Home, Afghanistan, Germany, Afghanistan

Well, that has been the order of where I have been. I guess I need to explain all that don't I?

Well, most of you know that I hurt my foot while I was on leave and went through therapy and treatment at Fort Campbell for a little while. Well, I got back to Afghanistan about 6Dec and now here I am in Germany at the hospital. On Fri I went to the hospital in Bagram and found out I had Gallstones and needed my gall bladder out. I was sent to Germany and I had it taken out yesterday morning. I will be spending the two weeks here in Germany recovering and then it is back on to Afghanistan to finish my mission. I am glad that I am going to get to finish my mission and come home with my unit and not go home alone. I really wanted to go home, but I also wanted to finish my mission. I asked God to give what he felt was the best, and he did. It is hard on Tessa and me for me to have to go back, but we both know the right thing is for me to back and finish my job.

I am sorry that I have not posted on here in so long, but there are good reasons that I will not discuss here, but if you ask, I will tell you.

Most of you know that I had a GREAT leave and that I got engaged to the most wonderful woman in the world. Now, it is time to pass on the news that our wedding is going to be 20June09 at mom and dad's house. You mark your calendars and plan on being there to see us get married. The excited is more than I can explain to you in words. Just know that I have the perfect woman and my life has never been better.

With Christmas tomorrow, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Courtney is going to spend some time with Mom, Dad, and Tessa later on today and I cannot wait to call and talk to her and see what Santa brought her.

There is not much else to write about right now. I am pretty tired and drugged up and hurting from the surgery so my thoughts are not all here. Hopefully in the near future I will get on here and elaborate a little more on some things that have happened recently. I will go ahead and tell you that I am no longer working awards, I am focusing on casualty reporting and a few other administrative things in my office.

Once again, sorry I am not on here that much and I promise to start doing better. Things have been a little boring other than having surgery.

I want to thank everyone for the support you are showing us. Oh, before I forget, Germany is really treating the wounded warriors great here. They have a lot of things set up here to makes things as easy as possible for those that come through here. The donations and support that is sent here is unremarkable. There really are a lot of great people out there and I am thankful for them and hope that they are blessed for what they are doing.

I want to thank my family and Tessa for being there for me and supporting my decisions. Tessa is the most perfect woman I have ever met and I am so lucky have some one so wonderful, to the point that she is even helping me turn my life around to start living better for the Lord and start studying the greatest book ever written.

To my brothers and sisters still in Afghanistan, I will be back soon!!

Thank you all and love you all!!

God bless you all and hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Counting the days...

Well HELLO! It's been a few days since I last wrote anything on here...sorry. Thank you to all of those who continue to show your support for my brother and I by stopping by to check out what we've been up to and what's going on in the world of two Soldier deployed over seas. THANKS! Also, thank you to all of those who have sent packages, cards, and letters! We greatly appreciate it all!!

Counting the days...yep. That's about the highlight of my days. Knowing that I'm another day closer to getting the heck out of here! OH the things that I have to look forward to when I get home....and the things I don't have to look forward to...ah we won't think about that stuff for now. I'm not REALLY excited about going home yet...it's close, but not that close. I know some of my group is really getting excited, but I don't think it will hit me until we have about a week or so left. It doesn't seem like I've been here that long, but I guess I have. Unfortunately, I have some friends that are leaving pretty soon. I'm gonna miss those guys and gals. I can't say that for everyone over here I have contact with...but the folks up here that are going home I'll miss 'em.

My brain took another dump....not much has been going on lately....we're getting ready for CHRISTMAS. YEAH! If you haven't noticed, the approaching holiday is CHRISTMAS, not xmas. I can't stand it when people degrade Christmas by spelling it xmas. It's not a celebration of x's birthday...it's a celebration of Christ's birthday. I hope that you'll keep that in mind the next time you have to spell it or you see someone else spell it. SO we're getting ready for Christmas, we have the tree up, there are more and more presents under the tree, and we're generally just getting ready for a good day. I'm sure it will be just fine...considering where we are. We may not be with our families, but we'll have some good friends close by and it's more about Christ's birthday than anything. I'll get some pictures up on here as soon as i can remember to take my camera to work and take a pic of the tree and stuff....

Well...I was thinking that I'd have more to say but I just can't think of anything right now...

Thank you all once again, and I'll write again soon!

Somewhere in Iraq,
sgt wormy

6820-ish

What's up!!

Hello all! Again thank you to all of those that continue to support my brother and I by looking and reading our blog...including all of those that are here with us. We really appreciate it.

I can't say how much I appreciate all of the care packages that I've gotten in the last two weeks or so. People are so amazing! We've gotten everything from a Christmas Tree, and yes it's a CHRISTMAS tree, lights, decorations, ornaments, garling, and various other "stuff" to help put us in the CHRISTMAS spirit. I can't say how much we appreciate the items we've gotten. We were sent stockings...both empty and filled! We may be in Iraq away from our families this year, but we have had such an amazing amount of blessings from people we don't even know that have sent us things. THANK YOU! I called the states the other day and was put on hold...it was awesome! The CHRISTMAS music was playing and it reminded me of being home and walking into Wal-Mart or somewhere else and hearing the Christmas music playing. It was nice. I think I could have stayed on hold for 20 more minutes and been just fine with it. That goes back to how the small things in life make us happy. I need to take a picture of our Christmas tree and put on here...it's not too bad. I think it's pretty. But maybe that's because I decorated it...with the help of one maybe two others, we "put the tree up" Thanksgiving I think...or day after... I can't remember, but it was close to that time. We're looking forward to having another nice dinner together on Christmas. It will be really nice to sit down and have a nice dinner with our "family" over here. We've grown to be pretty close and pretty good friends...my squad that is.

Man! I'm looking forward to going home! More than anything i'm looking forward to seeing my niece. I miss her the most out of anything. I hope her mom will let me spend some time with her when I get home. I didn't get to see her while i was home on R&R...her mom wouldn't let me see her. But, it's ok. Courtney is only getting older and smarter. One day I'll explain to her why there are no pictures of me and her while I was home...Anyway...I'm looking forward to getting home, going to Ohio, and enjoying the great outdoors! The two week trip I have planned for Ohio should be GREAT!! I'm really looking forward to it.

Well, I'm sitting here thinking that I had more to say but now that I'm here typing my mind is drawing a blank. There are some things I wanted to say, but either they're not coming to mind, or I'm holding back....I mainly just wanted to get on here and give everyone a little update and say hello. I won't dare say that one word.....it's necessarily been ----- but it's not been too too crazy lately either. That goes back to the theory, when a medic has down time...give it to him and don't complain, because if he's busy all the time, things can't be too good for someone. Well I'm going to do a little online browsing...I'm typing a lot of words but not saying much...OH YEAH...

I just remembered something....I LOVE getting cards and construction paper letters from kids across the country. I actually carry one around in my pocket that was mailed to us. It's this little card that has a picture that a little kid drew on it. It's the coolest thing. There are so many young people that I want to write back to...kids from 6 years old to one letter from an 18 year old. It's so awesome when I get those in the mail. I've had the one kid's letter in my chest pocket for about two months now I think....everytime I reach in my pocket I feel it and I remember why I'm here....for them. So hopefully they will have a better life. So they can get up each morning and be a kid. What I would do to be a kid again....So thank you to all of the school teachers, Sunday School teachers, and others that take the time to write a little note. It's awesome!!

We ALWAYS welcome comments about what you think about our blog, our entries, or if you just want to tell us something. OR if you have a question for one of us. If you want to know something about over here....we might be able to tell you, we might not. SO feel free to click the "comment" button at the bottom of each entry and leave us a line. We really appreciate it when people do and it motivates us to write more, and it shows people care about what we write.

Again, thank you all for your continued support, gifts, care packages, letters, cards, and thank you for reading our blog.

I love you all!!

Till next time.....
sgt wormy

6700-ish

Back in Afganistan

Well, here I am back in Afghanistan. I got here on Saturday after a short stay at Fort Campbell after messing up my ankle. There is not much to write about. I am back and and happy and not happy about it. Luckily I have Tessa (aka Freedom) to help me out while I am gone. We are planning a great wedding for 6June as long as I get home in time. From rumors, I will make it in time. I am pretty excited about that, as is Tessa. We could not be happier. I could tell you stories for days on here about all the wonderful things we did and the great times we had together, but I am not going to bore everyone with the perfect woman and relationship. I start work again tomorrow morning and we will see what will happen. There are a few here that are not happy that was in the states longer than my leave, but there was nothing I could do about that. It is something that I will have to deal for a little while.

I got to spend some time with Courtney while I was home too and it was great. She has grown more than I ever expected and she loves Tessa and that really means a lot to me. She really got attached to Tessa and clung to her more than me for the most part.

Well, there is not much to talk about right now other than how much I miss Tessa, Courtney and family.

Oh and the weather here is pretty cold. It would not be so bad if we did not have to walk so far to get everywhere.

Once again, thank you for all the support and I will be home soon enough!!!

