Shenanigans!

It's become a sort of steady mantra among the "gang" here that anytime the Army makes us do something that seems plain silly (often the case) or when we see someone doing something not particularly smart here in the unit or if the gang decides to run off to not do work (i.e. - go to lunch in El Paso - see above) that someone in the crowd will yell out "Shenanigans!"....it just seems to apply. So, we are back at McGregor trying to stay focused on leaving but really just waiting for our airplane ride to Kuwait and suffering through a whole lot of shenanigans from the Army side of the house as we wait. There's also been weather shenanigans as it is now snowing and sleeting here (which makes me very grumpy - ask my staff) and we all commit our own personal shenanigans by packing and repacking our stuff and trying to decide what, if anything, needs to be left behind or mailed to ourselves forward since it won't fit in our alloted luggage allowances (more Army shenanigans)....other than the snow, though, and the fact that everyone has an emotional hangover from pass, all is seemingly well.

Thanksgiving Pass

So...I think that I could best describe our four day pass for the holiday as thrilling at the beginning (arrival at the airport); melancholy in the middle (as the realization began to loom that I was leaving again); and depressing at the end (as I left for the airport AGAIN). Unfortunately, or not, my family has been through this routine so many times in the past decade that the kids (according to my wife) tend to "recover" fairly quickly now. When you give it some thought, the pass, although an absolute necessity, is a pretty stressful event. There's the pressure to make up for the last two months of being gone added to the normal holiday stress on top of the fact that we all know that I'm leaving again (until my two week leave period sometime in April). It's tough on everyone and I'm proud of how the family has handled it all. Overall, it was a wonderful time and I got a chance to see the kids doing their "things" like dance, horse back riding (above) and just hanging around the house. We also got a chance to bowl as a family (compted by the Palace Lanes owner when he found out I was leaving - thanks for that) and just hang out and reconnect a bit. So, thanks out to the family for their continued support and to my wife who continues to support me and the Nation by holding things firmly in place on the homefront.

Misc. Pictures

As I'm home for Thanksgiving....and feeling lazy and distracted, I'm just going to post some misc. photos that I haven't already posted to this point. The game will be putting them in context!

Our Bunker painting as promised a little unit lineage!

The lineage and honors of the 72nd Brigade, 49th Armored Division, can be traced back to the first iteration of the 36th Infantry Division, which was originally organized at Camp Bowie (Fort Worth), TX, on 18 July 1917, and which drew from units of the Texas and Oklahoma National Guard. After taking part in operations in France during World War I, the unit was reorganized into 2 separate units, an "all Texas" division, while its Oklahoma units sub-components joined to form part of the 45th Infantry Division.

The Division was mobilized on 25 November 1940, and placed on active duty station at Camp Bowie, before transferring overseas to North Africa and Italy. In the process, the 72nd became the first American combat division to land in Europe. Taking part in combat operations in Italy and Southern France, the unit had accumulated seven campaign streamers, taken part in two assault landings and had 14 of its members receive the Medal of Honor.

Upon its return home, the unit was reorganized as part of the Texas National Guard and was deactivated in 1968. With the reactivation of the 49th Armored Division, the 72nd Brigade assumed the lineage and honors of the 36th Infantry Division. Upon the deactivation of the 49th Armored Division in 2002 and the reactivation of the 36th Infantry Division, units of the 72nd began operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and on the Homefront for Operation Noble Eagle in defense of the Global War on Terror.

Eighty-two members of the Texas National Guard took the oath of reenlistment 26 July 2004 at the cradle of Texas liberty. Although these Texans weren't preparing to take a last stand in an old stone mission, their action was steeped in symbolism. The Soldiers are from the 72nd Brigade Combat Team, including Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 72nd Brigade; the 536th Forward Support Battalion; and the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 141st Infantry Regiment.

Both the 1st and 3rd battalions hold the lineage of the 'Washington Guards' and carry the streamers for the Alamo. They were organized in the spring of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. The militia unit became known as the First Texas Volunteer Guards after the Civil War and received the current designation along regular Army lines in 1917.

