another MOS code further down the contract. I asked my recruiter what it was, and he explained that a secondary MOS is assigned with every contract, and the Marine Corps makes the final decision of what MOS you will be assigned based on needs. He assured me that it was rare for an MOS to be changed, and as long as I let it be know what I wanted things would be fine.

Fast forward past bootcamp to Marine Combat Training. It is at this two week school that Marines are assigned their MOS. From this school we go directly to our MOS school. It was one of the first couple of days there when we lined up to hear our MOS read off. When my name was called I heard 1141. "What the hell is 1141?" I went over to the MOS list on one of the walls, and looked up 1141. I found 1141 listed as "Basic Electricain." This was not a happy moment. When working on cars in shop class the thing I hated the most was wiring. I have very strong feelings about electricity. I hate being shocked, I hate wires, I hate little electrical components that always have tiny screws that fall out and can never again be found. I knew right away I would hate being an electrician. I joined the Marines to fire weapons, to go for long walks in the woods, to sleep in the mud under the stars, these are not things electricians do!!!

My shock was doubled when I looked to see where the school for electricians was located. Courthouse Bay NC. WHERE?!?! What's NC stand for? North Carolina!!! Where is North Carolina?!?! The reality of the answer to this question hit hard. I'm not supposed to be leaving the West Coast. How am I being sent all the way to the East Coast? Not only the East Coast, but the SOUTH!!!! A confederate state!!! There must have been a mistake. I went to the SGT left in charge of us and found out who I needed to talk to about getting this corrected. After discussing the problem with this man (a discussion that lasted about five seconds). I found out that this was simply the way things were, and there was no way to change it.

I settled into this reality, and decided that I would be the best possible student I could be. I would go to North Carolina (hadn't been there before..could be fun), and I would finish school at the top of my class. I would request to be stationed on the West Coast, and they would send me there because I would have proved my worth.

I went to North Carolina. I was open-minded...I had a good time...and I did my very best in school. As class wound down, I was a fraction of a percentage point behind the number one student in the class. This was impressive since most of the class was made up of reservists who were sophomores and juniors in college. Here I was, the college drop out and I was beating their pants off. I was sure I was going to get my choice of duty stations. The moment of truth came, and the instructor started down the list of the students. Nobody in the class had chosen East Coast, and as she went through the list each student was getting their choice. It was a combination of Okinawa and California. The list was alphabetical, myself being a "T" I was second from last on the list. When she got to my name I heard: 8th ESB, main side. HUH? I needed a little clarification. What's 8th ESB, and where's main side?

The answer: 8th Engineer Support Battalion...Camp Lejeune NC. I was floored. This being a duty station within the US, it was a three year deal. The next three years I would be stuck in North Carolina. Why? Because my name fell second to last alphabetically. Both myself and the person after me got the same assignment. My performance in the class meant crap...my future would not be determined by my performance, simply by where I fell in alphabetical order. This realization would make the next couple of years very difficult. I will have to wait to explain that.

Now I will answer the question from earlier. Did my recruiter lie? I truly believe he told me exactly what he believed. He thought things were done differently than they were in reality. Had he known this I believe he would have prepared me better. My recruiter didn't try and sugar-coat the Marines. He never told me I wouldn't go to war. He told me that every Marine is a rifleman, that every Marine should be prepared to go to war. This was fine with me and that's why I joined, not because I was lied to. I am insanely proud of my service. My time in the Marine Corps did so much for me I can't even begin to describe it. It was not easy, but I got over my childish attachment to home, and I became who I am today. This is just the story of how I got here.

For those who say their recruiter didn't tell them they would have to go to war I say: Are you fucking stupid?!? What did you think the military did? I don't believe for a second your recruiter told you that roasting marshmallows by a campfire and telling scary stories was all that you would be doing. If the recruiter did tell you something that ridiculous you should have had enough sense to see through it. Don't cry because you were stupid enough to fall for it. If you were so opposed to war, what the hell were you doing in the recruiter's office. Did you not pay attention to what you were saying when you were sworn in. Nothing about marshmallows and scary stories in the oath. Quit making shit up just because your a spineless coward.

