Northern Disclosure

Platoon Operations

I was emailing a classmate and friend back home the other day and was asked a pretty simple question but it was pretty hard to answer. Calee is a young college student that was in several of my Poli Sci classes and has very little contact or knowledge with the military. She asked the simple question of "What do I ussually do during the day?"

Of course I gave her a brief duty discription and gave the hardened answer one would expect if they were knowlegable of our lifestyle. I realized that I missed a great oppurtunity to tell someone back home of the not so military things we do.

Bad Voo Doo is an extremely blessed Platoon with many friends and supporters and because of this we sometimes have an excess of certain items. We don't waste anything that we get so sometimes we distribute our booty throughout the ranks. My good friend Dennis Coma approached me earlier this year with an idea to help an Iraqi family but we are limited in contact due to the new mission constraints so was unable to assist then. Since that moment it has been nagging me so I have kept my eyes out for an oppurtunity, then I just decided to create one. On our routes we always encounter kids begging and stealing from our convoys. Thay can be a pain so many kids get the cold shoulder or the "mean face" because we know they are giving information on us while they are trying to rob us blind. We try to discourage our TCN's (Third Country Nationals) from giving things to them because it brings them closer to the road and we are afraid they could get hurt with our big trucks. However out in the desert there is a Bedouin Family with 8 kids that live in a small tent, keep a couple of camels and some sheep and goats. The kids are all under 10 and they always run out to greet us so we usually hook them up with water since it is safer than other places. We have now decided to give them things that they can use and need versus a couple of lolipops, suckers and some water. During Christmas we recieved a plethora of dental hygiene items and some vitamins as well as toys. Yes people send toys for us to play with, mainly as gags but we have been able to turn a gag into a precious gift to needy  kids with absolutely nothing but the one set of clothes they wear every day.

During our missions we take "Tactical Halts" to distro this stuff and I am very proud of the compassion Bad Voo Doo is showing some strangers that we have never even talked to, or will ever get to know just someone in need and that was enough to get the guys in action.

We also have some friends in a tiny outpost near one of our routes in the 82 Airborne. This little outpost they live in has no luxuries, one small shower trailer that they all share to include the females. They cook their own meals and do EVERYTHING themselves. We are pretty fortunate so we feel bad when brothers have it worse than us. We started "Operation McDonalds" which consists of us taking a trip to a McDonalds in Kuwait then stashing the food in our vehicles, crossing the border and arranging a clandestine hand off of the "package" to my buddy. The guys chip in so the soldiers up north don't have to pay which I think is cool, but its worth it to me to see the face on the McDonlds worker when I order 30 cheeseburgers, and 25 Big Macs, 10 McChickens and 12 Quarter Pounders with Cheese to go.

So, there is alot more to Bad Voo Doo than skull crushing security, sometimes it's good to share in our Platoon Operations

Canadian Cartoons

Bad Voo Doo has been rolling hard and working a lot. Of course we are not working anymore than some of the others its just that everyone has been working. The Enemy has been picking up there work load too so as you can imagine that keeps everyone busy. All is well and the boys of Bad Voo Doo are enjoying the time flying, the webmaster had to remind me to write. I thought I had just written and JP was " that was a week ago, Sergeant" so here I am getting you all caught back up.

Ranada the Nor Cal Warrior won the Deadlift competition and Oso the Mexican Bear AKA Aldama and his wife welcomed a new member of the family in this week as well. I do not have anymore details on that because Mom and Baby are still in the hospital and we are awaiting further word such as sex name and other vital statistics.

My good friend from when I was even shorter than I am now, Jonathon wrote me the other day and drew my attention to his Uncle who started to display some of his cartoons. Its my understanding that he has been a closet cartoonist for quite some time just never put it out there. There is a cool pic on there called "Gun Boat" that makes me think I might have joined the wrong service but then I remember thats just crazy talk. Nunn the less I will share this link with you, its just interesting to look back at memories of a guy and then learn he has a hidden talent that I never saw coming.

http://www.grantpiffer.com/

Warning there are some adult content so stay out kiddies! Yes JP you can look! But sorry to dissappoint no Unicorns.