The 1st Battalion still refers to itself as "First Texas" and the regimental motto is "Remember the Alamo," the battle cry that led "Texians" to victory over the army of President-General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna six weeks after he had wiped out the Alamo defenders.

Just a wake-up left...

A few more pictures of our lovely base here above...today, the Dining Facility will serve their Thanksgiving meal and all of the COL's and LTC's (including me) will serve the meal to all of the Brigade. It is something that I did in Kosovo when we were deployed for Thanksgiving and a great time and opportunity to serve the soldiers (so to speak). Tomorrow morning I will fly to Houston and spend the week with my family...can't wait to see everybody and to have some family time prior to shipping out.

One more day and a wake-up.

As we draw close to finalizing two months of training here and heading home for a four day pass with the family, I realize that I haven't quite shared the majestic wonder that is Camp McGregor with my blogging audience. So, I've posted the pics above and will post more in the next day or so before I head back to Houston to eat Turkey (actually it will be Christmas dinner early per the family agreement we have this year). Enjoy the splendor and, yes, it is the barren wasteland that it appears to be but so Iraq will be the same.

Ferris Beuller's Day Off

Last week while we were running around in gun trucks, the Majors and I hatched a plot to escape from Camp McGregor for the first time in weeks. So...this past Sunday, we "procured" a vehicle and went down to Ft. Bliss main post to the PX (think department store) and to lunch at your classic hole in the wall mexican food restaurant in El Paso. Pictured above are your brave defenders of freedom stuffing themselves with Queso Fundido and Fajitas. Unfortunately, no beer allowed under current regulation(especially with the lawyer in the crowd). A fun time was had by all and it made up (almost) for several weeks of what has to be the worst dining facility in the United States Army at McGregor. This group of field grade officers is one of the most professional group of officers/soldiers that it has been my privilege to work with...they are truly great Americans doing the extremely difficult work under harsh circumstances and with the hardest work still ahead of them. You have reason to be proud as well.

Katy's Big Game

One of the things that I am trying to accomplish with this blog is to let everyone get a taste of deployment (preparation, training, lifestyle, etc.) but to also balance that against what is going on simultaneously for me on the homefront. One of those events happened this evening as Katy had her last baseball game (also Jack got into the act with her batting helmet). The report was that it was chilly but fun and her team fought to an honorable tie! Good work, Katy. Way to stick with it this season....I'm proud of you.

Blast Wall Art

I think that it is interesting to ponder how many units and how many soldiers in those units have been through this training base since 9/11. Hundreds of thousands of sons, fathers, spouses, etc. moving into Camp McGregor and preparing to go to war and then moving out to accomplish their missions. One of the traditions here that helps to quantify that is that each unit paints these concrete walls that are erected all over the place in an attempt to acclimate us to our future environment (like the call to prayer that blasts us five times a day). Downrange these are called T-walls and their purpose is pretty obvious. I've included a few above to demonstrate. Our unit will paint ours this week and I'll include a picture.

College Dorm

Normally this barracks full of field grade officers (Majors and Lieutenant Colonels) is loud and raucous until 11:00 or so feeling much like one of the college Corps dorms at A&M (no doubt due to the fact that there are a ton of former Aggie Corps types here - reference previous blog). Most of you would be surprised at how quickly a group of 40'ish men can regres to college behavior...tonight, though, the hallway lights are off at 8:00! Mostly due to the fact that we started our fourth day of lane exercises out in the Humvees all day today at 0500 (see pics above) and will start a live fire exercise tomorrow morning at 0400. Live fire means that we run the same type of convoy operations that we have been but we use live ammunition at targets along the way. It's a great deal quieter tonight but I'm sure will be back to normal in a few nights. The exercises have been great so far except for those unlucky few who the Observer/Controller decides are "notional" injured but then get a real IV stuck in their arm so that the medics can train. Laying in the dirt and trusting your buddy's steady hand is a bit of a leap of faith but it worked out for all. So, up again early for more good Army training tomorrow.