The latest book about blogs put together by David Stanford and G.B. Trudeau of Doonesbury fame comes out on September 1st. This book features a collection of blog entries from over 90 different forward deployed troops, You can pre-order it NOW or even just order it after the 1st of September at Amazon.com. Just search for “The Sandbox” and you will find it. Since several of my stories are in it and I know many of the authors that are also listed in it, I can tell you that it is a great book. I follow most of their blogs and can re-read some of these stories many times over.

I know it has been a while since I have posted here on the VAMC blog, but I have a good reason. I was out on my last vacation of the year and my last decompression time before heading back into the workforce 100%. Since I have been back from Afghanistan I made it a point to take as much time off as possible (just short of the 90 days allotted by law) and enjoy my time with my family. Back in June, my wife and I had a weekend away in Washington, D.C. to attend the Army Birthday Ball. Then at the end of June and into July we drove to Arkansas to see my parents and visit other family and attend a mini-20 year reunion. So the last vacation which was planned took place over the last 2 weeks.

We flew to Florida to visit my wife’s parents and other family down there. This trip had a dual purpose in that I took my wife on a cruise while we were there. I purchased it last year while I was still in Afghanistan for our Anniversary. Since I was not really sure on when I would be home I booked it for August, thinking that I would definitely be home by then. The cruise was as magnificent as we thought it would be. It was our 2nd cruise of which both have been on Royal Caribbean. We are really happy with them and I don’t think we will cruise any other cruise line. We have talked to many people that have been on other cruise lines and they have told us that RC is the best one and they would never go back to the others.

This cruise was special in the fact that it was a good bonding time for my wife and I, it was a anniversary gift and it became even more special during the cruise. It became more special because during those 5 days I had no thoughts, dreams or recollections of my time in Afghanistan. This cruise marked the first time that I truly never thought about that place or what I went through. A day has not passed since I have returned that Afghanistan was not on my mind. I either see something about it, something I see/hear/smell reminds me of it, or my thoughts during the day just drift towards it. Even when the people sitting with us at dinner asked me about it, my answers were short, vague and then we moved on. The first dinner when I was asked “what it was like” what the only time it was brought up but I paid it no mind and forgot all about it once I gave my answer. For me personally this was a major accomplishment and something that I am glad happened. It was not until the last night there as my wife and I were standing out on the deck underneath the moon that I came to realize the last several days were Afghan-free.

I am not sure what the real reason was of not having thoughts, dreams, or whatever but I am glad it happened. I wasn’t off the cruise just a couple of days before the dreams kicked in again. So I guess I will either keep having them or maybe I need to schedule another cruise sooner than later.

**NOTE, Troy is a 1SG in the New York Army National Guard and writes several blogs on his website at http://www.bouhammer.com**

Almost, but I think the military (along with other service oriented organizations) are the last of a dying breed.

Today, I went to the PX to see if they had a Wii in stock. For Christmas this year, we’re buying the family a Wii with a couple of games. We did a big Christmas last year and since we’re moving this year, we decided to save a little money and just get something for the whole family. They did have ONE Wii in stock, but I’m not ready to spend $249, especially with an upcoming move and the uncertainty of not having found a house yet. VAMC came through with an approved loan in record time and shipped me out all the paperwork expeditiously. I just need to fill out all the paperwork and return it. So, purchasing a game system right now is not on my list of priorities.

While I was there an elderly man rolled in on his scooter looking at different accessories in the computer section of the Power Zone (the electronics department of the PX). The gentleman was a WWII vet, as evidenced by the hat he proudly wore as he rolled through the aisle. As he came upon the printer ink section, he began deliberately scanning the selection for just the cartridge he needed. The rack is stacked very high so I paid attention to which ones he was looking for. Thankfully all the ink cartridges I ever need are at my level (probably knee level to most folks). I was just standing around waiting for the employee to bring the key so I could see what the Wii came with standard so I could figure out what accessories I’d need when I was ready to buy. While I waited, I watched this man intently, silently thanking him for his service as he rolled slowly closer.

His eyes focused on the one he needed and he began the task of positioning his cane so he could stand and place his purchase in the cart. I gently ordered him to remain seated and asked what it was he wanted from the rack. After pointing out the proper items, I handed them to him.