Here I sit...

Thank you to all of those who continue to support my brother and I!! Another 111 hits last week! THANK YOU!!

Here I sit...again. Just hanging out after yet another awesome cookout. It was one of our Soldier's birthday today. Any reason not to eat at the DFAC is good to me. And i get to cook on a charcoal grill. NICE! We made it through Thanksgiving just great! Thanksgiving dinner was great. My entire group got to go to the DFAC for a lovely meal topped off with some nice conversation. I got to talk to my family and enjoy their happiness as well. I talked to my dad almost every day last week while he was in WV deer hunting. There were some pretty nice deer killed from what I hear...daddy hasn't gotten one yet, but his is coming. He over-looked some does, waiting on the big one to come strolling by. I can't say how much I wish I was there. It's so awesome to call up there, and just listen to the stories, the family, and all the comotion. I don't think my dad realized that I was content just listening to the noise in the background....kinda like being a fly on the wall. I miss everyone up there so bad, I just can't put it into words.

On another subject...the Military life is so simple...sometimes....sometimes. My NCOIC and I were talking tonight after all the grilling was finished and we were saying how he kinda got this feeling like he didn't want to go back home. I had to agree. When you think about the simplicity of our lives here, and how it's so structured. Take away all of the Hero's we've had to see, take care of, and try to push to the back of our heads....it's not that bad. Hero's are those that have made the ultimate sacrafice. We wake up, go to work, eat, work, eat, and go chill out in our rooms or however we see fit to spend our free time. At home, we have to worry about this and that and this and that and this and that.....gas, gas money, electric bill, water bill, will our employment come to a sudden end, will our vehicle break down, going to the grocery store, work in general....the list goes on and on.... But we all know that we love our other lives...the civilian side of life. And, we can't wait to get back to the freedoms and the things/people we love so much. It's a hard thing to think about. I signed another 6 year contract...I know I'll be over here again or probably Afghanistan at least once....and that's fine with me...trust me, it is. Personally I have a big problem with the fact that some Soldiers are making their 3rd or 4th trip to the "desert". This is my first. That doesn't sit very well with me. I have a duty to my country and I want to do my part. SO, what am I trying to say....I don't know. I guess leading back to the first part of this paragraph when I say it's hard to leave this and go back home where life is kinda crazy...in a whole different way. It's hard to explain. I try to tell people that I really enjoy the fact that I'm in the Army. When I get bored at home in my civilian job, I "go somewhere"....usually by my choice. Now, I also "usually" have to say...."what?! me...I didn't see that coming." I think those who know me best figure that if I go somewhere, there was a little more to it than that. And, usually by the time I'm back home, I'm ready to be home again. Well, last time I was gone, i was gone for 18 months instead of just 12 so maybe that's why I'm not quite ready to get back home yet. I don't know.... there's fine line of happiness that I ride. I enjoy both the restaurant business, and the Army. I tell people that I live two different lives: one, my civilian life working in the restaurant, riding a motorcycle, driving a big truck on wet days, and doing my best to sort out my personal-personal life...and two: Serving my country in the Army as a medic. I know, two completely different jobs...IT'S GREAT! I'm not sure where i'm going with this....

I really really need to thank all of those who have been sending my group and I care packages. THANK YOU!! We've gotten so many useful things and so many nice folks have donated their time and money for Soldiers they don't even know. THANK YOU!! I just couldn't even start to name folks and orginizations that send us things...and I also know that's not why people do what they do...but THANK YOU!!!

Well, I feel like I'm ending this kinda quickly, but I've kinda run out of thoughts.... my brain just took a dump on me, and I'm lost for words. I will say this, friends are great. Great friends are far and few between. And between those friends you'll find those that you thought were good friends. The friends you didn't know would be so great...turn out even better. It's a shame that the ones you thought you could count on for anything....well...you end up not counting on them for anything other than a disappointment. And again, those who you never thought would care so much....come through in the end to help you through all the things that life throws at you. What's that saying...??? It takes a second to meet someone great and forever to forget them. Funny how those friends that you thought would be there for you end up being no where to be found, and those who you thought you'd never find again....they're right there with you.

I love you all and thank you so much!!

Somewhere in Iraq,
sgt wormy

6565

I'm 27!!!

Thank you for all of your support that so so many are showing to my brother and I!! Thank you! My brother will probably start putting posts up here again soon....I can't say when or why, I guess...maybe it's because he'll be back in Afghcrapistan soon....yeah that's it.

OK!! SO O MY GOODNESS!!! I'M 27!!! .....TODAY!! Yes, it's my birthday. And what a wonderful day it wasn't. Nah... it wasn't too bad. My day started at 0430 this morning. I went to the M16 range and was the medic for the group shooting. No one got hurt thank goodness. At least I got to start my day with some shooting and being in the cold....That's EXACLYT what I wanted to be doing this morning...seriously! BUT I wanted to be freezing my tail off in the mountains of WV shooting at deer.... I called my Dad at 0500 his time this morning and wished everyone a good hunt and a safe time. If you remember back to when I wrote on here about making the decision to go home and see my brother, or go deer hunting....yeah...this week is the hunting season...I could be there right about now. And I want nothing more than to be there. But this isn't the first year that I've to hear the stories about hunting season without being a part of them. Deer season is the best week of the year for me. No one, nothing, keeps me from going hunting the week of Thanksgiving...EXCEPT the Army. I've almost lost my job over this week of the year...more than once. I've missed high school exams, college exams, "mandatory" days at work, and I flew home from Germany to hunt. This is truly the one week of the year that everything comes second. Unfortunately, my mom has to suffer most years. Hopefully if we can get a deer early enough in the week we make it back to have Thanksgiving dinner with mom. But some years we haven't been able to do that. Just like this year, my mom has the potential to spend Thanksgiving alone. BUT we usually make up the big dinner and have it a day or two late. USUALLY the family time and the family dinner still happens, but I feel bad for my mom some years because she's home alone....I love you momma! You see, I could go on and on about the memories of WV and the wonderful years of hunting and family experiences I've had there that will never ever leave my memory. My memory doesn't remember a "lot" of things, but the things it does remember, you'll never take those from me. The personalities, the people, and the love that make up most of the hunting experience is like that of none other. I have the best great-uncles that anyone could ever ask for. It really bothers me to think about the day they don't show up for hunting season. Richard and his stories, JR Lee and his wisdom, Dee for just the comedy of when he'll show up and have to leave, Mina and her hugs and fried apples, Daniel....oh Daniel....best second cousin I could ever ask for, Melissa....the tomboy that's right there with us having a great time too....brother John with his endless ability to get a deer, and last but not least, my Daddy. The father/son experience of a life time...again and again each year. I am truly blessed. There are other people I didn't mention, not because I can't remember who they are but because they haven't played such a role in my undying passion and love for WV.

OK....so before i get completely depressed because I'm not there I'm going to move on.... we had a little birthday party tonight for me. It was nice. We grilled out again and i had yet another GReAT steak. Tonight a Ribeye was the choice of meats....we also had some ribs, burgers and a few hotdogs. SSG Thomas and I did a pretty good job at cooking all the meats again...as always. The cookouts are really the best food we get, so we try pretty hard to make them good.

27 years old...As I look back on the last 12 months....I think to myself...WOW. I can't believe another year has come and gone. I try to think about what happened between my last birthday and this one....well, I guess that's pretty easy considering that I've been gone from home with the Army since Jan 3rd....OK, so what happened in those other 45 days?? I remember.... Unfortunately, I hurt a few people and left a few others with unanswered questions. I go my house a little bit more in order....which has been another completely difficult situation in it's self... There's been a lot of things that have happened in the last year. I guess people don't realize how complicated their lives are unless they sit back and look and really really think about it. My life isn't easy, cozy, and simplistic to say the least. You would think I try to make things as hard as possible on myself...I really don't though....it just turns out that way....somehow. Well, I guess all of those things are the personal things i don't like to get into on here....but it's still got me thinking. It makes me think about the crappy things I did, how I haven't lived like I should, and how I need to change a few things in my life...it makes me want next year to a better year so a year from now i can look back and say....that was a good year. Now, over all, last year was a good year. It had it's down points, but it wasn't too too bad. Anyway.... well, I guess today starts the "new year" for me. Hopefully all will go well and God will take me through the next 12 months with just as many blessings as he has given me the last 12 months. Hopefully he'll look down and smile upon me and I'll see exactly what he wants.

I almost forgot about something...I signed up for a bi-weekly email from a devotional website. One that I got the other day was really great. It's short, but the meaning is pretty awesome! I'll share these simple words with you and hopefully someone will feel a little better than they did 5 minutes ago.

http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/pages.asp?pageid=7898

Till next time, I love you all!! And good luck hunting!!!

Somewhere in Iraq,

sgt wormy

6452

Another day in Iraq...