From Hero to Zero

I really can't participate in my hobbies over here other than MMA training but one thing that I have been able to do is read. I get my hands on a book every now and then but mainly I read the papers. Yes I read the papers when possible.
My good friend Deborah hooked me up with a New York Times subscription and we get the Stars and Stripes on a pretty regular basis. These are very contrasting papers one left and the other that caters to its military readership so its good to see more than one thing. Don't get me wrong, I am not confessing to be a liberal or a conservative, its no secret I am PRO SOLDIER but that does not make me a face or commercial to a propoganda campaign either.
I don't get my headlines from the papers because it is usualy a little behind, the New York Times gets in about a week after print and the Stars and Stripes is about 48 hours- to a week off. Like we are just now learning about the Michigan Primary results.

I was sitting at my desk after finishing some paperwork and picked up the latest paper I recieved via mail. On the front page there was a story about soldiers,marines and service members returning to the US and getting in trouble with the Law mainly for killing. Of course this intrigued me so I read the front page portion and followed the story into the back pages. It was a compelling story several young men who had returned and found themselves in some kind of violent situation that resulted in death, the story first brushed over a few scenarios then went into depth. I in a limited space behind my desk fold the paper in a manner that I can only see one page at a time but I do this with many things, I think its to keep the surprise or not spoil what could happen next. I will be frank I was not prepared for what I was going to read on the following page.

I turned the paper over and saw the picture of a "biker looking" guy, shaved bald head with a thick chin beard and it reminded me of myself when I got back last time. I saw alot of myself in that photo and the face was comfortingly familiar. The Story continued and went to Nebraska where a seasoned veteran returned after his second tour then got in an altercation resulting in a fatal shooting. The name rang a bell but not a loud one for it was a common name and for a second I thought about the guy I used to serve with named that. I smiled and remembered laying in the kuwaiti sands trying to see how far out we could get our new sniper rifles to shoot and Strasburg getting a solid 1800 meter shot off. I then remembered sitting on a roof top OP with him and taking turns scanning for the enemy. Some of my friends didn't get along with him and everyone has their differences but he never did wrong by me and was a great sniper. When we got back from Iraq he ate a couple of meals at the house like everyone else did and decided to get out of the Army and go back to Iraq as a contractor because of his limited skill sets. I too suffer from this afflication and almost followed in his foot steps.
Imagine my astonishment when I see a picture of Strasburg in the signature STRYKER CCU's (we were the only unit to ever wear them) and realized I just read the fate of the man I was just reminiscing with a smile about. I had heard from a good friend of mine and former leader of his that he had found some trouble but I kind of chalked it up to rumours and bad blood. The biker looking face was Strasburg serving his 24-36 year sentence in Nebraska for murder.

I continued to read hoping that the story would take a twist and things would be different but only sadness followed the story. Near its conclusion there was a piece added about CPT Ben Tiffner a former Platoon Leader in the Tomahawks who was killed here a few months back wrote the court in hopes to demonstrate support. He wrote about how we are trained to react a certain way and that Strasburg had done so over here and was rewarded for such actions and was faced with many situations that required a solid resolution in violence that perhaps he could not differentiate between here and there. He went on to state he was not writing for a "please excuse this guy" purpose but to hope that with his punishment there would be help and some form of PTSD treatment.

From Hero to Zero, this happens far to frequently. I hope all the guys that need help get it for the sake of their families and themselves. I am not sympathetic to those that murder but perhaps I understand the willingness ingrained. Thank GOD for my wife and kids who bring light into this dark day.

Idle Hands are the Devils Playmate

When I was a kid my Grandmother would say "Idle hands are the devils playmate". She was a deeply spiritual woman and extremely conservative. She would not approve of watching television, playing guns, cursing or any kind of profanity, kissing tag (personal favorite) with the neighbor girls. Basically she was the fun police and we used to joke that the Mounties (RCMP) inserted her into our lives to keep us honest. She would always want us to do something around the house because when left alone to our own devices we would turn to sin.

