DAY 153: 27 JUN 08

Well another good Air Force day. I am not usually as cheesy and happy about being an Airman but today I walked away proud.

So this morning I went in and got ready to anchor only before having to go to yet another fallen comrade ceremony. 4 American flag covered caskets roll by as I salute and its like a knife into your heart for the first one and a little turn for each subsequent one.

I went back up and anchored and did a terrible job. My mind was just not there, but while I have developed some type of immunity to those ceremonies, at my core they still shake me.

Well then for lunch we got to meet with a 3 Star General who is basically in charge of all of the Airman who are filling ILO (In lieu of) taskings for the Army, like me. It was a small group and boy did some issues come up about various problems we have. I introduced myself and only asked about the crappy combat skills training that I got at Ft. Dix. He was super nice and made me feel proud to be an Airman.

I have promised myself that I will not go off on an Army tangent here but this is exactly why the Air Force is the supreme service in my view. Our leaders make a concerted effort to hear issues from the people doing the work. Not from some report a lieutenant hands over because they are too good to talk to a private (low ranking enlisted person). I came back from the lunch and saw this one guy that has the same exact job as me in the Army and asked him if he would ever be able to meet, greet, and have lunch with an Army 3 Star. He said “O hello no.”

Anyway I had a good lunch and then came back to work and sent the feed up. I am actually writing quite early today because I want to post this, go do the sports show, and then relax.

So we are having this BBQ tomorrow and this one Master sergeant reservist who works with us thinks she is the stuff because she works for AFN. I never have got that because until I am freaking Brian Williams or John Stewart, I am a nobody. Anyway she sends out an email saying to pick stuff up from the dining facility tonight so she can cook and serve 140 people, most of whom she invited.

Now first of all this is a going away for OUR people. Second of all we do not need the Army (101st Airborne Division) barging in on us as they do a good enough job of that without invitation. Instead of having a unit meeting and seeing what everyone thinks, she just went ahead and decided to invite all of her ‘friends’ (AKA smoking buddies).

Well apparently there was some backlash as people were pissed about people from outside of our unit being invited. I could care less because at this juncture I will go, watch, eat, and not say a word. I did however fire a funny comment to our station commander saying that I invited some of my local national Afghan friends who would be hungry for some BBQ after cleaning the toilets. He laughed and walked out of the room knowing that the general consensus was a going away should be some thing intimate for us and genuine to those who are leaving. O well I am sure my after action report of this fiasco will be just as entertaining as the preview.

Now onto the tight rope walking of Dad’s dirty laundry policy. I see that after a little hiatus dad posted only to be followed by Mom’s daily post. Well let’s take care of the White Elephant in the room. It is my view that no matter feelings for the other person, a mother, father, grandmother, grandfather should be able to see their son, daughter, grandson, or granddaughter. (Unless the law has dictated otherwise for good reason) While Robin should be the main point of contact here, since it is her child, I DO think Mom should find some way for Dad to see Emma. Judge Wapner rules in favor of the plaintiff.

If I were home I would try to help the situation, but at this point I can only hope and pray that Robin gets healthy and makes an effort to see Dad and take Emma with her. I will say no more on this matter as I am in Afghanistan and can do absolutely 100% nothing about it.

Well as far as reenlisting if I were offered the Pentagon Channel it would be mighty enticing to say the least. I am not sure about the deploy ability of that slot but reaching, what I feel is the height of military broadcasting, would be awesome! Also only being 4 hours from PGH and 3 from NJ, would make it hard to pass up. O yeah I would then qualify for this new GI Bill they just passed today.

I am trying to track down the details on it but it would REALLY help me in trying to get a PhD or Law degree. Anyway I guess that’s it for today. Word is our replacements may not be here until late, late July but I will remain hopeful until the official word comes down. Everyone have a great weekend and as always thanks for reading.

NO NEWSCAST AVAILABLE TODAY WILL POST TOMORROW

So while I went and did the sports show and waited for the embed code to come up I found out some real gruesome stuff about the 4 that went past me today. This is a sick world. The enemy here is VERY real. Good night