“Anything else I can help you with,” I asked. “Nope, that was it. Thank goodness chivalry isn’t dead. I was beginning to give up hope,” he replied.

It’s a sad state of affairs when a member of the greatest generation feels like he’s about to give up hope on our generation. I’m glad that I could restore some of that. The man is a retired Sailor and WWII vet himself. He helped provide security in Greenland in 1942. Chances are, he probably saw my grandfather at one point and didn’t even know it. I’m a big fan of the movie, Pay It Forward. I love the premise of helping people and getting nothing in return except the satisfaction of knowing that someone else will be helped in turn. Even if they don’t, as a Soldier I feel like I have an obligation to help those who can’t help themselves. There’s a great story that I got emailed from a good friend that sort of goes along these lines. It’s a tear jerker, so you’ve been warned. It’s called, “The World, It Is A Changin’” by Roger Dean Kiser:

The wife and I left Modesto, California, headed to Brunswick, Georgia, to start a new job had taken several weeks earlier. As finances were tight, we sold what little we had accumulated over the past five years, in order to make the three-thousand mile trip. With only about two-hundred dollars in pocket, there would be no fancy meals and maybe, just maybe, one night at a motel to take a shower and get a good night’s sleep. The remainder of the time it would be a cheap burger at McDonalds and sleeping in the small car. Though tired, it always seemed to perk me up, just a bit, as we left state after state behind. When boredom set in, I turned on the C. B. radio and listened to the truckers yell and scream at one another. When the language would get a little coarse, I’d reach over and turn off the radio.

About half way through Texas, I reached over to turn off the radio when I heard, “Is there anyone out there kind enough to help us?”

“Get off the trucker’s channel, idiot,” yelled a truck driver. I reached over, picked up the microphone and said, “What do you need?” “We are stranded at mile marker 576, east-bound side,” said a man. I watched for the next mile marker sign, which read 574. “I’m at 574 east-bound. What do you need?” “Can you two idiots get off the trucker’s channel?” said the trucker again. I got no reply from the stranded man. As I reached mile marker 576, there stood a black man beside an old brown van. I pulled up behind his vehicle, got out and walked toward him. As I passed the van, I looked in and noticed about five elderly people. “What’s the problem?” I asked. “Not sure. I can’t find my wallet. I think I left it in the washroom at a restaurant about thirty miles back,” he told me. “What do you need?”

I asked. “You got any extra gas?” “Just a minute,” I said, as I turned and walked back to my car. I explained the situation to my wife. “Dad, we have just enough money to get us to Georgia, maybe. We can’t afford to help anyone else,” she replied. “I can’t just leave them stranded.” “Do what you got to do, Hon,” she said, shaking her head. I walked back to the van, pulled out my wallet and handed the man twenty dollars. “You follow us back to the restaurant and I’ll give you the money back,” said the man. “I can’t afford to go backwards, I just can’t,” I told him. He took my name and new address and promised to send me the money when he reached his home in Jackson, Mississippi. I followed them to the next gas station and waved as they pulled up to the pump. Then we drove back onto the freeway and continued our journey. “Are we going to make it, Dad?”

“I don’t know,” I said, biting my bottom lip. Leaving Texas, we had about sixty dollars in pocket. We knew there would be no bath and good night’s rest at a motel. As we continued through Louisiana the traffic became heavy. All at once my wife screamed. When I looked up I saw furniture falling off a pickup truck driving in front of us. I swerved to the right, as quickly as possible, but still ran over something. I got out of my car and walked to the front to see what damage had been caused. Beneath the car was a small stereo system. It had cut through my right tire, which was now flat. I walked to the trunk to get my jack and spare tire. I was shocked to see that it was also flat. Generally I check and recheck everything before a trip. As I walked back to the front of my car, I saw the pickup truck had reloaded what could be salvaged and that the man was getting back into his vehicle. I knew he saw our flat tire, but nevertheless he drove away. The wife and I sat on the side of the road for several hours, waiting for the police. It was almost dark when they finally arrived.