Well helllloooo to all of those that continue to show your support to my brother and I. We can't say enough how much we appreciate everything that is being done for us. Personally, I have gotten so many cards, letters, and packages to mention from people. The other day I got a letter from an 18 year old young lady....that really meant a lot to me. Someone so young would take the time to write and say hello and thank you. It was awesome! Thank you!

Another day in Iraq...well here I sit, not much to report. The last 10 -14 days have been plenty exciting enough that I don't need to see or do anything for a little while at least. But you never know when something might happen. There were some things that have happened since then, but you know the phrase, "if I told you, I'd have to kill you..." so that's about as far as i can go with that. They didn't make the news this time....they weren't as significant for say, as the last two things that happened that did. We haven't had any cookouts lately, no parties, not much going on. Other than the normal run-around from my unit....nothing new there I guess. Our time here is ticking down, that's for sure. We aren't too too excited yet, but it's getting there. There is another two groups that will leave before us. When they leave, it will probably kick in. For now, it's all about them getting out of here....as it should be. They've both been here a lot longer than we have so they deserve to go home.

We have gotten an incredible amount of support from the Landstuhl Hospital Care Project group!! They have been SOO vital to the well being of so many Soldiers here in Iraq. I'm not sure if they have a website, OK so they do... http://www.landstuhlhospitalcareproject.org/index.htm

There it is. Check them out. They are honestly doing miracles over here. There are not words for the things that this group is doing...if you want to help a Soldier and am not sure how... email them and ask. They will not lead you in the wrong direction.

Ok, well I'm literally doing about 10 things at the same time right now and I don't seem to be getting very far with any one of them....I know I was putting something on here about every other day and I have slacked off just a little. I just wanted to get on here and say that everything is going well. I have talked to both of my grandma's and my grandpa in the last few days. It's great getting to talk to them. I just can't wait to get home so I can go and spend some time with them in Ohio. There's a lot of things I can't wait to do when I get home. My life has a lot of great things yet to happen. I just know it. There are a few things i need to do first, but I know my life will everything I've ever wanted it to be....for that matter, it is right now. The funny thing to say when someone says "good morning, how are you?" Is, "Another day in paradise" followed by "Livin the dream...well, someone's dream." Well, I'm living my dream. I'm doing exactly what I wanted to do in life about right now....all aspects of my life are not going in the direction I have always hoped for...but they'll get there. I have faith. Well, enough for now. I'm going to go try to accomplish on of the other 9 things I have going on right now.

Till next time,
I love you all and thank you again!!

Somewhere in Iraq,
SGT WORMY

6500-ish

Note

Quick note: two days later and not quite happy with "numb", I made a few additions and corrections. So if you feel like re-reading it, I tried to add a few things to make it a little bit better.

Out here,
SGT Wormy

Yesterday...cont'd

Hello to everyone again! Thank you for your continued support that you show to my brother and I.

I'll get to this kinda quickly. Usually if something happens and I want to talk about it, but I can't... I can't. And I usually reference the phrase, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Well, you want to know what happened yesterday? Here it is. This is not my recollection of yesterday's events, this is how it was reported to you. I wasn't there for the actual fire fight, I only saw the aftermath. You can read the following report and know what brought 7 Soldiers to the hospital for treatment. Basically you get half the story. My half, the part I was involved with, I still can't tell you. I'll let your imagination take you where it wants. It wasn't pretty, I will say that. Enough delay, here's what happened:

Associated Press
updated 8:17 p.m. ET, Wed., Nov. 12, 2008

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi soldier Wednesday sprayed automatic weapons fire at U.S. soldiers at an Iraqi military base in Mosul, killing two and wounding six before he died in a hail of bullets, an American general said. In Baghdad, bombers struck the capital for a third straight day, killing 23 people and wounding scores in a string of attacks in mostly Shiite areas. The U.S. military said dozens were injured but it couldn't confirm any fatalities. Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, told The Associated Press the "premeditated" attack occurred in a courtyard as the soldiers waited for their two lieutenants to finish a meeting with an Iraqi army company commander. Hertling, who said he had spoken with some of the wounded troops, disputed Iraqi accounts that the shooting followed a heated argument between the Iraqi soldier and the Americans. Hertling said the attacker strolled into the courtyard carrying a Kalashnikov rifle and a drum of ammunition, walked to a corner, turned and opened fire. "One shot was aimed and the rest was literally a spray," he said. "There was no argument, no spitting, no slapping, none of that occurred." The six wounded American soldiers were expected to recover, Hertling said. He said senior Iraqi army and police commanders in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, had expressed regret over the shooting and promised a joint investigation. In Baghdad, Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said the shooting followed a quarrel at an Iraqi base in a volatile Sunni Arab neighborhood in central Mosul. The Iraqi soldier was identified as Barzan al-Hadidi. It was the second such shooting in Mosul in a year, raising questions about the professionalism and preparedness of Iraqi security forces and their relations with their American partners. Last December, an Iraqi soldier allegedly shot and killed a U.S. captain and a sergeant during a joint operation in Mosul, where al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgent groups still operate. Tensions are running high in Mosul, where U.S. and Iraqi troops have been trying since last spring to rout insurgents from Iraq's third largest city. The military campaign has also raised friction between the Arab population and Kurdish soldiers of the Iraqi army sent there to help restore order. Also in Mosul, two Christian sisters were killed and their mother was wounded in an attack on their home Wednesday, police said. The attackers rigged the house with boobytraps and one Iraqi policeman was injured when he came to investigate the slayings, Hertling said. Suicide bombings continueAs violence raged in Mosul, a string of bombings rocked Baghdad for the third consecutive day, killing 23 people and wounding about 90, police said. The Iraqi army acknowledged the rise in attacks and said it was taking measures to curb "the increasing number of terrorist attacks" in the city. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27674792/

So, now you have a little better insite into my world....maybe. Like I said yesterday, I've seen enough. I'm ready to go home.

Till next time,

somewhere in Iraq
sgt wormy

6375-ish

Numb....

Well, hello!! Hello to all of those who continue to check our blog and show your support to my brother and I. Thank you! Thank you to all of those who sent Veterans Day cards and kind email wishes. Thank you. They are and were greatly appreciated.

Numb...I'm not sure where to start this... first things first. Please stop and take 30 seconds and say a prayer for those who have made the ultimate sacrafice in efforts to protect your freedom.

I said mine....I hope you did too. Please also remember those whose lives are forever changed. Those who have been injured, scarred, or emotionally hurt. You know, I was sitting around today talking to a few people. They mentioned that every one of us that signed the dotted line and raised our hand knew the possibilities of what could happen. Sure, we know. We don't expect it, but we know. Today was a long day....a long day to say the least. I couldn't think of a better name for this post....I really don't think that numb is the right choice. You know why I joined the Army? If you've kept up with the blog, I won't have to remind you, but to make the point of this post, I'll do tell you again. Some people join the Army for college assistance..college money basically. Some, to help get out of trouble "join the Army or go to jail" type thing. Some, join the Army because they have nothing else to do, or no where else to turn. Some, join the Army just so they can be a "badass" and tell everyone that they are in the Army...like some National Guard and Reserve Soldiers..."I'm in the Army...huh huh huh!" No offense, but I've know some of those...I'm sure there are Active guys who do it too...you'll see them walking around town in uniform just to get attention or a pat on the back...whatever. Some, join to serve their country...do their part...to ensure the United States of America keeps the Freedom that we all love so much. Well, I fit that last one. I joined two months after we started this war in 2003 to do my part. I've always looked up to those in the military. I have several members of my family that were in the military. Both of my Grandpa's were in the Military. But I joined for the sole purpose to do my part. It just didn't feel right seeing so many other people sacrafice and do what they do so I could be free. I joined for you. Not me. I graduated college already, I have a good civilian job, amd I feel good enough about myself I don't need a uniform to make me feel special or get a pat on the back. I joined for you and to do my part. With that said, I'll continue the original thought...I'm here, doing my part. My part, for now, is almost done. My time here is coming to a close...kinda soon. I am a medic. Part of being a medic is that we always want to get in the shit. We want to see the worst, bloodiest, and most disgusting stuff. Not sure why...we just do. Kinda like infantry guys just want to shoot some bad guys...we want to do what we've been trained to do. Well...what they don't teach you in training is that in order for you to get in the shit....someone has to get hurt. Stay with me. We know Soldiers will get hurt, but in training...you don't think about that. It's all play and "acting" and the "casualties" scream and usually end up laughing...they don't scream and yell because you barely moved their shot arm or leg, the pretend wounds don't bleed all over your boots and your pants, you don't end up with someone's blood on your shirt, your face, your arms, your pants where it's enough that someone thinks you're wounded too...limbs don't move in places where they're not supposed to...when you lift a "wounded" arm it moves as one piece, not two like one that has really been shot....no one really dies...at the end of the training, everyone gets up and talks about good or bad the training was...they don't cover the person with a blanket or sheet and take him to mortuary affairs, the don't look at their watch and say "time of death, 1327"...the bandages you put on are "ok" at best, or you have no idea if they would really work or not...usually the pretend wounds "stop bleeding" according to the instructor...in reality, it seems like they never stop bleeding, and when they do, we've put a lot of effort into it.... but of course, that's training. Something that they don't teach us, or emphasize is this shit is real. There will come a time when it's not "play" anymore. They don't teach you how to be numb, and just do your job...walk away....and go through the rest of the day with a fake smile on your face like nothing happened. They don't teach you how to cope for the next 48 hours, or that you might have bad dreams about what you saw that day or the day before. They don't teach you to warn others about the possible mood change and to not take you too serious because there's a chance you're being a little more of a jerk than usual. No one really knows how they will react to combat until you're there...in the shit. I think I cope pretty well. And that's about where I am now. Numb....well, I'm not really numb, it still hurts. I still feel pretty bad for about 36 hours after "the shit" happens. BUT, God blessed me with an incredibly bad memory. I laugh about it usually, but over here....it's truly been a blessing. My good friends will tell you I can't remember what happened two days ago. Well...now, I don't want to remember what happened two days ago. I don't want to remember what happened twelve hours ago....so I'm good...kinda. Yeah, I'm good. I wanted to title this post, "I've seen enough", or "I'm ready to go home". I guess there comes a point in every medic's life when they've just had enough. I wonder if the civilian sector is different. The only connection that ambulance personell and hospital staff have is that they are people...maybe kids are harder, but they just don't have the same connection as seeing one of your fellow Soldiers laying there. I think it's different. Maybe someone can offer some insite. Going back to seeing enough. I never thought I would say that. I never thought about seeing too much. We're too focused on just seeing something that it never crosses our mind of "when is enough..enough." Well, I'll finish my time here strong till the end. No worries about that. But I definately have a different perspective on things....such as life itself and all the things we take for granted when we're healthy with four limbs that function without pain. Numb, not really. It still hurts to see and be a part of things that so many call "the shit"....among other things.

