Monthly Archives: January 2012

Since I wrote about the potential elimination of 5 A-10 squadrons earlier, I wanted to come clean and show some of the love I have for the plane. Yes all of these are and have been on my computer as part of my desktop wallpaper and screensaver rotation.

They are just too good not to share.

I love the sound of jet fighters in the morning. JUST NOT AT 0200 IN THE MORNING!! Living on an airbase has it’s ups and downs. Among the downs is having your entire chu shaken to the core and ripping you out of a dead sleep (when it comes) thinking the world is ending. I’m still not sure why afterburners are needed to takeoff from a nearly 2-mile runway, but I guess that’s the sound of freedom. I’m just glad I don’t live in a mud hut nearby. Otherwise, I’d probably be living ON a mud hut.

This is another picture I think is pretty cool. SSG Joseph Harwood did an awesome job with positioning the F-15 perfectly with the lights behind it.

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle receives early morning maintenance, Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, January 28, 2012. The aircraft is deployed here to support coalition forces providing close air support. These maintainers and this aircraft are deployed from Seymour Johnson AFB, S.C. One Seymour Johnson aircraft just reached 10000 hours in combat.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

If I were to show you this picture without explanation and ask you what you’re looking at, what would you say? Odds are, you’d think this was a photo of a Taliban insurgent. The sad part is that you COULD be right. But, this picture is of an Afghan Local Police officer. This is the difficulty that our troops face here in Afghanistan. It’s a dangerous prospect if we see this guy and we’re wrong about him.

One of the things we’re trying to instill in the Afghan people is a sense of the rule of law of land warfare. Uniforms display a certain level of professionalism and, with experience and history, will instill in the populace trust and confidence.

Other than that, this is just a cool picture from PO1 Matthew Leistikow.

An Afghan Local Police member patrols a checkpoint in Kajran district, Daykundi province, Afghanistan, Jan. 27. Afghan National Army Special Forces soldiers and coalition special operations forces visited checkpoints throughout the district to assess security in the area.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.

Yama Sakura is an annual bi-lateral exercise between the US and Japan. The term means “mountain cherry blossom.” The Japanese cherish their cherry blossoms and even donated the ones that are currently located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. When fully bloomed, the cherry blossoms sweeten the air and turn beautiful shades of various colors. They only last a few weeks before the petals fall of the trees. As a dependent I used to love attending all the Japanese festivals when my father was stationed there. The Japanese have a rich and historic cultural heritage that is just so impressive and unique.

Maj. Tanya Klaiber, 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard and Maj. Richard M. Dixon, operations officer for the United States Army Pacific participate in a Japanese traditional tea ceremony outside Camp Itami, Japan, Jan. 24. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michael Oliver.

This post is my personal opinion and not representative of the Army, the Department of Defense, The United States Government, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Infantry Division, III Corps, the 101st Airborne Division, the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, the 511th MI Company, the School of the Americas, ISAF, RC(S), RC(E), RC(N), RC(W), CENTCOM, TRADOC, FORSCOM, Recruiting Command, The United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, The United States Coast Guard, The Boy Scouts of America, the Department of Education, or any other unit, department, office, Section, squad, platoon, company battalion, brigade, division, Corps, any branch of service, rank, MOS, or any other segment of official military or government, real or imagined.