I will be honest, for the first time I will admit that the old bat was correct. If I was left alone or was able to choose what I was going to do it would involve large amounts of "SIN".

Yes, I would spend a little time with the wife, enjoy some medicinal single malt or rye with a side of ice, and I would sleep till I wanted to get up.

I believe that my grandmother has returned and been reincarnated within the leadership of this battalion because, "idle hands are the devils playmate". We are going balls out right now. We accomplish a mission get back with just enough time to get our ass chewed for whatever we did on the mission or for whatever the guys left behind did or didn't do when we were gone then it is a shower, sleep, visit the blue water sauna and repeat. There are two schools of thought, 1) when you are busy time flies and before you know it you will be back home with sweety and the kids, or 2) Sleep as much as possible because then you are really only here half the time. This seems to be popular with the veterans Ranger Sid especially. I am caught in a purgatory because there never is enough time in the day for me to accomplish all that I need too and when I sleep I diminish that time but I need my rest too because what happens outside the wire requires my total unrelenting attention.

I wish I could just roll over and sleep but I fear to let my guard down long enough for that to truly happen. I guess I am still afraid of complacency so I will remain busy and unfortunately sin free. TICK, TICK, TICK

More like a Creature than a Comfort

There are some things in life we cannot avoid; death, taxes, losing money, getting heart broken, and the pleasure of being sick. As children we got sick all the time. Every year the flu season would strike and we would have those "sick days" Yes the infamous Sick Days. I know that there are some of you reading this right now probably on a sick day but that is something that many of us have not experienced since we were kids.

"Not feeling well Private? GO TO SICK CALL!"
"what are your symptoms? well it doesn't matter, drink water take this motrin and go back to work unless you are bleeding from somewhere in which case I will slap a bandage on it and you can get some extra motrin"

These are probably the most common quotes and the most recognized cure in the Army for anything. We try as leaders to manage our guys in such a way that if they are sick we cut them some slack but there really is no Sick Days unless you are truly 100% potentially going to die from this illness that will get you some time off.

I rarely get sick myself I would like to thank my Father for the extremely resilleint genes but when I do it ussually sucks. Of course there are the self inflicted "slower" days but I mean ill. This past week I have had the pleasure of being ill. You know the things are leaking out of your body from every hole except the belly button and you can't control the timing or rate of the leakage from these holes. AHHH Yes. Montezuma's Revenge or I guess over here its Ahkmed's (can't say mohammed too culturally insensitive). So when you are sick at home you are just that, in the comfort of your own domicile, laying on the cold calming lanoleum of your own bathroom looking into a prestinely clean porceline shrine. The door locks and you can stay in there all day if you want. Get messy? Hop in the shower and clean up. Yes the creature comforts of home. Heres a little Toby reality check. EXPLOSIVE Vomitting and DIARHEA! nearest latrine 250 meters oh and its a porta john, enjoy that puke view! (Its been storming over here, Baghdad got snow) I live in a tent with a bunch of dudes that enjoy the hell out of anothers misery. Can't blamethem, I do too! There seems to always be an entertainment value out of anothers misfortune and suffering. The fever was having me stay in the heat of our tent but the symptoms were forcing me out, the distance was too great so I had to comprimise. I look in the opposite direction and saw an open area. I dug a small hole and thats were I would puke, easy fix right, sand is easily moved, holes get filled in and I get a second or too of alone time. Then comes the infamous radio chatter, yup mission coming, time to go to work. I get Doc Valarde, he gives me some shot of "idontcarewhatyoucallit" and I am back in the fight. I am not a fun to be around but I am there none the less. Of course the mission takes three times as long as we had planned and the entire time I am holding on to the dream of it being over for some much needed rest that by the time it is over I am pretty much better, minus some minor nassaue. The best part I was able to regain my dignity throughout it all! As I am puking into my little sand hole a concerned member of Bad Voo Doo asked me if I was alright and unfortunately for him the only thing that came to mind was, "unless you want to join whats in this hole, understand I AM JUST FINE!"

