A Long January, Longer February

Well, I have been back about two weeks now and finally getting back into the swing of things. So many things happened while I was gone. The large amount of snow to hit Clarksville and Fort Campbell was one thing I really wished I would have been here for. But it has snowed plenty since with more to come this weekend. While I was in JRTC I kept notes on things to comment about in case there is some one there that is headed to training there and would like to know what to expect. Remember though, I am in a battalion S-1, not a ground pounder.

The day that we left it was cold and snowing. When I say cold, I mean single digits. All I could think about was that I am in the Bastogne Brigade and here we are standing outside in the freezing weather and remember the guy in WWII that were actually in Bastogne. We were outside for a few hours and those guys were out in it for days without the comfort of heat. At the moment of realization, I was thankful for those heroes!!

After freezing every inch of our body, we were piled into some tour buses to enjoy a 14+ luxury ride to Louisiana. Well, as luxurious as a bus can be. It was not too bad of a ride though. We stopped every couple of hours to stretch our legs so it was not too bad.

The food was typical field chow. Cold and nasty. There was only a couple times that the food was pretty good. We had "hot" cold breakfast and dinner each day with MRE for lunch.

Well, I was going to write a lot more about being there, but I will say that the training was great. I learned a lot, especially seeing that I got to the unit on Monday and left for Louisiana on Thur in the same week.

There was a small PX, that was actually a 40ft trailer. It had the essentials and not much else. There were chips and a few other things. Not soft drinks though. That was killing people. We dealt with it though. It was a good thing on the limited food and drinks for me though. I was able to lose about 18 pounds in the month I was there. Actually only 3 weeks. I was very excited when I got home and stepped on a scale and saw that I lost that much. I have to keep working on it and losing as much as I can.

Well, here it is Feb and now I am packing for the long trip over the ocean. I am not leaving for a few months, but that does not mean there is not a lot of work to be done. We are packing our containers that are leaving soon for Afghan. That means we have had and will have long work days getting that piece complete. Once that is done, there will be something else that needs to get done. It is a never ending cycle.

I am making arrangements for my house while I am gone and I am hoping that my friend is still willing to live here while I am gone. I am counting on her to take care of things for me. I have not a decision on whether Buck will stay here with her or if he will go back to parents house to be with the other dogs. So much to think about and so much to do.

This is a long weekend for us with President's Day on Mon and I should have went to OH to see my grandma who is still kicking, but I have too much to do to go anywhere. Looks like I will be working on my time on Mon or Tue so that I will not have to work late every night this week. And hopefully my soldiers will not screw up so I will not have to work late either. Well, just one of them. That's a long story for another blog.

On another note and some great news, my new parenting plan has been filed in court and that means that I am getting more time with Courtney and pretty much got what I wanted. I am very excited that now I get to see more of her. I know that she is happy too. When I explained it all to her, she was very excited. This last weekend when I went home and saw her, she would not let go of me. She missed me so much that she clung to me like it had been a lot longer since she saw me. It really made feel great.

Found out this morning that the wonderful Tessa (hint of sarcasm there, well a lot of sarcasm) is now married again. 3 marriages in 2.5 years. Its only been 9 months since she left me and 7 since our divorce. Not sure how some one can do that. I guess you really have to be without a heart and soul to move around like that. From my understanding, she is still in TX and hope she never comes back this way. OK, enough of that.

Well, life is still treating me good. Although I am still alone, and lonely most of the time, life is good. Actually debating if I am going out to have a few drinks tonight. Need to save the money, but get bored sitting around all the time.

Until next time.....

SGT John Strader

Traveling to and fro....

Well hello again! First as all thank you to all of those that continue to show support to my brother and I by checking out our blog. We really appreciate it. And as we come to a time of leaving and going here and there, we want to express that the comments posted on here and the words of encouragement are always welcomed, appreciated, and make us feel better. Thank you!