The police advised us that there was nothing they could do, other than call a tow truck. We knew we could not afford to pay for such a service. After the police left we sat in the car wondering what to do. “HONK, HONK” went the sound of a horn. When I turned around to see what was happening; there was that same brown van, which we had given gas money to. “Well, I see we aren’t the only ones having a little bad luck today,” said the man, leaning into my window. “No spare,” I told him. “Well, can’t fix the problem sitting there,” he said. He reached over, took my keys out of the ignition, walked to the trunk of the car and took out the jack. I watched him jack up the car and take off the flat. I didn’t know what to say and was too embarrassed to tell him that we did not have enough money to buy a new tire and still have enough gas to make it to Georgia. After he took off the tire he looked at me and said, “Go sit in the car and I’ll be right back.” I got into the car and watched them drive away.

“How we going to pay them, Dad?” “I don’t know. We’ll just pay them for the tire and the repair to the flat.” “What we going to do for gas?” “I don’t know. I just don’t know.” I said, almost on the verge of screaming. The van returned an hour later. I got out of the car noticing that both tires were brand new. “I’m sorry, but I should have told you. I don’t have enough money to pay for two tires.” The man said not a word as he placed the tire on the car. He acted as though he did not hear me. “I’m sorry but I…” “I heard you the first time,” he said. When the tire repair was complete, he placed the jack and new spare in the trunk and closed it. “Follow us to the gas station,” he ordered, like an army sergeant. We followed them to the next off ramp and into the gas station. He got out of his van and began filling our tank. When done he walked up to the window and said, “I’m hungry, lets eat.” I looked at the wife, who was now speechless, for the first time in her life. We followed them to a restaurant several blocks down the road. As we got out of the car, I looked at him and said, “Thank you for your help, but I cannot accept any more.” The man said not a word. He turned and walked back to his
van. He opened the side door and took out a large wooden chair. Then he opened the passenger side door and out stepped the largest black woman I had ever seen in my life I swear, the ground almost moved when she walked. The two of them walked up and stopped in front of me.

The man, looking at me straight in the eyes, opened the folded chair and then stepped back. The big woman sat down, pointed at me, and said, “Johnny tells me I need to spank your little white butt. Is that going to be necessary?” In total shock, eyes opened wide, I replied “No ma’am,” shaking my head vigorously. “GOOD,” she said, giving me a very stern look. She smiled, got up and walked toward the restaurant, as did the other people in the van. The man walked back to the van and replaced the chair. It must have been almost 10 p.m. when we finally ate. Half way through the meal Johnny excused himself and was gone for more than twenty minutes. When he returned, he laid a motel key in front of me. “I’m sorry but I…” “MAMA,” said Johnny in a harsh tone. As the large woman started to stand up I motioned for her to sit back down, that a spanking was not necessary.

As we ate, Johnny began tapping his spoon against his glass. When everyone quieted down, he raised his water and said, “I would like to make a toast. This is the way America should be,” he said, almost choking on the words he had just spoken. Everyone took a sip of water and sat there quietly, smiling and nodding their heads to the affirmative. After eating, we all walked to the motel next door to the restaurant. I shook Johnny’s hand, and the large woman hugged both me and my wife. When the wife and I got up the next morning, their van was gone. A white envelope was left on our windshield. Written were the words, “Thank You, and May God Bless.” Inside was a twenty-dollar bill, folded in the shape of a cross.

I don’t write this because I want/need a pat on the back. My purpose in sharing this experience is that you’ll be motivated to find someone you can go out of your way to help, whether or not they ask for it. It’s also to make you aware that there are people out there we don’t know with a history we’ve never heard. One simple act of kindness may be the only thing holding that person together when their personal life is trying to tear them apart.

Every now and then you get surprised by celebrities’ words and actions. Most of them tend to be very selfish and could not care less for those serving this country. But, every now and then, you hear about those that really care - like Winger, Babylon A.D., Toby Keith, Drowning Pool, and many others. Now, add to that list Five For Fighting for their great tribute to what our troops and their families go through.

The code didn’t work, so here’s the link.

I do not think so. It has not happened in the past few years and it surely is not happening now. On Sunday, the New York Slime published an op-ed piece by seven members of the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Buddika Jayamaha, Wesley D. Smith, Jeremy Roebuck, Omar Mora, Edward Sandmeier, Yance T. Gray and Jeremy A. Murphy):

To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day.