I'm able to write this next part because of the news coverage and it's public knowledge that two Soldiers made the ultimate sacrafice today: This relates to being numb....this was probably the second hardest part of my day. Even if it did happen some time after the initial incident. If I told you what a "Hero Ceremony" was, would you understand? A Hero Ceremony is where we stand attention, bring a final, crisp, most respectful salute to those fallen Soldiers as they are carried past us in a flag draped casket, then placed on a C-130 or C-17. It's our way of showing respect to those who have fallen. A final salute as they board their last ride from over here. Their units line up and do their best to stand tall and stand proud as they watch a fellow friend, brother, and most importantly, Soldier go home to be laid to rest. It's a very sombering experience. If you didn't appreciate life before, you will now. My folks got a really odd phone call today. I called the house and left a message on the answering machine. It was simple. It was short. "Mom, Dad, I love you. I just called to say I love you. It's been a bad day and I wanted to make sure you know that. I love you and I'll talk to you soon". Appreciate life. Tell someone you love that you love them. Just like these two Soldiers and many more that have made the ultimate sacrafice, you never know when God will call you home. Don't leave words unspoken. No one wakes up in the morining and thinks, "I'm going to die to today". But, if it happens...will you have said I love you to all those that you should have?

Just a final note: Mentally, I'm good. A little beat down, but good to go. Once again, God blessed me with a bad memory. Thank you again, and please keep our young Soldiers, their families, and friends in your prayers. Sometimes, you just don't know how bad they need it.

Till next time, I love you all and thank you again. Oh, and feel free to comment by clicking "comment" below.

Somewhere in Iraq
sgt wormy

6375 - counter is going backwards again....

Thank you!!

Hello! It's me again. This post is just to say once again THANK YOU for your support that you show by visiting our blog. Last week alone we had over a 100 hits to the blog. THANK YOU!! It means a lot. Seeing the geographics of where the hits come from is pretty cool. We had a LOT of hits in Texas, (April??) and a lot in California as well. I'm sorry but I don't know anyone in California so I can't give props to you.... We also had a lot of hits from the New England area of the U.S. I'm not sure if it's from friends or family but TN took the number one place again this week. Seeing that we're from TN, I kinda guess that's why. I've got the country music going again so who knows how long I'll ramble tonight. In case you didn't know, I said night...but if you look at the time the post was written it will say around 1:45pm. We are 8 hours ahead of the east coast...that makes us what...12 hours ahead of the west coast. You all had daylight savings time kick in...well our time didn't change. It actually made it kinda better...I think anyway. Normally I get settled into my room around 2000(8pm) so I can start calling around noon east coast time... I could call sooner but I don't want to call people too early.... so noon is a good time. Speaking of calling people, I got to talk to my niece yesterday! I love talking to her. She's getting older and is such a doll!! She's precious. I can't wait for her to get just a little bit older and her eyes will be open to what has happened in the last 4 years. We'll see. Anyway...

It would not be right if I didn't say a very special THANK YOU to Ms. Grimord. You and your group of people are absolutely WONDERFUL. You have touched so many Soldiers that I can't even start to explain the gratitude that is owed to you. People thank me, but it goes all to you. You are truly a blessing. I have no idea how you got my email address, but I sure am glad you did. Your group is absolutely incredible. THANK YOU!!!

I wnaetd to try smoetinhg. I heop you udnsneatrd tihs nxet prat. I lanred taht if you mix up ltretes in a wrod but sartt the wrod wtih the crercot frsit and lsat lteter, poelpe will be albe to raed it. I was ginog to wirte a wolhe pgaraghrap but it's kndia hrad. So tehre, let me konw how it trnus out.

Ok, well that was fun...hard though because I feel like I type pretty fast, but that had me thinking too hard to keep it going too long. And I didn't realize how many three and four letter words I use, so it kinda took some of the fun out of it. OH OK......

Well, we've been pretty slow lately. Not much going on. But then again, when I'm "slow" and sitting around all day...then you should be ok with that. Medics are trained to work hard, but hopefully not too too often. I wish I could write some of the things that I've seen on here...to try to draw you a picture of what it's really like over here. But...I don't think I will. I can kinda put it in a general way...if you can think it....I've probably seen it. Everything from vehicle accidents, GSW's(gun shot wounds)...which by the way...can be bad, and then again, they can be pretty unimpressive....explosion wounds, IED wounds, grenade attacks...blah blah blah...any way I will elaborate on GSW's for a second...some, no most entry wounds are pretty minor. Often times I don't even see the whole. It's not till later I learn it was right in front of me and I just didn't notice the break in the skin. Now, the exit wound can be quite impressive. Now, understand that from a medical aspect, things can be "interesting". I'm not trying to undermind the wounded and 'make a spectacle' of his unfortunate event, so again, from a medical aspect, the exit wound can be pretty impressive. Small hole going in, half a knee/leg missing on the other side. Also remember, I have seen Iraqi Soldiers, Civilians, bad guys, and our Soldiers. Yes, I said bad guys....bless the geneva convention that says that if we don't kill them in an attack, we have to take care of them like they are one of our own. And we do.

Well, I think I'm over that topic. I just wanted to talk a little about what it's like over here. Afterall I'm pretty sure that's why a lot of people read this blog. To see what it's like over here. So here are the captions for the pictures: the first one is me chilling out at a cookout we had. The next one is of me eating the steak I cooked...medium rare...UUMMMM!!! The next on is of me and some of the guys standing next to the grill while we were cooking. I'm trying to keep my promise of putting more pictures of me on here so people can see me more often. These cookouts are the best meals we get over here. We buy steaks from the PX. And, seeing that I don't buy anything else over here...I buy the $10 Ribeyes or T-Bones and cook them just right over a charcoal fire. Me and my 'boss' are the official 'grill cooks'. What can I say, we know what we're doing....nothing gets burned, and everything is juicy!! Just the way it should be! We get to cook everything from hotdogs, burgers, chicken, steaks, and pork chops. Like I said, it's the best meals we get over here.

Well, till next time...love you all!!

Somewhere in Iraq
sgt wormy

6375

Another post...

Well, thank you all to those who keep showing your support to my brother and I! Thank you!

Another post...well, that's about all this is. I really don't have much to say right now. I'm kinda waiting on something to hit me. I'd love to write about flyin squirrels and how much I like them and how much they make me happy everytime I see them, hear them, or think about them. Flyin squirrels are just that incredible. I would say I love talking to them, but then you'd think I'm just crazy...I mean, how many people do you know that have flyin squirrels? Well, I guess I'm the first. And I love mine. She's great!! She's cute and cuddly, sweet and adorable...yep, I know, it's weird, but I love her. Any-who....I miss my dog too. If you kept up with the post for some time now, I talked about how I couldn't wait to go home and take my dog to Lowe's. Well, we did that. More than once. I think one day I just went there with him to walk around...we just looked at whatever for about an hour. He enjoyed it though. He always does. We went to Taco Bell, got our drinks, and headed to the house. One day I think he got a lot more than he bargained for. We went to Lowe's to start the day, went to my mom's work to see her...he likes going there too I think....where else did we go....oh we went to see an old friend. One of my best friends from high school...the girl that talked me into taking him from the vet she worked at so he wouldn't have to go to the pound....then...hmmmm I can't remember but we ended up at a cookout around 5pm and didn't leave till about midnight. I let him play in the yard of the people's house we went to. The kids loved him and he loved them too...but I'd say by the time we got home that day he was happy to be home. He's such a good dog though. My dad lets him go to town with him sometimes so he gets to go out and about once in a while. What can I say, I love my dog.

