During the Milblogging Conference this year we had the privilege to hear from Secretary of the Army Pete Geren (who reads A Soldier’s Perspective, by the way) and General Caldwell. Unfortunately, the recording didn’t turn out too well and the audio on isn’t all that great. This is the best we could pull out.
The Departments of the Army and Defense have really come around to embracing the military blogging community. We are frequently given access to some very high ranking individuals about a variety of topics related to the military. Troy has one such roundtable up right now from an interview with Col Bill Hix, who is the new ARSIC-South Commander in Afghanistan. So, it was an honor to have two very high profile guys within the military ranks to “appear” during our conference. Mr. Geren was supposed to be there in person, but had a last minute change to his itinerary which forced his phone in appearance.
Again, I apologize for the audio quality. We had some unanticipated changes this year that we weren’t quite prepared for. Maybe next time, we’ll have the funds for wireless microphones that will allow for more flexibility. Enjoy the video.
I thought this was a cool story and thought I’d share it. Our troops deserve anything they can get (though I’m not saying we deserve to have everything handed to us on a silver platter).
TIMONIUM, Md., Oct 27, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) – Sports fan Lloyd Dillard from Savannah, Ga., is the third weekly winner of the IWantMyManCave.com contest sponsored by Bill Me Later(R). Upon his return from Iraq, the Army Chief Warrant Officer faced stiff competition, with thousands of entries received in the third week of the contest. He is also eligible to win the grand prize — a Man Cave makeover valued at up to $15,000. As a weekly winner, he receives prizes from Fathead.
“I’m not sure what hurt more — watching Lloyd break down in tears over his busted big screen TV or the glare from the bright yellow paint in his Man Cave,” said Chris Williams, vice president of marketing for Bill Me Later, Inc. “While Lloyd’s TV looks to be a Man Cave casualty, the Fathead wall-size poster prize will quickly resuscitate Lloyd’s Man Cave decor, and kick start his Cave’s recovery. In less than a month, Bill Me Later has studied thousands of Man Cave calamities, but there’s only one remedy — the grand prize Man Cave makeover!”
What is a Man Cave?
A Man Cave is a room that includes male-centric style and is used for watching sports, shooting pool, and being with the guys. It is frequently where the cave dweller displays items considered undesirable for display elsewhere in the home by their significant other. The 2008 Man Cave Survey of 1,000 consumers found there are 11 million Man Caves in America and 24 percent of Man Cave dwellers spend more than 20 hours a week in their Cave.
Bill Me Later’s retail partners have everything needed to build a man’s paradise in his home, and the grand prize winner will fill their Man Cave with up to $15,000 of merchandise from merchants, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Newegg, Fathead, Sports Authority, FogDog, Lenovo, Blendtec and TigerDirect
If you’d like to enter the contest, read the rest of the article HERE. I will try to get him on the You Served Podcast as well.
I talked about this on the podcast (which you really should download if you didn’t listen live), but I want to put in writing as well.
For the past few days I’ve been traveling to different posts visiting my troops. One of those trips was to Ft. Campbell, KY. Just before arriving, I stopped for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Cracker Barrel, located at Exit 4 off I-24 outside Clarksville. Because I was working, I was in my uniform.
I was seated in a fairly secluded area for some privacy and so as not to distract anyone. I always feel self-conscious being in public in my uniform alone. You never know if Code Pink will show up and force me to get arrested for spitting on the only “women” I’d feel justified spitting on. I ordered the lunch special, which was the Chicken Pot Pie, and a Diet Coke. I love Cracker Barrel because it reminds of being back on the farm in Texas growing up. I used to spend my summers working on my grandfather’s farm. While most kids worked in the mall or a fast food joint, I was sweating my arse off bailing hay, feeding and corraling sheep and cows, harvesting wheat and maize, and other farm chores. My sister would work with the women around the house and bringing us men sodas and water in the field - the way it should be!! hehe (I’m gonna feel that, I’m sure)
Anyway, I quickly finished my meal and I guess the waitress realized I was ready to go. She came by my table and informed me that my check was taken care of. At first, I thought I had done something wrong. “What do you mean my check was taken care of?” I asked. For some reason I interpreted that comment as “please just leave; don’t worry about paying for your food.” I don’t know why I’d think that, but it was my immediate thought.