A quick here is, WHY I MiL-BLOG

That past couple days I have recieved alot of emails about my blog and why I do it. I as you can imagine stay relatively busy over here and in an attempt not to be rude will field the question here so not to forget anyone and to perhaps answer it preemptively for those about to ask.

My last tour I was surrounded by amazing guys and saw things that inspired me and changed me. I saw men do amazing things and saw mankind's darkness. For those that did great things the world really missed out on their defining moments and their real contributions. So that I would not forget these things I put pen to paper. I decided to publish things I had written to provide a long term legacy and something tangible. The book Northern Disclosure was the result. Blogging was only in its infancy, my unit did have Colby Buzzel and I was impressed with the use of the internet but I was not as savy or bold.

This tour I am writing this blog to compliment the other writings that will all be part of a great published package with the blog entries and other stories that the world back home rarely hears from the front lines. The men of Bad Voo Doo deserve the recognition of their efforts and accomplishments and the families deserve honesty and timely reports of their husbands, sons, brothers and fathers.

You're gonna laugh, You're gonna DIE

I am not from the State of Utah, but right now I am a fan of Utah. SGT Jill Stevens a National Guard Soldier and Medic has won Miss Utah! Yes, there are good looking women in the Army, to include the National Guard but this is not why I am excited. I have watched these pageants in the past and wondered if these women realized what they were talking about and if push came to shove would they do something about it.
Here we have a citizen, a soldier, a HERO (awarded the Combat Medical Badge for redering aid under fire and in combat) and woman that can only bring credit and pride to our entire Nation.
When she visits troops at Walter Reed she will know what she is talking about and can relate. Of course this has ALREADY happened. Finally a contestant that really deserves the accolades not just a magazine cover.

A few weeks back the USO put together a great show for the troops over here and believe it or not I was finally not on a mission so Bad Voo Doo actually got to watch it. Louis Black entertained with some humor, Lance Armstrong spoke about perspective, focus and heroes. Mrs Doubtfire himself ROBIN WILLIAMS possibly the funniest person I have met made me cry with his humor and then Chris Rock came out and sang some christmas carols like "Sweet Home Alabama".

The good news, the show was so great that most people will forget that it was openned by Miss USA. Anytime you have a bunch of deployed, sexually deprived guys, even the scent of perfume and you will ussually witness hysteria, however this time was not the case. It was painfully obvious that make up can make anyone look good and thank god for photo shop but what was really dissappointing was her statements. She came out acting like she was introducing a band at a House Party then tried to relate to the crowd by saying that we had something in common, because "like us" she didn't think "I would be sent to Iraq for my job either". Listen young lady, we have nothing in common other than we represent the same country and my job doesn't involve trying to relate to people to gain acceptance it involves actions that ussually alienate me from people like her. When I talk of "World Peace" its with the hope that I will be able to spend more time with my family not to gain a tiara so I look forward to next years pageant so that I can hopefully watch MISS UTAH SGT Jill Stevens represent our country in both a tiara and a kevlar!
I also know when she comes to visit our guys and gals over here she will have enough sense to not say, "we have a great show for you, you're gonna laugh, you're gonna DIE"