John is still at home...his ankle is giving him a lot of trouble believe it or not. I'm not sure why he hasn't posted anything on here...wait, he's not really living it rough right now...I mean, how many people want to hear about him eating good food, showering, going to the bathroom, getting dressed, and hanging out ALL IN THE SAME BUILDING. Yeah, pretty much all those things I just mentioned...they are done in roughly 5 different places....but that's ok. It's Iraq. What else can I say.

The election: Not happy, but I have a new Commander in Chief. And...I have to do what he says. Period. Due to regulations and restrictions, that's about all I can say. We'll see how it goes....we'll see.

We are counting the days to coming home. I can't say when I'll be going home for security reasons, but we are counting. Now, some people count since day one, but for the most part there's a pretty significant starting point to really start counting...and we're counting. Hopefully I'll be home in time to see some snow and go snowboarding. I'm really looking forward to that...hopefully. Speaking of snow...I hope we don't see any over here...well, no I take that back. That would pretty neat. I know it won't accumulate, but it would still be cool. Someone asked what the weather is like over here...it's not too bad right now. The days top out about 75-ish and it gets around 50-ish at night. Just cool enough to get a little chill in the morining when I walk to and from the bathroom to shave and brush my teeth. And I seem to walk a little quicker coming from the shower....but that's ok. It's not 140 degrees. I'm good with that. We did have a little bit of a wet period already. It rained off and on for about a week and half when I got back from R&R. That wasn't too too pretty. Mud everywhere. We really believe that it rains mud. You would really think that it was little mud drops and not just rain coming down. Someone also asked what my favorite country artist is...I'd have to say it's a pretty close run between Rascal Flatts and Toby Keith. Althouh, I have several artists that I really like. There are a number of songs that I really like by different people. It was weird being home and turning on the radio and not knowing any of the music they were playing. I had to download the top 40 and start listening to it when I got back over here. It's amazing how quickly you can get disconnected from the world over here. We watch a lot of news. That's one thing that I can say, I've never really been more up to date with what's going on in the world. I could have actually debated with someone over the election and knew what I was talking about. Kinda like, there was over 8 million or was it billion raised for propostion 8 in California. WHICH...I'm not sure what I can about that either, but I'm really happy with the outcome of that issue. People didn't know that there were actually two other states that had that on the ballot. Utah and Arizona I think... I could be wrong on that detail...but I do know there were two other states...both had the same outcome as California. One thing that I was happy to hear pass was an issue where I live in TN. The city I live in passed liquor by the drink. I'm happy about that too. We won't have to travel so far to get a decent drink with dinner now. Cool. AND people will stop complaining when they eat in our restaurants about not being able to get a drink....but it will be confusing because the city I work in doesn't have liquor by the drink...but the two cities on each side do....oh well.

Well....enough about that...see, I just had to turn on the music and it got my mind going. I hope you've enjoyed the post. Please feel free to comment by clicking on the link below. THANKS!! Comments keep us going and help us realize that people actually enjoy our posts.

I love you all and I'll write something on here again soon! And don't forget...flyin squirrels are GREAT! And I love them! They keep me smiling!!

Somewhere in Iraq
SGT Wormy

6362

Ummmm.....

Ummmmm.....yeah.....so uhhh...... OH YEAH!! Thank you to all of thost that continue to support my brother and I!! WOWOWOW!! We had over a hundred hits to the blog last week. THANK YOU!! One the other hand, only one or two people decided to click on the 'comment' and write us something back...and for those that went one more step to say thank you, THANK YOU!

Last week there were quite a few people from Illinois that visited the blog...I'm not sure why, but there were. That's where Obama is from... well, you're welcome to continue to visit this site, and I refuse to turn this into a political blog, but I hope Senator Obama keeps his role as Senator. NE-WAY....this blog is about two brothers that are overseas, one in Iraq (me) and my brother that is in Afghanistan...well he should be in Afghanistan but he broke his foot at my house and is finishing up some doctor appointments.... This is about two brothers and what they go through being away from home, friends, and loved ones. My brother works in the awards section for the 101st, and I am a medic on a base in Northern Iraq....unless my internet goes out then who knows where I actually am. Being a medic, I've seen more than anyone would want to or should see....although, I haven't been at the point of injury yet, so by the time I get my hands on someone they are already somewhat treated....it may only be tourniquet or a bandage, but normally they have some kind of something already done to them. My brother, gets reports about what happened to Soldiers and writes the awards for them. Example: Purple Hearts for injured. I actually see them, he reads about them....kinda cool. We both get to do a little 'traveling' from time to time. He goes to a different base to pick up award medals, and I do medical support for covoys from time to time. So, luckily, we're not "fobbits" as many people are. I've had the opportunity to go to the Turkey border, and some other places around Iraq. Many of the times when "something" happens, I can't say what it is. I want to. But I can't. I want to express the feelings that are inside, and the emotions, and thoughts that are running around in my head....but I can't. It's not the "kiss and tell" mentality. Somedays it's just hard. It's hard to see lives changed and families changed and not be able to talk about it. I know, I can talk about it to my people here, but I can't vent like I can on here. When I'm here, I turn on my music, (country music normally) and just let my brain loose through the keys of my laptop. Sometimes it really sucks, because I just want to vent and let out the feelings and questions of why, and just general thoughts about life, and express that...that could've been me. But I can't. Somedays the stories aren't that bad....like today this guy...his weapon was dirty....or that's what he said. See that's about all I can say....it's a funny story...at least to us it is. But I can't say anything else due to security reasons. I'll nick-name him Barney Fife. But somedays the stories are just too bad to even want to write out....I'm not sure how many medical people read this blog, but I've had to perform CPR on a few individuals over here.....yep that's about all I can about that...damn it....it's amazing how soft the chest cavity can be when the ribs are broke....I guess that's what i was trying to say. Enough about all that....I don't do what I do for the attention or pat on the back. I do what I do for my country. I do what I do for you. From flyin squirrels to mom, dad, my family, friends, and strangers alike....that's why I'm here. That's why I wear the uniform. I didn't do it for college money, I didn't do it to get out of trouble, I didn't join to stay out of jail, I didn't do it for the fame or glory....I joined the Army to serve my Country. That's it. After 9/11, all I wanted was to do my part. My brothers and sisters were going to war for me. They were fighting for my freedom and safety, and I wanted to do my part. If I can do just one thing that will aid in the safety, security, or freedoms of the United States of America.... yep, that's why I joined the Army. Well, This post is getting kinda long. I'm going to go to bed soon...I've got more secret squirrel stuff to do early in the morning...

I love you all and again feel free to comment on our entries.

Till next time,
SGT Wormy

6000+

Halloween in Iraq....

Well hello!!! The counter at the bottom of the page is definately messing up but we get reports once a week that says how many people visit our page and I have to say, THANK YOU!! Thank you for your support by reading our page and checking us out.

Halloween in Iraq.... well, it's just the first of several holidays for us in the near future. But, today was actually a pretty fun day in the desert. The day started pretty early with sporting events starting around 0700 and ending around 1300. That's 1 pm for those who don't know... we played dodge ball, basketball, volleyball, tug-o-war, relay race....yeah, it was pretty fun... most of my morning was spent playing volleyball...we came in second in that event...the others I won't say. I had a great team...but I guess fair to say that we weren't the best....AHH one fun thing that we did was 'attack' everyone playing volleyball.... someone walked up to me and said it would be awesome to get on top of the hospital and launch water balloons at everyone then run like hell... SO the water balloons that I got a few months ago...finally came in use!! We filled about 30 or so, climbed up on top of the hospital, stayed back where no one could see us, and launced them where everyone was gathered....then ran like hell back into the hospital and pretended to be "wondering around" the hospital....it was pretty fun. I don't normally do things that could end up with me standing at attention while someone yells at me...I usually just go with the flow...but today was a little different...and it was a nice rush. The afternoon was followed with a pie eating contest, which my team won...I didn't participate but our representative took 1st place. Then there was the dizzy bat/beer drinking contest. It would take a lot of time and room to explain that one...it was pretty complex...basically 5 times around the bat, chug a beer...run to another place, chug a beer...run back....chug a beer. My teammates weren't quite as experienced with this kind of thing so we didn't win that one either, but I think I pulled my weight for sure. All of this was followed by a cookout, a costume contest, and finally the finale was a fashion show at the auditorium. It was pretty cool. I was the 'security' for the event. All that meant was checking ID's at the door and telling people not to run through our haunted house that we set up in the foyer of the auditorium. The place was packed! We easily had 250 people in there. It was a much better showing than I anticipated. I'll put some pictures on here maybe tomorrow, I'm pretty tired and if you notice the time of the entry, it's 0030 my time....