She explained that a man had paid for my meal already. I looked around and asked her where he was so I could at least thank him. She told me that he had already left and asked her not to let me know until he was gone. While I’ve had meals paid for before, this one came the perfect time. As you’ve been reading, the past few weeks have just been hell. I haven’t been feeling very confident about much lately inside though I’m a great actor in public. Since you’re my buds and this is my therapy, I’ll admit that I was recently diagnosed with depression. Don’t worry, it’s not the “woe is me” depression where life is hopeless. I just don’t find joy in much of anything lately. I finally - after five years - forced myself into a doctor’s office.
Anyway, this little token of appreciation by a complete stranger really made a difference at a time when I really needed one. It’s been a lonely journey lately and the Cracker Barrel Patriot made me feel like I wasn’t in this alone. My family is supposed to have my back, but it’s good to know that there are others out there that I don’t know have it as well.
So, if you’re reading this and you paid for my meal on Wednesday, 22 October at around noon, thank you sir! I may have only cost you a few dollars, but to me your generosity is priceless. I left the restaurant a very different person than I entered. And the Chicken Pot Pie was absolutely DELICIOUS!!
Some of my favorite bands are on the Roadrunner Records label: Slipknot, Nickelback, Megadeth, Fear Factory, Theory of a Deadman, Coal Chamber, and an old 80’s band called Annihilator. I also listen to many of the label’s other bands like Black Stone Cherry and others.
Yesterday, on the way home from this whirlwind trip across Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee, I stopped for gas in Athens, Alabama. Athens just happens to be where the studio is located of some of the radio stations I listen to, mostly WVNN (talk radio). The morning host had finished his show about an hour prior to my arrival, but I decided to see if he was in since I was in town and getting gas across the street.
While I was walking in, another gentlemen was coming in at the same time. He had a stack of CDs in his hands and I noted that I could relieve him of his burden if he’d like. We chuckled and approached the counter. I asked if Dale Jackson from WVNN was still around and the other gentleman asked for Jeff Andrews from WZYP. Jeff is the 3-7pm personality for the top 40 station. Darrin, the gentleman in the lobby with me, and I struck up a conversation about music. I noticed the music he was bringing in and we conversed about different bands and such.
He asked if I was doing anything last night because there was a concert in town. I told him I had a radio show that I do on Thursdays. He explained that Theory of a Deadman and Black Stone Cherry were in town along with a new band called Parlor Mob. It just so happens that the song I’ve been listening to a lot lately is Thoery’s song “I Hate My Life”. It’s actually a very funny song:
So sick of the hobos always begging for change
I don’t like how I gotta work and
They just sit around and get paid
I hate all of the people who can’t drive their cars.
Bitch you better get outta the way
Before I start falling apart
I hate how my wife is always up my ass
She always wants to buy brand new things
But I don’t have the cash.
I hate my job, all of my rich friends
I hate everyone to the bitter end.
Nothing turns out right There’s no end in sight
I hate my life!
For some reason, I can relate lately. Anyway, turns out that Darrin works for Roadrunner Records and invited me to be a guest at the concert last night. I asked what time it started and he said 9pm. Hellz yeah!! We exchanged contact information and he told me just to present my ID at the door and I’d be on the list along with a friend. Emily didn’t want to go so I took my neighbor.
The concert kicked ass. It was very smoky, which I wasn’t at all used to. But, I had a great time watching Parlor Mob and Black Stone Cherry. About halfway through Black Stone Cherry’s set, Darrin came in asked if I’d seen Jeff. I thought I had seen him but didn’t know where he was. He told me not to go anywhere and disappeared.
When he came back a few minutes later he asked if I wanted to go and meet Theory of a Deadman. Ummm, yes? I didn’t expect to meet anyone; I was just happy to be at the concert. I grabbed my buddy and we walked a few blocks to the band’s tour bus and were introduced to the band. Very cool guys with a POW/MIA license plate on the back of their bus. We made small talk and I think I convinced them to contact the USO about playing for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don’t have the picture yet, but we took pictures and they gave us each a signed copy of their latest CD, “Scars & Souvenirs“.
So, thanks also going out to Darrin and Roadrunner Records for allowing me to have a night with the guys and forget the real world for a few hours! Yes, I rocked out when they played “I Hate My Life”!! And thanks to the love of my life, Emily, for letting me go even after being gone for the previous three days.