Brandon

Some More Pics

Here is a shot of my unit in Afghanistan. I'm in the shot, but I can't remember where.
Here are some of the Marines I deployed with. This was taken while the ship was passing through the Suez Canal.

(Note: this was not the ship I was on)
This was our camp in Egypt.
A shot of an Egyptian city.
This is the ship I deployed on: The USS Bataan (LHD 5).

Oops, I almost forgot...

Shaughna wanted an update on the flick. "Guess Who" was a really funny movie. I like that it was humorous, and at the same time tackled a few issues. Like I said it made me think of my significant other, because it was a very romantic movie. I think you fun the gamut of emotions while watching. I would recommend it and (the ultimate compliment) would watch it again (maybe we should rent it when I get back). I might even consider buying it...when it gets down around $10.00. Anyone who pays full price for a movie...well I just have to question their sanity (although after renting twice...$6.00...and buying...$10.00...one would have already paid almost full price). Anyway...I rented "Spanglish" and "Starsky and Hutch" for tonight. I'll keep you posted.

Brandon

What a Night

Last night started out great, but ended very badly. After getting off of work I went back to the barracks (my normal routine) and I called a friend of mine. The one I am going camping with when I get back. We had a really good conversation. I've known her for a while, but just started hanging out with her outside of work recently. She has given up on her group of friends, seeing that the path they were on was a dead end, and she has been lonely. This works out because my cousin, whom I used to spend a great deal of time with, moved to Oregon. In addition to losing the companionship of my cousin, she took my dog with her as I could not house him this school year. That's two close friends gone. This pretty much left my girlfriend as my only close friend still in the area...But she moved into Anchorage for the summer, so seeing her has been difficult. Most nights in Wasilla I was at work, so this made little difference, but on the slow days when I got off early, I was left pretty lonely. So the addition of a new friend to my life was a welcomed one. Especially since she respects my relationship with my girlfriend and just wants to hang out, nothing more.

So after my conversation on the phone, I sat down to watch "Guess Who." Aside from this being a really funny movie, it also had some pretty romantic parts to it. I found myself thinking about my girlfriend through most of the movie. The way the two main characters behaved, it just reminded me of our relationship. This put me in the mood to talk to my girlfriend. Since she works evenings, we only get to talk after 11:30 or so. This worked out since it was after 11:30 when the movie ended. So I laid down and gave her a call...No answer. She has caller ID, and could have been still at work...driving...sleeping...whatever, so I didn't worry and just turned out my light to go to sleep. I knew eventually she would call back.

Just as I was dozing off, my phone rang. Being that I was so near asleep, I was momentarily confused. Then I realized where I was, and that it was my phone that was waking me up, and I fumbled for it in the dark for a while. I finally got it to my ear, and it was immediately obvious why she hadn't answered her phone. I could hear the loud music and voices before I even said "Hello." My girlfriend turned 21 in July, and has been experimenting with bars since. This would be fine, but she has been going about it in the wrong way (in my humble opinion). Besides, I'm not into bars, and liked her because she wasn't either. So the first time she called me from the bar, I thought it would be an isolated incident. That's why I didn't panic when she told me she was hanging out with the "guys" from work. She's always been responsible and faithful, so I didn't worry. However, when this started to become a regular thing, I decided it was time to introduce myself to the "guys."

One night after work a couple weeks ago (when I had the next day off), I called her and found her at the bar again. This was the chance I wanted, so I got out of bed, and took the hour long drive into Anchorage. What I found did not make me happy. My girlfriend was at the bar sitting with two guys on her left, and one on her right. The guys were all obviously older than 21, and they were really quiet after I got there. In addition, my girlfriend was drunk...really drunk. I am not stupid, I have been in the shoes of these guys before, I know what was up. She was with three guys, she had driven herself, she was on the other side of town from where she lives, and she was way too drunk to drive. I got the feeling that they had been playing the "I bet you can't keep up with me" game with her. There was no way she was going to keep up without getting trashed, they all had at least 40lbs on her. These guys were just waiting till last call to tell her she was too drunk to drive, and she should come home with them. I was really glad that I had shown up. I took her to a hotel for the night, and then we talked about it later. Actually, she brought it up. She told me one night that she felt she needed to be more careful around them, not get so drunk they could take advantage. I agreed and told her I had reservations about them also. This obviously didn't work.