Halloween wasn't so bad. My favorite week of the year is coming up and I'll be stuck here. Thanksgiving is the one week of the year that I look forward to more than anything. Hunting, the family time, being away from EVERYTHING up in WV, spending time with my family...yeah I said that twice...it's that GREAT! I love you dad! I wish I could be there this year! Get a big one for me too!!! Then Christmas is just around the corner.... I've been away from my family once already for Christmas while I was in Germany.... but at least there we could have a decent Christmas dinner, open presents around a tree....enough of that...I don't need to start thinking about all that now...

OH, and by the way... FOR SALE: 2003 HARLEY SPORTSTER 883, CUSTOM SEATS, LOTS OF CHROME, SADDLE BAGS, LOW MILEAGE - ASKING $3000. Seller just doesn't want it anymore. For further questions, post a comment asking for contact information, or call 865-329-7456 and leave a massage after the beep.

Well, I'm off to bed. LOVE YOU ALL!!!! I still miss you!!!

Somewhere in Iraq

SGT WORMY

6000+

Too soon...

Hello, and thank you to all of you that continue to show your support for my brother and I! Thank you!


Too soon....Earlier today I stopped by my room to send out a couple of emails. But oddly I took time to write a post on here. I don't normally do that...matter of fact that's the first time I've done that I think. Just like I said, we don't use the word 'quiet' around here....I did today just playin around....well....the rest of the day wasn't to quiet...unfortunately. I felt really guilty later this afternoon....like I was the reason that some stuff happened...but that's not right, I shouldn't feel that way. I can't blame myself for something like that. I'm not supersticious (sp?) and never really have been...but today I felt partially responsible....why? I don't know. I talk to myself quite a bit and after a while of convincing myself that what I wrote on here has nothing to do with the series of events that took place. This is another one of those times that if I said what happened, I'd have to kill you...just kidding. I wouldn't do that...put I still can't tell you. I feel better and I know that what happened, happened. That's it. It doesn't matter what someone writes or thinks or says half way through the day....things just happen. We don't know why or what caused them....they just happen. I guess I should elude back to one of my other posts from July or August...."Are you ready??" Go back and find that one...read it. Then ask yourself...'am I ready?'


Prayers...our Soldiers need your prayers. Prayers for strength, and stability in their lives. Pray for their families and friends. Thank you.

Well, I'm headed to bed. This post may be a little shorter than I was thinking it was going to be, but....I'm really tired, I fell asleep in the middle of writing it, and now I'm awake again...an hour later...and I'm going to curl into my blankets and try to erase the events of today from my mind. I love you all and again thank you for your support that you show us!!

Somewhere in Iraq,
Sgt Wormy

5800

Just hanging out...

Hello! WOW! Thank you to those who continue to show your support to my brother and I! THANK YOU!!

Just hanging out...well, that's about it. That about sums up what I've been doing for the last week since I got back from R&R. Just hanging out. The one word we're not allowed to use over here is "quiet". It's like a curse or something...people say that we don't really do a whole lot over here...well, that's a good thing. When I have a 'lax' or 'lazy' day...it's a good thing. I am pretty surprised though with the elections coming up I kinda figured there would be a spike in the activity over here...now, understand that some areas are always busy and some people are always busy but for me....well, it's been pretty quiet. Ooops...I said it. Sorry. Sometimes I wish I had a more exciting job and that I got to do more...I guess that just comes with the job though. But, it always depends on what kind of unit you come over here with....some medics stay busy. I almost wish I was one of those. When I say busy I don't necessarily mean busy treating people, busy can mean running missions or a number of things. By the way, that's not me in the pic...my boss would probably shoot me if he knew I put that on here.... :-) He works a lot of hours...and sometimes the sleep monster gets the best of us!

Anyway....can you tell I'm bored....sitting here just blabbering on about a whole lot of nothing. My room did shake a few minutes ago. It's amazing how far away an explosion can be and still rock the building. Hey bro! Get off your butt and do something! Just kidding. He mentioned falling off my landing at my house...yeah, he's not allowed to set the table at my house anymore. I thought he was kidding at first, but no, he banged up his ankle pretty good. The site has had a lot of activity lately. THANK YOU! The counter has been messing up, but I'm pretty sure we're well over 6,000 hits. Not too bad. Not bad at all. My mom asked me about the weather over here. Well, it feels like 75 or so in the day time which probably means it's about 80-ish. And at night it feels like 60-ish....maybe in the 50's. It's really not too bad. But the rains have begun. And that means that it's a soupy mess over here. And you would think that it would all dry up pretty quick but it doesn't. The mud just kinda lingers around...it's pretty nasty. But oh well. Hopefully we'll make it out of here before the real rainy season starts.

Well....I really don't have much more to write about. I need some ideas so if you have a question about something over here, or if you're just curios about me in general...feel free to ask. Just click on the 'comment' button below the post and ask away.

Thank you once again for your support! I'll see everyone at home again pretty soon!! LOVE YOU!!

Somewhere in Iraq,
Sgt Wormy

5795

Long, FUN Ride

Well, I am still in the states and should have been back in AfCRAPistan a long time ago. I am not sure how much you have heard, but get ready for a long post. I am at Fort Campbell pulling CQ (Charge of Quarters) in the barracks from 6pm to 7am. This means I am sitting in a room watching for stupid soldiers to do stupid things and make sure no one comes in that does not belong.

Well, lets start in the beginning. I got home on Thursday, 25Sep. I came in the wrong gate so no one saw me coming. I walked up behind mom, dad, Tessa and Courtney and they were not ready with the banner and me not ready with the camera. I really enjoyed it. Then came the part where I had to decide who to hug first. I grabbed Courtney and squeezed her tight. Then came the time to grab Tessa up and finally tell her to her face that I love her!!

Well, that was Thursday and on Saturday, 27 Sep I proposed to Tessa at Cherokee Grill in Gatlinburg and she said yes. That was a huge moment in my life to love someone so much and the love to be returned. I think my dad even had a tear in his eye when it all went down. I called Jeremy right before I left the house (oh and I spent all day running and setting things up while mom, Tessa and Courtney went and got nails done and such). I called him in Iraq not knowing that he was about get on a plane to come home and see us and I asked him if I should do it before or after I ate. He told me before and of course I would not listen to him. He said I would not be able to eat and he was RIGHT!! After we ate, I went to the bathroom to try and clear my head. On my way back, I passed Tessa and knew how to pull it off. She came and I made her pose with me for some pictures and then I did it. I was the most exciting moment in my life up to that point.

The surprises did not stop there. Jeremy called Cherokee Grill and made arrangements to pay the bill from IRAQ!! The manager even wrote us a nice letter congratulating us and thanking Jeremy and me. It was one of the nicest things a complete stranger has ever done for me.

We spent the next two nights in a cabin that Fern Chase was awesome enough to help me out with. I really owe her for that one!!

The weekend was one that will never be forgotten for a lot of us. It will always remain cherished in my heart.

The next week we went to Ohio to see the family with Courtney in tow. It was her first trip to Ohio and she had a great time (could have been better if her mom was not such a pain and tried to ruin it for all of us). EVERYONE loved Tessa. My cousins really liked her, to include JD flirting and being a Schramm. Gina and Bryan spent Sunday at the zoo with us with Isaiah. It was a real blast. My grandma really liked her too. Lets just say I never thought I would have a farting contest in her living room and her laugh so hard. I kept hearing all weekend how they really liked her and it was so obvious how happy I am. They have no idea.

We came home and spent every moment together going and doing things neither one of us had ever done. That list is endless and will be another post some day.

She was even by my side the night I got to go to the hospital. Thats right, I made that wonderful trip to the hospital. I was setting the dinner table and fell off a ledge at Jeremy's house and MAJORLY sprained/fractured my foot. So here I sit at Fort Campbell doing physical therapy and waiting to go back to Afganistan in November. In the mean time, Tessa and I are spending a lot of time together when we can. She has drove here several times and I home several times.

I know that I talked about her in previous posts and talk about how great she is and how much I love her, but I never knew it would be so great when we finally saw each other and told each other face to face how we felt and it kept growing stronger and stronger and getting better and better. I never knew it was possible to be this happy. I never want it to end, and it never will. Just to give you an idea of how crazy I went and I am about her, I bought her a new car the week after we got engaged. Of course she had to put a HUGE BAMA sticker in the back window.

I have had a great time while I have been here. This has been awesome and I wish I did not have to go back.

Life is finally going great for me and it looks like it is going to be great for Jeremy too. I hope he gets to be as happy as I am right now!!

He also mentioned the elections a few times. I hope that everyone has caught on to what he is saying and that we put the right person in the White House this time. He is right about the experience. You really need to keep that in mind. Make sure that you do your homework and really think about what you are doing on election day.