All these Soldiers are Staff Sergeants and below in the infantry and EOD fields. Based off their AKO accounts, they appear to be in the same unit, perhaps even the same squad. That is not a problem. These Soldiers have earned their opinion, narrow as it may be. However, it fits the media’s agenda and was, therefore, published in a prominent newspaper and spread throughout the land and blogosphere. It does not end there.

Seven other Soldiers, David Bellavia, Pete Hegseth, Michael Baumann, Carl Hartmann, David Thul, Knox Nunnally, and Joe Worley, wrote a response to the previous seven and submitted it to the New York Slime as well.

Currently, American and Iraqi Forces are clearing sections of southern Baghdad before turning north to the 82nd Airborne’s neighborhoods. As such, the portrait these soldiers painted, while surely accurate and honest, is more representative of pre-surge Baghdad: sectarian strife, lawlessness, and indiscriminate slaughter.

The result? Attacks against civilians are at a six-month low and large al Qaeda-style truck and suicide bombings have dropped 50 percent in Baghdad. With additional troops and a sound strategy, the same results can occur in even the worst areas of Baghdad, including the 82nd Airborne’s sector.

The Soldiers went on to mention the other successes in Iraq while maintaining respect for those they disagree with. You may ask yourself when the New York Slime printed this version of “The War As We Saw It”. It wasn’t printed in the Slime. Instead, it was printed at The Daily Standard:

This Op-Ed was originally submitted to the New York Times, which declined to publish it.

Biased? Naw…….. Keep in mind that David Bellavia was recommended for the Medal of Honor. He has received the Silver Star and Bronze Star with “V” device. This is no chickenhawk Soldier!

The loan process through VAMC is super easy (and I’m not just saying that because they give me this forum in which to blog). I got a phone call from Nate as I mentioned earlier. He took all my information and the NEXT DAY called to let me know that I had been approved. Not only was I was approved, but I was approved for more than I asked for. So, if I WANTED a bigger home, I could get one. But I don’t, so I won’t. It definitely helps to go to the bargaining table with an already approved loan backing you up. If you’re a veteran, you can’t beat the VAMC team (do I get a finder’s fee guys?).

Anyway, it turns out that the easiest part of the process is going to be the VAMC piece. For the life of us, we can’t find a good enough home for the CJ clan. Every time we find one, we research it to death, make numerous inquiries, ask more more pictures, then contact the realtor to make an offer only to find out that the house was taken that day or hour!! Frustrating? You bet. But, we won’t be hindered!! We will prevail. A home WILL BE OURS!! And you’re all invited to the house warming party (pending background and credit checks). I’m not mentioning where I’m going though some of my close friends and family reading this already know. Once I get there, I’m sure CNN or Fox News will pick up the story and make you all aware.

We’re not asking for much. We just want four bedrooms, at least two baths (with three women in the house, I’d sure like four bathrooms too!), with about 1800+ square footage for about $10. That’s all I have in my pocket and I don’t want VAMC to think I’m greedy by using every dollar that they approved me for. Seriously, I just want a home that will fit within my BAH rate, which is about $1007 for the area I’m going to. Sheesh, I couldn’t get a shack here in the DC area for that monthly price. By comparison, my BAH here is over $1800 per month. And believe me, the base housing I live in is NOT worth $1800 per month that I pay. The housing people are great though! They always have warm cookies ready for me when I go in to see them.

A PCS move in the Army brings about many stresses. I need to set up pre-inspections, packing dates, moving dates, cleaning dates, final inspection dates, outprocessing dates, transportation dates, etc. Outprocessing consists of going to every podunk organization on the base that I’ve never used and have them swear or affirm that I don’t owe them money before I leave. And it never works out. It never fails that you go to one place only to be told you have to go another BEFORE going there. Then those people have crazy hours like the first Tuesday of every odd month during the regular football season, but only when the Ravens are playing and ahead by at least 10 points. No matter how much you try to G2 (plan) the whole thing, it never seems to work out. The easiest place I’ve ever had to deal with was Fort Stewart, where all the outprocessing is done in one building. It’s awesome. The whole Army needs to adopt this model. At Fort Irwin, even though it’s a small post, you have to criss-cross your way around post until you’re dizzy and pass out at the steps of the place you were looking for.