Sometimes I can’t help but think that instead of being in the Army, I’m in the Department of Armed Redundancy Department. How in the world did we ever win wars in the past without the hundreds of duplicitous reports, memorandums, and taskings that are heaped upon us on a daily basis. Continue reading this post…
You’ve seen the liveblogs and read the quotes, now see the first panel of the 2008 milblogs for the first time on video. The really handsome guy up there is me. No not the one to the far left. No, not the one at the podium. Okay, I’m the guy on the right….
I know, I know. What took so long? Hey, I’ve got a full time job here people!! I’m not like the Blackfive bubbas who are living large sucking back martinis and puffing on expensive cigars while the money comes rolling in. I have to earn my pay!!
Anyway, this is the first of a few interviews that Marcus and I created while we were at the Milblog Conference in Vegas a few weeks ago. The problem is that parts of the video were filmed in HD and others weren’t, which has presented some challenges.
This video was shot on a Saturday morning at about 7am. I had originally wanted to interview a homeless drunk that was perched on the corner of our hotel, but by the time we got the camera from the room, he was gone. So, we did what any good journalist would do - we lied found someone else to talk to. Probably the only preacher in Vegas up at 7 in the morning.
Except for the two years that I was in training when I first joined the Army, I’ve always gotten language pay. I joined the Army as a Spanish cryptologic linguist. Being proficient in a foreign language means extra pay. I’ve had that extra pay for 12 years now. Except on two occasions, I’ve always gotten the high end of the pay scale for maxing out the test. Those two occasions were: the first test I took to graduate from the school and immediately upon returning from Ecuador. The Army pays on a 2/2+/3 scale. To get paid, you have to score at least a 2/2 (reading/listening) on the test. 2 is a basic understanding; 2+ is a moderate understanding; and 3 is an advanced understanding. The lowest I’ve ever gotten in 12 years is a 3/2+ on the Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT). Normally, I get a 3/3 on the test. Until recently. Continue reading this post…
An Army soldier deployed in Afghanistan is on a two-week leave to witness his wife give birth to quadruplets in Nevada.
Army Spec. Joe Shatswell, 22, has been reunited with his wife, Darah, in Reno, where she is in a hospital awaiting the birth in the next several days.
She will mark her 30th week of pregnancy Tuesday. Doctors hope the babies will weigh at least 3 pounds each.
“We’re kind of nervous and excited,” Darah Shatswell told Gardnerville’s Record-Courier newspaper. “You wait forever for something, then it is just around the corner. The faster, the better, but whatever is best for the babies.”
Joe Shatswell had not seen his wife since the couple found out they were having quadruplets.
The pregnancy was a surprise because the Shatswells decided to wait until after his deployment ends in July 2009 to expand their family. They have a 2-year-old daughter, Zowie.
Darah Shatswell, 24, said her husband would be able to stay in Nevada until the end of October before he returns to Afghanistan.
The Shatswells, stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, relocated to Gardnerville, about 45 miles south of Reno, over the summer after they discovered the quadruplets were on the way.
The couple have family there.
The community has rallied around the couple, donating everything from diapers and quilts to gift cards.
You think he’ll have a lot on his mind when he gets back? Here’s an earlier story prior to his return.
Eight years ago, on October 12, 2000, just before the presidential elections, the USS Cole was struck by suicide bombers outside the Adan port in Yemen. 17 American Sailors were killed and others injured. It was an event that literally changed my life. Continue reading this post…
My first duty station was at Fort Irwin, CA. I remember being completely upset because I had orders to go to San Antonio, TX as my first assignment out of training. While I was out-processing I was told that I had been diverted to Fort Irwin. Everyone felt bad for me. I was angry. After all, I’m from San Antonio.
So, in 1996, I headed to the desert post with my wife and newborn baby. Fort Irwin is located literally 40 miles from the nearest anything. Once you leave that gate, there is nothing but desert for 40 miles. The nearest town is Barstow. Until we were able to get on post housing, we lived in a run down hotel in the bad part of town with crack dealers, homeless shelters, and hunchback guy. Emily was afraid to leave the room while I was at work. But, I digress.
The road into Ft. Irwin was a long, two-lane thing that seemed to never end. At 0530 in the morning without sunlight, you never knew where you were on the road. All you could see was a stream of red taillights from other cars heading to work. The road was impossibly dangerous because the shoulders were gravel and all the little humps in the road hid oncoming traffic. Without fail, you’d get the jackass who wanted to drive under the speed limit and impatient people would pass even with oncoming traffic obviously closing in. The entire length of the road is dotted with little white crosses and the names of those who had died on that road. Continue reading this post…