Last night I immediately regretted picking up the phone. My girlfriend couldn't hear me over all the noise, and some ass hole in the background was shouting crap at me. I went from near-sleep to rage in seconds. I wish I hadn't been hundreds of miles away with no transportation, 'cause I would have been at that bar stomping heads as fast as I could get there. This son of a bitch has the nerve to shout shit at me? Of course he does, he's out with my girlfriend and had a better chance of getting in her pants last night than I did. After less than a minute of not being able to hear each other, and her trying to shush the ass hole in the background, she said she would call me back later. I told her not to bother. This ends today.

A Little Bit of Everything

I have spent a great deal of the day reading one of my favorite blogs. Since I am new to the world of blogs I am simply going as far back as I can and then reading towards the present. I have read all of Sgt.Lizzy that way, and now I am reading TCOverride. I would very much recommend both blogs as there is an amazing amount of great information in them. They have also been going at it for months and I share many of their opinions, I just haven't gotten them out yet. If you are completely unfamiliar with these blogs, both of the bloggers have been injured in explosions in Iraq, and the blogging has continued after the injuries in both cases.

On to other news...I watched "Hotel Rwanda" last night. I would hoighly recommend this movie. It is not the most well made movie ever (poor special effects), but it tells a story that we just don't hear. "Tears of the Sun" is another movie that deals with these issues (much better special effects), but the two movies go at it from different angles. The most notable difference (aside from Americans kicking ass) is the lack of white folk in "Hotel Rwanda." This is an important fact, because instead of rooting for the classic Caucasian American hero (i.e. Bruce Willis), you find yourself rooting for the black African. In this time of increased diversity and political correctness, it would seem natural to root for a black victory. Instead I found that this seemed initially foreign. I think that the hero being African, and not African-American made a substantial difference, as I kept picturing the starving refugee commercials from daytime TV. The genocide in Rwanda, Somalia and the Sudan have been treated with the same channel-surfing attitude that the "Feed the Children" commercials receive. I could see it argued that all modern-day genocides have received this treatment, as many have, but this falls apart when we take a look at the Balkans. The sight of genocide against white Europeans in Kosovo was too much for Americans to bear. We stepped (or really just flew...remember the massive bombing campaign) into the middle of this confrontation while we were unwilling to do the same for the genocides committed in African nations...In other words; I recommend watching this movie, and doing some soul searching after.

Another subtle change of subject... The sky is beginning to grey. It appears that our blue skies will be gone soon. Back to sucking smoke all day. It's a good thing that I have only six days left here. I will be looking forward to getting back to the clean Mat-Su air. This has been a revealing experience, but I will be glad to move on. I have an interview tomorrow, I have to constantly remind myself of this out of fear of forgetting. At 2:30 tomorrow afternoon I will be doing a phone interview with my home unit in Palmer for a position that they have open in the dispatch office I have been working in. I don't know that I have explained that I am a temporary employee with the State. I am what is known as an EFF (Emergency Fire Fighter). I was called in at the beginning of summer, and have been busy through the whole summer; luckily (it has been a busy season for wild land fire). I am, however, in no way guaranteed any work as I am not a regular State employee. If I get this job, I will be part of the permanent seasonal staff. I will be guaranteed employment next summer. I will keep you posted.

Smoke Free?

This morning I came out of the barracks and found beautiful blue skies. For the moment the smoke is gone. Don't ask me where it went, because the fires are not out, but it's gone. It's such a welcomed change from the last week. Just yesterday I was saying that I would be leaving Fairbanks before the smoke, and I believed it. This morning I will enjoy this patch of blue sky out my window, for however long it lasts.