Then, there’s the move itself - taking three kids across country in a cramped vehicle towing the most awesome motorcycle in the world (a 2003 Suzuki Hayabusa) behind you. I asked the lady at transportation if I can count them as household goods and just ship them with the food, but she told me no. And she wouldn’t let me ship without the food either! So, they’re going with us and I’ll have to keep a tally of how many times I have to pull over and give the evil eye before they all laugh at me for thinking I’m a big, bad daddy. I think this trip, I’ll just strap them into the car-top carrier. So, does anyone have any good tricks or games that can keep kids occupied and happy for hours on a roadtrip? List them in the comments section.

I started the process of working through a loan with VAMC. So far, the process is quite simple. I left my information on the site and got a phone call from one of the case workers, Nate. He called me and asked for a little more information about my financial history like all good mortgage companies do. When we get to Alabama, we’ll be buying a home and try to avoid military housing.

I told him about my two 150-foot yachts, vacation home in Sweden, gold plated H2 Hummer and my side income working the streets of DC. Okay, I really don’t have any of that, but with all my debt you’d think I do. My theory of “I’ve got money as long as I’ve got checks” doesn’t seem to work. It’s also not true that you can get a new credit to pay off an old credit card and just keep doing that (eventually they find out).

Now that I’ve got your attention with the absurdities of the previous paragraph, I’ll tell you that the process is quite simple. Naturally, the first step is that you have to qualify for a VA loan. To do that, you have to be a….veteran. That is something that we would normally take for granted, but in today’s economic environment this benefit becomes even more important to us. Most people are having issues getting home loans, but veterans are practically guaranteed VA loans. Not only that, but we aren’t required to pay a down payment (though it’s a good idea to put SOMETHING down when purchasing a home).

So, after only about 10 minutes on the phone, Nate will plug my information into the computer (I called him after hours, so I didn’t get an instant reply like most people will get) and get with me first thing in the morning. He will take the information to the lenders and come back with a pre-approved figure (which I won’t be sharing). It shouldn’t be hard since I’m not looking for a $500,000 home, even though the VA backs up to $416,000 (more for high cost areas).

As for Nate himself, he was a very courteous man. Even when I told him that half my brain was repossessed and i would be selling my kids in Mexico for extra income next year, he remained calm. He’s also got a new 6-week old child, so he’s busy. Congratulations Nate!! (when they’re older, I can hook you up with a good coyote who specializing in child commerce)

Okay, for those who don’t me, I’M KIDDING!! Lighten up and go watch a good dogfight or something.

Even thought the VA hospital has been an option for me to use for about 11 years, I have never really used it. I mean, after I first got out of the active Army I went there to file my disability claim and I was not encouraged to much by what I saw and experienced. I had several appointments there as part of my claim and they did not always go the best. I remember getting the feeling like I was a bother to the docs, nurses and administrators. They seemed to act like anyone who was in there was nothing more than a burden on them and this was expressed in body language, tone, and actions.

Needless to say, after that experience I never went back. Once my claim was complete and the findings were issued I just went to my civilian doctors and utilized my company provided medical insurance. I did end up using the VA one more time after I moved to Buffalo. I had come to Buffalo ahead of my family since my company really wanted me here. We were waiting until the summer time to sell the house and move the family, so I was in Buffalo by myself for a few months. The medical insurance we had at the time limited me to just my home area, and since my family was in Alaska still that really limited me to just being seen in Alaska. I got hurt playing softball while in Buffalo, so I tapped into my free medical care at the VA that was granted to me by being a disabled vet.

This experience was not the best either and I was even more discouraged at the lack of sympathetic care and poor attitudes demonstrated by the staff that I saw. They really did the bare minimum and again showed to me that I was nothing more than a bother to them. So my experience at two separate VA hospitals, thousands of miles apart, was not good. I am not sure if they were this way to everyone or just to “young” guys like me since I am positive that the average age of VA patients is probably in the 60s.

