Fred Thompson

Well the not so secret is soon to be offically out. Former TN Senator/TV & movie star Fred Thompson is announcing his run for the presidency.

For those of you who want a true conservative but scared of the fact Gov Mitt Romney is a Mormon, well now you have your man.

So, the perfect ticket as of today.... Romney/Thompson or I'd be satisfied with Thompson/Romney.

Rudy was a great leader during the days following the 9/11 tragedy but he leans way too much to the left for me.

Chip

Memorial Day

Just attended a service in honor of Memorial Day. It's a rainy day and initally the rain held off, but in the middle of the ceremony the rain began to pour. All soldiers & seabees in attendance held their formation & stood motionless at attention.

The chaplain's words and reading of the names of those who have fallen was quite an emotional time. In this time of support dwindling and a political mess, there is no doubt these men died with honor protecting their country before self.

What normally is burgers on the grill & a day off from work, this Memorial Day in Afghanistan will surely be the one I remember the most.

chip

Bon Jovi

For those of us who lived through the 80's MTV Generation, we all remember Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer".

Well I'm glad to say this week, we passed our 1/2 way point of our mobilization.

Thus we are "Half way there, ...ahhh...Living on a Prayer".

Needless to say, many prayers are said here. It's encouraging to see how openly folks pray, before chow etc. I was asked by someone during chow the other day, "What do you pray for?". I looked directly at him and said, well I thank God for the food and day, and I pray that he keeps You & I safe also. He seemed shocked that I was praying for him , but then he said. "Oh...Good...Thanks."

I've been fortunate to attend some type of service most every Sunday that I've been deployed. One of the things I look forward to upon my return is the old time traditional hymns. I guess to attract the new generation, the new songs are the "in thing". I can't wait to hear Brother Ted Avant sing the wrong verse at Waldron Street Christian Church of an old hymn.

It's been over a year now, since Pop died. Now that I've hit 40 years old, I'm sure losing folks close to you will become more often. Well that stinks, but how blessed we are to have our children running around. My brother and I always bought Pop a Zippo lighter from our duty stations, now my brother will have to receive the next one.

chip

Toby Keith

Toby Keith and the "Easy Money" band arrived & played with the USO. Of course the crowd & myself enjoyed the show. Toby has performed over 100 of these shows in Germany, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 5 years.

For those who think he's always in the Green Zone, I assure you he plays where you don't want to have a picnic. This year/tour he's as deep in with the Cowboys/Indians as any of the military.

Doing way more than his part, Toby Keith is a true American Patriot for taking his time to come see the troops right in the foxholes.

Thanks Toby !

Uniforms 24/7 ?

I just received an email asking if we wear uniforms 24/7.

Well yes & no

Not including the time in the rack which can be anything from a sleeping bag, cot or a twin size bed with mattress dependent on your current location, we wear one of two uniforms. The first is the Desert Uniform which you would think we would wear. Our only other choice is our PT gear which is either a Navy Blue sweat suit or Navy Blue shorts and our brown t-shirt. That's it, no otherchoice of clothes what-so-ever. This does make it easier for laundry etc, so no big deal.

It will be rather odd when I return home and have to choose what to wear.

chip

Uniforms 24/7 ?

I just received an email asking if we wear uniforms 24/7.

Well yes & no

Not including the time in the rack which can be anything from a sleeping bag, cot or a twin size bed with mattress dependent on your current location, we wear one of two uniforms. The first is the Desert Uniform which you would think we would wear. Our only other choice is our PT gear which is either a Navy Blue sweat suit or Navy Blue shorts and our brown t-shirt. That's it, no otherchoice of clothes what-so-ever. This does make it easier for laundry etc, so no big deal.

It will be rather odd when I return home and have to choose what to wear.

chip

DOD no access to My Space or You Tube

The rumor was true, all Department of Defense computers are now blocking access to MySpace.com and YouTube.com. The majority of people serving are 1/2 my age and thus spend more time on MySpace than they do anything else. To say this is a moral buster is an understatement. One soldier said " I lost all my friends". Ah the return of email?

New Blog Home

Blooger.com is part of Google/Gmail so it should be "good", many of you didn't like going to MySpace anyway so maybe this will be better.

We shall see.

MySpace is huge for moral of the SeaBees and Soldiers, DOD making a big mistake removing the access from computers.

chip