My Busy Life

Today has actually been busy. I have been working on several orders and have has sucess in finding people to fill them with. Transportation has been today's headache though. I can find people, but I can't get them to the fires due to the smoke. The planes just don't do well when the pilots can't see. It's funny that the reason we can't fight the fires is that there is too much smoke, seems a little ironic or something. Now things have calmed a little, and I am able to put some thoughts down. I watched a movie last night to pass time. It was the new triple X movie with Ice Cube. It was better than I thought it would be, better than the origional. Today I rented "Hotel Raxanda" and "Guess Who." I'll watch one tonight, this is my adventurouse life. I don't have my Jeep, so I can't get into too much trouble. When I get home I will be ready to run wild. I am looking forward to a camping trip that I have planned with a friend from work. I planned on hiking up to a spot that I camped at last year with my cousin. This year I am planning on a three day trip, not two day like last year. We are hiking to Mint Hut up the Mint Glacier Trail. It's an amazing 8 mile one way hike. It was a little much for a two day trip though, three will be much better. The trail goes up a valley for seven miles, and then when the end of the valley is reached, the trail turns up one of the mountains for the last mile. It's a good climb to get up to the Mint Hut, and it's worth it. The view is amazing, and it's a perfect spot to camp. I'll post pictures after the trip.

Here is my dog and me on Mint Trail last year.

Learning to Blog

I am new at this blogging thing, so I lost the post I had written when I tried to add pictures. So I posted the one below. I hope you enjoy the shots of BFE. They were not fun to get, Egypt was pretty miserable. This was just weeks after the September 11th terror attacks. It was an interesting time, and I will have to post some shots with me in them when I get back to my pictures. I'm sure I will have some Egypt stories later.

Back to the present, today has been the day of power-outages. The power has gone out twice in the office. Both times I was working on orders and had to shut my computer down. This was annoying, as the programs we use are a pain to log into. The government hired some lame company to design a multi-million dollar program to manage all of the wild-fire resources in the nation. Surprise, the program sucks. Couple the inefficiency of the program with the inability of government employees to learn anything new, and you get constant chaos. What a joy.

Here is a shot of "Beautiful" Egypt. Not my idea of a vacation destination.
Welcome to the life of an Electrician in the Marine Corps. No, that's not me, it's one of the Marines I worked with. He's a jittery red-head who would be pissed if I used his name. By the way, those sea bags are full of wires and weigh about 60-80 lbs apiece.
This shot shows how blue the water was, and how white the sand was. Amazing the water is that blue with all the sewage being pumped into it by the town nearby. I am not in the picture, and my ship used LCAC's (Landing Craft Air Cushioned), and not this kind of landing craft. Advantage: no need to get wet with an LCAC.
Another shot of the Egyptian beach.
A friend of mine was in this LVS when it rolled over. Thank you Egypt engineers who are clue-less about building roads. The shoulder gave out and the LVS just rolled on over. Nobody hurt, thank God.

Reactions from the News

I just finished reading a few of the morning news posts, and have to say: "what the heck is going on?" For the second time in less than a week a plane has fallen from the sky and killed over a hundred people. The first in Greece, today's was in Venezuela. Very far apart, but in both cases the planes were full of Europeans. What a devastating blow for both Greece and France. I hope this trend ends here.
In other news, Cindy Sheehan is still making headlines in her struggle to disgrace the memory of her son. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, Sheehan regretfully lost her son in the war in Iraq and now demands to speak with the President, again (she already spoke with him once). Basically; she is a war protester who is using the death of her son to make headlines. Her husband is now filing for divorce. I can't support the move, as I do not agree with divorce, but I can understand. This woman has used the memory of her son's death to push herself to the forefront of the anti-war (or anti-freedom) movement. Form what I have read, her family is adamantly opposed to her madness, which shows an obvious fact in America. Although many people may support the President, or at least are neutral, it's the groups that are opposed to the President that make headlines. Not because the media is biased as much as because that is where the news is.
Anyway, this is not a political blog, so I will get off the soap box. I just got worked up by the news this morning.

Getting Smoky Again

I am back from dinner, lasagna, not my favorite. The food here is not too bad. I get three squares provided by the Feds because I am outside of my home dispatch in Palmer. It sure saves me a lot of money on food, and the meals are balanced and often very good. The smoke has rolled back in, in force! Although this is the land of the midnight sun, it's dusk at 7:30 due to smoke. Those in charge of our aircraft are slightly panicked as landing in 1/4 mile visibility is frankly impossible. Flights will be canceled and diverted. This better be gone by the 24th when I am scheduled to go home. I doubt that the smoke will stop the commercial flights at the international airport though, they have electronic tools to take care of them.
I go off duty in less than 30 minutes, I am currently working twelve hour shifts so quitting time is important. I will snap some pictures of the smoke and post them once I get my film developed. Yes I am using a film camera, not a digital, it's actually a disposable I picked up on my day off. I ordered a digital the other day, but am having it delivered to my Wasilla address so I will not have it until I get home on the 24th. I do have some pictures I can pull off of my computer to post, but I'll have to check and get back to you. I think that's enough typing for today, I'll put more history up tomorrow.