I got to spend a little time with Courtney. It was great to have the time that I did. Unfortunately, someone, you know who, has made it difficult for me to see her and did not keep the promises that she made. Oh well. I guess that her turn will come one day. There is nothing that can take away the happiness that I have in my life.

Once again, God has answered my prayers and made me a happy person beyond belief.

There is not much else to talk about really unless you want to read on forever about Tessa and me. There are HUNDREDS of pictures I could post on here, but I do not have the time. You can see a lot on my myspace page if you want to see more.

I want to thank everyone for the support that everyone has shown us. It was great to have all the special times with my family and it was AWESOME to have my brother home at the same time. We shared a few "war stories" over a cold one and had some great times.

You need to be ready to come to a wedding in June or July next year. I will tell you that it will be unlike any one that you have ever seen.

Until next time.........

Back at it!

Hello everyone!! Once again, thank you for all of your support that you have given to my brother and I!! THANK YOU!!

Back at it...well, I've had a REALLY nice transition back to being over here. I've the last three days off! WOW!! That's two more than I expected! SO basically I've slept the last three days. It's nice to just lay around all day. When there's not much more to do, why not? And, it's been raining the last couple days so there wasn't much more to do. I enjoyed catching up on the news from my room on the internet, but other than that I only left my room to shower, shave, brush my teefers, and use the wonderful potty....oh, and to eat once a day....I mean come on, how much food do you really need if you're just laying around all day? Plus the food isn't that good anyway. I miss the food from back home! I was really fortunate to get to eat a great variety of foods while i was home. Thanks to my folks cooking some much needed home cooked meals, I made dinner a few nights, and many thanks to the various restaurants around town. I think the only food I didn't have while I was home was some good habachi..sp? BUT that will be something to look forward to when I get home. Tomorrow I get back to work...well if you want to call what i do "work"....well, it can be at times, but it's a lot of 'hurry up and wait'. However, I do have a PT test in the morning...BLAH!! I hate them! It's the one thing I can't stand doing. Don't know why, I think it's the thought of not passing that mentally messes with my brain...but oh well. It doesn't matter, like I said before, nothing can get me down at this point. My goal is to not get excited about anything else while I'm over here...when I say that, I'm talking about my unit, the war, my unit, or.....any b.s. resulting from 'stuff' over here. I'm excited about much more important things than any of that stuff. It's great to be in a fog and have so much to look forward to when I get home. NE-WAY...OH, before I forget...

Hey bro! I think the counter is messing up. I REALLY thought that we passed the 6,000 mark, but then the other day when I got on here, it was at 5700 something...and I KNOW that I was not on crack when I put the number up two days ago, but now it's less than what I posted??

And, I'm not sure if anyone else noted that we only had 11 posts in September.... Sept 11 Well, it wasn't meant to be that way but I thought it was pretty cool. A nice way to remember September 11th. It's amazing how after that happened I would be driving down the road and look at the clock on the radio and it would be 9:11 . Odd. I wonder if people ever wonder if others still think about that day. I'll be the first to say I do. I think about it. I can't say how many times I've looked a clock, watch, radio, or something else and seen 9:11...I think about where I was and what I was doing and what I did that day. It's like yesterday. My brain doesn't work too well sometimes, but that day is locked in for pretty obvious reasons. Getting off that subject... While I was home a few people asked me about the war and how I deal with all the crap I've seen over here. I think I've said it before, but I was blessed with a bad memory. If I didn't keep a journal of the 'bad things' over here...I probably couldn't come with more than 4 or 5 stories. It's pretty cool I guess. You know, to my surprise, not many people did ask me what I've seen over here. I expected a lot more people to ask the questions I didn't want to answer, but they didn't. It was kinda nice. Being home and away from 'the war', talking about it was just about the last thing I wanted to do. Although, I did have some folks ask me what I thought about the whole situation over here....being in my situation, there's only a few things I could say. Which none of them will be repeated on here....just because. One thing I will say is this: People are going to vote the wrong way in a few days. This isn't a 'military' sponsored blog so I guess I can say whatever I want, but I won't. I will refer back to a conversation my aunt and I had. She said, 'he doesn't have a pullout date set. We want you all to come home now! At least 'he' does have a pretty quick plan to getting you all out of there.' Well, my response was this: Politicians will tell you and the American people what they think they want to hear. If I told you we were all leaving next Tuesday, would you vote for me? Next Tuesday, that's it right. That's what you want to hear. We're leaving next Tuesday. No matter what the situation is over here, no matter whether or not the Iraqis are ready to take over, lead their own country, have a stable military, stable gov't, and a stable way of life.....you want to hear that we're leaving, SO OK...Tuesday it is. Do you feel better? Do you? Why not? That's what you wanted to hear right? It doesn't matter that this country will go back to shit. Every life that was sacraficed will be discredited just so you could hear what you wanted. Let us finish the job so we don't have to come back to a worse situation. Let us finish the fight strong. SO many Americans would probably vote for Willy Wonka if he promised everyone a bar of chocolate....if that's what you wanted to hear.

Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox. There's more to this election than people think. I understand the economy is pretty bad. If I'm right, we've had a Democratic Congress for sometime now. So don't blame it on the Republicans. The economy should be the number one focus on this election. I voted. And I hope that the person I voted for is successful. Two or three years of experience isn't enough to lead an Army to war, let alone lead a country. Given the chance, take a highly motivated, smart, educated, and well-rounded employee from your work. Let's say he's been there 4 years. He/she probably thinks they know quite a bit about the business. Now take that person and move them to the General Manager, or CEO or your business. Seriously, how do you REALLY think that will go over?? Doesn't make much sense to me. I wouldn't do it. There is SO much more to the job than you can learn in even 4 years to put in that position. Now think about that before you vote. Do you REALLY want to put a 3 year employee in charge of the entire Company?? I hope not.

Ok seriously, enough of that. I must remind everyone that this blog is solely the opinions of two brothers. This blog is not connected to any military branch or belief. We are in the Army, but the words written on the blog are only our opinions and no one else's. We do not speak for the Army or any other branch of the military. We speak for ourselves.

Till next time,
Somewhere in Iraq,
SGT Wormy

5781...again

Pretzel....

Well, here goes nothing, but I hope it means something....BUT first, thank you to all of those who show your support to my brother and I over "here". We just can't say enough to those who support us with care packages, prayers, and thoughts. THANK YOU!!

Well, if you read the last post I said I was going to write another post the other night....but I just couldn't get the thoughts together and I just wasn't ready....I'm not really sure that I am now, but I'm going to try. This post really doesn't have much to do with the "war" and everything over here....this is one of the only personal posts I'll put on here. I try to keep my personal life seperate from this blog. I guess this is one of those times where I want to vent/express what is on my mind and in my heart and there's just no one else to talk to. Some of you that read this won't understand it, some of you will.

Pretzel. Odd name for a title to a post, I know. But that's about how I feel at this point. My head's all tied up like a pretzel....I know, that's a quote from Tallegada Nights, but that's about how I feel right now. I don't know where to start, I don't know what to say and not to say, and I don't know how to finish. If you could hear me right now, there would be a lot of sighing....some deep breaths and this look of....concern...no, just "that look". I don't know where to start because I don't want to say too much, but there's so much I want to say. Ah, how do I start this?! Before I went home on R&R I made the decision to start living better. Start doing more of the right things and less of the crazy "young" things. People say that the war 'changes people'. Well, 'people' are right. It's made me stop taking so much for granted and is making me realize that all we have can be gone in a flash. I've seen it first hand, and it's not pretty...physically or mentally. So, I've decided to live more like I should and more like God wants me to. So when I got home, I tried to focus on my family and quality time with my friends and not just partying every night. I think I did ok with all that. Sure, there were a few nights and times I should have been with my family and not with friends, but I tried. This isn't coming out like I want it to. The pretzel is still all tied up....

You know, I've made some mistakes...the time period between Germany and Iraq was filled with stupidity and selfishness. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to my family and friends. Sometimes the greatest thing in our life is right in front of us and we can't see it. I want to come home so bad and make things right. The song 'my front porch lookin in' says it all. And the most beautiful thing happened while I was home...sitting in the rocking chairs in my back yard watching a little angel run around.... dinner at my folks house with her and Lukas... if that's what I have to look forward to one day, I can't wait! Little blue eyed blonde with her shoes on wrong... I can't wait! So I get back over here and I start downloading songs off the internet because while I was at home I didn't know any of the songs on the radio. One of the songs I downloaded is, "Roll with me" by Mongomery Gentry. You know what, I love songs like this. It seems like when I just can't put things into the rights words, someone else does it in a song. I'm so ready to start living my life, slowing it down, worrying about nothing except the man I want to be. If you haven't heard this song, download it. This song says everything I've been thinking and feeling for some time now. I'm tired of all the crap and hustle and bustle. I'm ready to slow down, love the town I live in, and just do my best to be the man I want to be. Everything happens for a reason, I believe that. I'm not sure when another song came out, but when I downloaded that song...I almost melted. I'm not sure if why I heard that song...but that it says it all. "I still miss you" by Keith Anderson....yet another great song to check out. Please be patient with me, it's starting to come out a little easier... I'm so sick of missing out on true happiness. I'm so tired of being fake, miserable, and someone I don't want to be. I need to slow down......sorry. I'm convinced that everything happens for a reason. Because of that, I have no 'regrets'. I will not say that I regret anything. ALTHOUGH, I REALLY REALLY wish I wouldn't have made a trip to europe 14 months ago...sorry but that's the truth. But, again, I don't regret it. I'm sure something good will come out of it....maybe. Whatever... I will say this though, when I get my 'business' taken care of...my life will get back on the right track. Well, I'm kinda starting to feel somewhat better....I hope you don't mind me venting on here, I really hope you don't mind.