Now that I am back from an Active Duty tour in Afghanistan I had to re-engage the VA again. I had to get my disability payments started back up and I have some leftover issues from my tour that need to get addressed. I had talked with several guys that were on my team in Afghanistan whom said their experience was really good and it was nothing like they had heard (which was similar to what I had experienced). One of them told me that in recent years many people had retired, been forced out or whatever and that the new staffs of VA hospitals were much better to deal with. Due to this new information I figured I would give them another chance and I am glad I did. I have been there twice and what I have seen is remarkably better than what I ever saw before.

I went in and met with my primary doctor who was a young guy that used to be a Navy Corpsman back in the day. The entire staff from the nurses to the pharmacy to the doc himself were very informative and extremely pleasant to deal with. Things also moved very fast throughout the whole ordeal. I went right up to the x-ray department after my meeting with the doc and they took a whole bunch of x-rays that I needed. Two days later I came back to get some blood work done and I was in and out faster than it took me time to find a place to park. Today (while out of town and on vacation) I checked the messages on the home voice mail and heard a message from them that they had an appointment for me on Monday with Orthopedics. This blew me away, because only 1 week after meeting with my doc for the first time I had another appointment. Unfortunately I cannot be there because I am out of town, but I called them back and told them what day I would be available. I am hoping to hear back from them next week telling me that I have an appointment that day. The VA hospitals today are not the same VA hospitals they were just a few years ago. From what I have seen at mine and heard from buddies that went to two different ones they seem to all have a new focus and mission. They now look at their patients as their customers and I truly believe see their patients for what they are, patients who need care and the reason they all have a job.

**NOTE, Troy is a 1SG in the New York Army National Guard and writes several blogs on his website at http://www.bouhammer.com**

This week’s hero is SFC Bryant Herlem, a fellow Cavalryman. Please take a few minutes to learn about this heroic young American over at They Have Names.

I know that you’re never too old to go back to school, but I wonder sometimes if my brain can take anymore. I’m living in a Windows Vista world with a Apple IIe brain!! The First Sergeant Course is broken into two phases, I and II. Phase I is a self-paced online study program that must be completed prior to attending the Phase II resident course at the Academy.

Phase I is comprised of about 30 separate subjects that are individually quizzed and studied on my time. The problem I’m having is concentration. There may be a number of reasons for this: 1) The stuff seems so “duh” to me that I can’t get interested; 2) I have too much going on around me to focus; 3) I’m so busy during the day that I’m just too worn out when I have time to sit down and read or study; and 4) I’m just too dumb to learn new things - my brain is just too full and I need to dump something to make room for the new information.

Now, with that said, I’m not going to pretend to be humble on this point. I know that I’m a pretty smart guy and I can do this. I just need to apply myself. In typical fashion, as the deadline gets closer to when I have to finish the Phase I’ll get more stressed which will motivate me more. I work well under stress!! Thankfully, I’m in a position where I can knock out a lot in the next few days. My evenings are mostly free and I don’t have a car where I’m at. There’s nothing to do BUT study. I’ve already finished quite a bit of it. To be fair, even the common sense stuff is teaching me a little. Or, at least, reminding me of things that I may have forgotten or need to have refreshed.

For Phase II, I will have to go TDY away from home again for a few weeks. The purpose of the course to help us learn how to manage a company size element. Companies in the Army range anywhere from about 30 people to over 100, depending on the type of company. The course will teach me to become an old man who scowls at everyone and drives a Buick. I’ll also learn different techniques to demand push-ups: “DROP” “BEAT YOUR FACE” “HOLD THE SIDEWALK DOWN” etc.

But more importantly, I’ll get to take care of Soldiers again. I realize that along with that comes the frustration of Soldiers who just don’t get it and I have to assist with UCMJ actions, but I like to think that good leadership can prevent 95% of that. Maybe I’m naive since I’ve had Soldiers go AWOL after sitting down with them for hours trying to help past their drug problems and/or showing up late to formation too often.

Anyway, we’ve been looking at a lot of homes again and I’ve also contacted the VAMC to see what they’re all about with regards to helping with a VA loan for our home. As that progresses, I’ll be letting you all know what is involved with the process. Since I’m a VA home loan moron, maybe we’ll all learn something through the process and I can help my hosts with a little more credibility (not that they don’t have any - or that I have any!!). My wife and I have honed in on three homes and I just hope they’re still available when we arrive in a few weeks (no, I’m not going to be specific).