About Me

Since work has yet again died down, I have a minute to write a little about myself. As the title of my blog suggests I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. I am 25 y/o as of July 1, although I do not love that fact. Aging isn't what bothers me, I feel and look far younger than I am, it's that I expected to be at a different place in my life at 25. I was hoping for family & career by now, I am facing being single and a student. It's not that I am unhappy with my life, just feel there should be more. Not to matter, this is what I have and I will make the most of it. I am a college student with 60+ credits who is four years from his degree. I chose civil engineering as a degree, so much of what I have taken so far in college is almost irrelevant. The general ed. Requirements that I have taken will count later on, but they wont reduce the amount of time between now and the finish line. They will reduce the number of credit-hours I will have to take my junior and senior years. Although to keep the GI Bill I have to maintain 12 credit hours, so that will be my minimum. I can hardly imagine only 12 credit hours. My last two semesters were 16 and 17, and Fall will be 18!!
In regards to my military service, I complete four honorable years of Marine Corps service in January of 2003. This was right around the kick-off time of Operation Iraqi Freedom (a fact that I'm sure I will write many blogs about in the future). I served the first two years of my enlistment under Clinton (oops), and the next two under Bush, amazing improvement. Although from Oregon and assured that I would be stationed in California, I spent almost my entire four years at Camp Lejeune North Carolina. My MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) was 1141, electrician. This was not my choice, but I'm sure that is something that will be the subject of another blog.
While at Camp Lejeune I served under 2nd Force Service Support Group, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, Support Company, Utilities Platoon. For many reasons, this was not the best possible situation, but that will be a very long blog. Luckily for 16 months I was able to escape my home unit and serve with the 26th Marine Expiditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). This was a welcomed change of scenery, and was especially significant as our deployment began September 19th of 2001. We were among the first to be deployed after the terrorist attacks of September the 11th, and were the first Marines to enter Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.
In addition to my exploits with the Marine Corps, I spent my time in North Carolina volunteering with the Jacksonville Volunteer Rescue Squad. I was a rescue technician and an EMT. This was necessary due to the lack of excitement in my MOS. I just couldn't get my fix as an electrician.
Hey, it's dinner time!!! I better run, maybe will continue after dinner.

Living in the Dark

I work in the darkest office ever. It's not bad when they turn the lights on, but the last few days it has been blasphemous to turn the lights on. I know, yesterday I turned the lights on and got to see the dirty looks and gestures. My corner is especially dark as the sun avoids my windows. The only light in the area is the glow of my computer screen. I so miss my usual office in Palmer. We have a wall of windows that faces the runway and some of the most beautiful mountains in the world. I can literally look out the window with binoculars and see a glacier. Here I see some trees up close, and the smoke-filled sky in the distance.

First Entry

I have been enjoying several blogs that I stumbled along the last few days, and have decided to give blogging a try myself. I am currently sitting at work waiting for the next crisis to hit. I am a logistics dispatcher who must spend long hours killing time waiting for a need to arise. Someone must be here to fill the personnel orders when they come, and right now that person is me. It's a good job, I make good money and don't over-work myself often. There are days when my job requires a great deal of work, but most are filled with waiting for the next order. I pass the time reading news and stories online and listening to my new ipod. At the moment I have only 50 songs on my ipod and am getting a little tired of hearing them over and over, (I bought an ipod to not have to hear the same songs over and over) but I don't have my CD's with me here in Fairbanks and can't download music on the Govt. Computer. I have my laptop, but don't have the means to log onto the internet with it. I will deal with my 50 songs for now, and if it becomes more than I can handle, I will have to buy one or two CD's. This is turning into one long ramble, so I should split and try again later. More details about me later.