So, yeah....this whole 'war' thing has changed me. I'm pretty sure people are pretty right on when they say it changes everyone that comes over here. But, at least in my case, it's for the better. I hope that you will benefit from it too. I hope a lot of people can benefit from it. Maybe one day I'll say something or do something that will make someone else think....hmmm ok. I'm looking forward to coming home and turning a new leaf in my life. I'll be 27 years old. It's about time to grow out of the craziness and all that 'crap'. Now, don't think I'm going to jump off the deep end, I'm not going to come home; sell the Ninja, empty the fridge, and not wear jeans with holes in them. I'm still me. But, I'm looking forward to really 'living life' and not just being another person going through the motions. Moderation. That's a good way to put it.

Well, I hope you somewhat enjoyed this post. I thought twice about actually posting it. It's almost a little too personal, but sometimes it's just hard to keep somethings bottled up. Relating this back to being over here: There's not much at this point that can get me down. My unit has a record of breaking my spirit, but not anymore. Not this guy. I have too much to look forward to when i get home. I don't have much time left over here, and if I can help it, nothing will get me down. Nothing.

Till next time,
Somewhere in Iraq,

SGT Wormy

5781

R&R

Well, hello!! I know it’s been a while, but I was home on R&R and I must say that I hardly even checked my email while I was home. BUT, what a nice surprise I got when I got back over here to the wonderful Iraq…I had about 10 boxes of “stuff” waiting on me!! THANK YOU!! Thank you to all of those that sent me care packages!! THANK YOU!!

Well, like I said, I was home on R&R, for those of you who don’t know what that is…in the easiest way, I was home on a two week vacation from Iraq to spend time with my family and friends. I must say that I had a WONDERFUL time!! Thanks to a few great friends and one in particular..flyin squirrel! I don’t want to get into too many details just yet about that one though…it just wouldn’t be right. But, I know they know who I’m talking about. WOW! I’m going to have to make another entry to just get some things off my chest that I don’t want to in this one… I’ll keep this post for just general info and blah blah blah.

I had the opportunity to get to spend some wonderful time with my family and friends. I did a pretty good job of surprising everyone that I was coming home. My brother picked me up from the airport to my surprise…he had to find out because my brother-in-law couldn’t pick me up from the airport so he did. And he brought his own surprise with him…my motorcycle! I got to ride a motorcycle home from the airport!! That was great!! Thanks bro! My R&R was full of surprises…some of which I can’t mention due to being sworn to secrecy…but that’s ok. It will all come out in due time. I owe a big THANK YOU to Johnny, Josh, Blake, and many other friends for making my trip home a very memorable one! We had some pretty great times together. My parents were wonderful, my brother was awesome and basically we had a GREAT time together!! There’s nothing like sitting around the table for dinner with family and friends. Speaking of sitting around for dinner…John broke his foot while setting the dining room table at my house. He fell off the landing that my table sits on. But thank goodness he didn’t fall off the high side, he only fell off the low side…but he still managed to break his foot. Clumsy! We had the chance to be a part of a motorcycle ride, go to a Friday night football game at our old high school, and just hang out. Of course, there are always people that you would want to hang out with more, and yes, that happened too. But with only two weeks to hang out with everyone…there just wasn’t enough time. BUT the good thing is, I’ll be home in a few months and I’ll have plenty of time to catch up with the people I didn’t get to this time.

But, for now, I’m back in good ol’ Iraq. It’s thundering and lighting outside right now. I just got off the phone with my parents and a couple friends to let them know I made it back safe and sound. I’m hoping that the jet lag doesn’t kick my butt too too bad the next couple days. I should be ok by tomorrow hopefully…hopefully. It was really nice to get back and have a stack of boxes to go through!! WOW! I got enough junk food to last a WHILE! THANK YOU!!!

Well I think I’m going to go for now…I may write the other post now, or I may wait until my thoughts are better put together….well…I’ll probably just do it now so I can sleep better…It’s almost like having a secret and you’re now allowed to tell anyone…but you want to SO SO bad! So I’ll think of a way to dance around the truth and maybe I’ll feel better….

Till next time

Somewhere in Iraq…again,
SGT WORMY

6145

Surprise!!

Well thank you all for your support for my brother and I!! I just can't say it enough!! We really appreciate it more than we can say!!

Well...I'm going to make this pretty short too...I am home!! I am in TN with my brother and my family. John wanted me to be home while he was here...and different from what I said in previous posts about hunting being more important....well, bro...it's not true. I got home two days ago and am having a great time so far!! My brother and everyone went to Ohio for a couple days but I'll see them when they get back. Well....I need to get ready to go to church so I'm going to get off here. I'll put some pics and another post up here soon.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!


JEREMY

Short and SWEEEEEEEEEET!!!

This is really short because I am sitting in the parking lot of Krystal's in Sevierville, TN using the free Wi-Fi so I can upload photos for you all.

I just wanted to share the photos and let everyone know SHE SAID YES!!!!!

That means that when I get home in May, I will be getting married to the love of my life and the most wonderful and beautiful woman in the world!!! The pix are jumbled up because I am losing battery fast.

You asked for it....

As always...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! Thank you for your support for my brother and I!! I just can't say it enough!! Karen G, you are truly a patriot and I just don't have the words to express my appreciation for your dedication and hard work!! Thank you!! I appreciate it, and a great hundreds of other Soldiers thank as well!! DNR...thanks for writing. I appreciate the offer. I love to ride the motorcycle so a road trip to Indiana/Ohio(where my family is) wouldn't be a bad idea if there is a barn party included. Thanks! I may just take you up on that one day. And thank you for your support and your sacrafice as a parent to a Marine and a brother of a Sailor.

OK...SO back to the request for pictures...WAIT...CONGRATULATIONS to my brother and his new FIANCE!! I just can't express how happy I am for both my brother and Freedom! I'm so excited. I wish that I could have been there for the evening of excitement! The only thing I know to say, brother...keep your fork. For those who don't know what means...I read it in an email about three years ago. It was about an elderly woman that always looked forward to church dinners, family gatherings, and other events. The meals were always the best part. But after each meal she would see people throwing away their forks...but never did. Because she knew that the best was yet to come. She would need her fork for best desserts that were still to come. Before she died, she made it know that she wanted to be buried with a fork in her hand....because the best was yet to come. SO, brother...keep your fork. I wish you two the best and I wish you two a life filled with happiness and many many years together!! I love you both!!

OK...SO back to the pictures. I've worked on this a little and hope you all enjoy them. I'm not sure how to put them all on here without them being a cluster, but I think you all will enjoy them none the less.

I'll ramble a little bit to take up some of the page....OH, one thing I'm not happy about....my internet is going out again. For real this time bro. ;-) We have "window" mounted air conditioners and it's cooling down some so they now have the task to switch out the a/c with heaters. AND unfortunately, SOMEHOW the a/c power and the internet cables are intertwined, close to each other or some madness....SO for "safety" they are shutting down the internet for two days I think...maybe three? I think it starts tomorrow. I was having problems with it last night and thought they were about to start on it...but I guess it's tomorrow. It's aggravating because we pay $50 for 30 days of service and lately they have been getting the best of us! Not cool!

Do you ever find something out, or know something but you can't say anything?? Of course...kinda like that feeling you get at Christmas when you're sitting around talking after you just came from the store and your dad says....I need a drill for this project...I'm going to Lowes and buying it....OR you come home and the same drill you bought two days ago...there it is. In the back of his truck....BUT you can't tell him that you bought it.... OR when someone at work does "something" and you're like "OOOOOHH!!" BUT you still can't tell anyone....yeah...that's about how I feel right now. Stupid rules. I understand that when something happens over here a specific amount of respect is due and we are not allowed to express our feelings about something or say what happened. Hey bro...I need to think about a way to say we got a ticket to Disney yesterday...but instead of going to Disney it was actually a ticket to Epcot. We got a ticket, but it was to Epcot instead of Disney. Which was a good thing. It makes it easier....If you're lost...GOOD. Sorry but you're supposed to be.

Well....I don't have much more to write about I guess...I'm going to start uploading pictures and spread them through this post.

I love you all, and I'll be home soon!!

Somewhere in Iraq....

SGT Wormy

5752