New Year

Happy New Year Everyone! Bad Voo Doo has welcomed it in with staying very busy. It's good to be busy because TIME FLIES when you are having fun right. Well, I enjoy the time flying but there is an expense to everything.
In an effort to lessen the footprint of US Forces there have been alot of contracts awarded to companies that can do the same thing that US soldiers are doing. They key to it is, are they able to do it with the same level of success? Soldiers are great at accomplishing tasks because there is accountability and leadership that provides purpose, direction and motivation.
The contractors have a minor part of this missing. The are motivated by money and the direction that they get does not have any checks and balances. A soldier can be help accountable when they do some nuckle head move but a contractor? Who talks to them or holds them accountable? Is the UN, the US or the Iraqi government going to write them an angry letter? We witnessed this during the Black Water fiasco. There is a maverick and reckless attitude and behaivor that comes from these MERCENARIES that gives our Nation and the United Kingdom a bad name when their actions are seen under those flags that they display on everything like a nod from the Regina herself. They treat not only the Iraqi Nationals with disregard and disrespect but US forces as well. We have no recourse but to sit by and watch them act the fool.
We do see the irony though and there is poetic justice. We have adjusted our ways in certain aspects and the enemy that wants to kill us continue to do their thing and we just defeat them, but those that emplace weapons against us in retaliation for our lack of consideration or understanding have dropped. Yes I am about to testify about hearts and minds! The contractors have felt the wrath of the locals alot lately and have been the specific targets of attacks. Coincidence I think not! Being Billy Bad Ass is one thing but having Moral and Ethical courage is a higher form of bravery and what seperates US Forces from these tough guy, half a clown MERCS.
So if the Boys and I need to work more to improve a little human relations and keep the ground that we gained on the hearts and minds so be it. Again, I am in awe of the maturity and composure of Bad Voo Doo so it will be indeed be a great year as long as we keep driving on the way we are.

TROLLING FOR CONTACT

Christmas arrived at BAD VOO DOO land only 1 day late. Some of the guys were up north earning a great "Last Christmas.." story for when they are back in civilization while the rest of us waited like little kids for their return so we could open gifts and be together.

As you probably saw in a previous post the tree was set up and hidden from the platoon so only a select few of us knew of it and we were able to surprise and impress those who didn't know or expect to have christmas. Sherri and Mike sent a great tree that I had been hiding in my tent behind medical supplies that was truly large and with the decorations from JP's Mom, Ranger Sids family, Crystal and our family suport group we were able to hook it up. Unfortunately the LT like any other impatient young man rushed to hook up the lights and forgot to check the voltage or set up a transformer first and blew the lights up. It was good for a laugh and some ridicule though.

We filed everyone in gave a message of hope and cheer for "world peace" ....WRONG we gave a message of brotherhood then got down to business. Everyone got something which was my goal and those with more need were taken care of. Thanks again to EVERYONE that help make that happen, especially Wendy, Melissa, Nichole those already mentioned and those not you know who you are.

We have been operating more as a Platoon here lately though which for me is great. I love to be around the guys and not that evil platoon sergeant that is only seen when things are bad and people are getting in trouble. Since we have been operating in the past as smaller elements I have been alienated from portions of the platoon at times so getting back together has required getting caught up and I like to take pride in knowing my soldiers and being up to date with them.

I have cried and complained about what it has taken to get this to take place but I like it and I am happy that we are together and enjoying the fellowship. So now we are all together out there on the road like fishermen in a boat with as many lines in the water as possible knowing we can only catch one fish at a time trying to catch the world. The smart guys in military intelligence yes I know the old oxymoron, have looked at the enemies patterns and created an analysis which they so intelligently call "pattern analysis" so uneducated retarded GRUNT's like us can understand, have come up with spreadsheets that show times and locations of enemy activity and because it is in Microsoft Excel it must be true and therefore predictable.

Even Daffy Duck knows expect the unexpected but in the intell world there is no such thing. So when should we go out when its the worst or the safest? Well that depends what side of the war you want to be on. We would like to be on the winning side. Like Joe Rogan states on Fear Factor winning takes risks and facing fears and demons. We are trying to figure out what side the powers that be are on but till then we are ready and Bad Voo Doo is still on patrol TROLLING FOR CONTACT.

Its the night before Christmas, and all in our Tent
We are working on armbars, straight and some bent
With sweet thoughts of my wife and the money she spent

My Wife and friends set up the tree with care
with sorrowful thoughts of how I am not there
Our kids all tucked in so peaceful in bed
with visions of toys spinning in their heads

Still "Over Here" in the fight and with sweat
I know next year will be better thats a Safe BET

Sleep Tight little Scarlett,Tristan, Jeffrey and Reagan Too
I'm in Gods hands fighting with my brothers in BAD VOO DOO!