Traveling to and fro...well her I sit all broken hearted, tried to... ok seriously, I won't go there. If you know the rest of that, cool. If not...look it up. The best place to find the end of that little rhyme is in an Army porta potty. So anyway, here I sit in an airport waiting to leave....well, I'm pretty excited because I'm going home. Home to see my honey that I love very very much. It's really completely different when there's someone at home waiting patiently for your return. It's nice, really nice. Anywho, so I'm sitting here in an airport that I've only been in once, and that was the other day when I got here. It's not a bad place. It's a little rainy. Little chilly. A little depressing...but just a little. I needed a little sunshine today to help me feel better, but that wasn't in the forcast. But I guess it's snowing back home. That sounds like fun. I'd much rather take the snow over the rain and blah that comes with it.

So, I wonder...I wonder how many people follow this blog and where they live. ?? Now, I know my folks take a look once in a while, and my family in WV or Ohio look once in a while, but I'm curious as to who else follows this and where they live. I remember one time while I was in Iraq we got a comment from a guy in IN that was super cool. I think he even emailed me once or twice. He invited me up to IN if I was ever that direction to come ride motorcycles and hang out in his neck of the woods. Pretty cool. I think it would be really cool if you're reading this, click on the comment tab and just put a nickname or your name if want, and your location. That'd be pretty cool. I guess it brings it down a little more to a personal level. I also remember getting this card from a 6 year old while in Iraq...I carried that card in my chest pocket the rest of the time I was there. If I ever needed a smile, I knew one was close. Now a days, I know a smile is always close, no matter where, when, or what is going on...her name is Leslie. But any who...if you don't mind, post a comment. Name and location. THANKS!

Well, I think that's about all I've got on my mind for now. I think I'll watch the basketball game that's on the tv, have a beer, and relax before my 4 1/2 hour flight. Again, thank you for your support!!

Out here,
SGT Wormy

11965

What's going on??

Well hello again. As always, first I want to thank everyone that keeps up with us on this blog. It's been a lot of fun and it was about to get interesting...REALLY interesting once again....

What's going on....well as you guessed John is preparing for another trip to Afghanistan, and well, I am too. I volunteered long before John got word he was going so we didn't do this again on purpose...Mom, dad...I'm sorry. So we'll be over there again together. Only this time we'll be in the same country. We'll be going at almost the same time so we should get back at the same time. It should be a good time! At least I'm hoping it will be.

I've already gotten to go some places I've never been. Last weekend I got to go to CA for my first time and I must say that I never knew there were parts of CA that are that pretty. It was nice. Now, I'm in Seattle, WA...well Ft Lewis anyway. I leave tonight though. It's not so bad up here either. At the end of the month, I get to go back to one of my favorite places...San Antonio, TX. I'm sure I'll enjoy that as well. All this in preparation for Afghanistan.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned Leslie on here before...if not, I've been with the woman of my dreams for the last 4 months or so. I don't want to start sounding like my bro and write a love story on here...hmmmm....what ten words can sum up how much I love this woman and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her....I just can't explain it. Ten words, 100 words, not even a 1,000 words would do it. She's everything I prayed for, hoped for, and wished for. She's a dream come true, and she's making my dreams come true. Ok, enough of that. So she'e also what's been going on in my life. It sucks really really bad I have to leave her, but she knew my intentions on our first date.

Ok, so now I've got you thinking...dang these boys are crazy! BOTH going to be in a combat zone again! Well, for now you can ease yourself a just a little...my mission was cancelled...for now. So, in reality I believe it's just a delay of the inevitable, but for now, it's back to dang O'Charley's....my civilian job that I just absolutely love...whatever..no really I do. I do plan on eventually going over, it's just a matter of time.

Ok, I have to get ready for training. Hope you have a great day and till next time, keep your head up and remember, we're exactly where we are supposed to be at every second. God has you right here, right now for a perfect reason.

Out here,
SGT Strader