The girls and I are currently in Oregon visiting family. We left on Sunday, June 14 and arrived on Friday, June 19. It is really nice to be back home on the farm, and out of riding in the Suburban!
This weekend we plan to take a trip over to central Oregon, Portland, and Washington to visit friends.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
News
1) Jonathan is home!!
2) Jon Paul will not be enlisting today. Turns out the processing center ended up being closed today.
3) The girls will be leaving for Oregon on Sunday morning, a day's delay because things didn't get packed in time. (And we decided to spend an extra day with Jonathan before leaving for a month.)
2) Jon Paul will not be enlisting today. Turns out the processing center ended up being closed today.
3) The girls will be leaving for Oregon on Sunday morning, a day's delay because things didn't get packed in time. (And we decided to spend an extra day with Jonathan before leaving for a month.)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Trailer- Bad News
Jonathan thought to have me take the trailer into our mechanic to have it checked before taking it to Oregon. Turns out is was a good idea as there is a bad wheel bearing. It's going to take time to find a replacement because it's an odd size. Oh well, I guess I get to practice my skill at packing to get everything to fit into the back of the Suburban. At least we found out before we took it that far and had trouble along the way. That would not have been a fun adventure.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Update on Jonathan
I'm at Camp Arifjan, now. Have some work to do at the ARCENT Chaplain's office here (they're moving from one building to another and need strong backs to move stuff). Will be down here until Tuesday then back to Beuhring to join the rest of the group that are moving out on Wednesday.
Of course, not all that time will be spent moving - that's probably only a day's work. Will actually be able to relax a bit -- go to Church on Sunday. The installation chaplain's a friend of mine - well, a well-known acquaintance, anyway. She and I first met in San Antonio, at Oblate School of Theology. She was in CPE at Walter Reed AMC when I was at Madigan.
She's Methodist and runs the closest thing to a liturgical service I'm likely to find. She told me if I'd let her know in advance that I was coming, she'd let me preach when I come through, but I didn't realize I'd be down here on a weekend so I didn't coordinate that.
Of course, not all that time will be spent moving - that's probably only a day's work. Will actually be able to relax a bit -- go to Church on Sunday. The installation chaplain's a friend of mine - well, a well-known acquaintance, anyway. She and I first met in San Antonio, at Oblate School of Theology. She was in CPE at Walter Reed AMC when I was at Madigan.
She's Methodist and runs the closest thing to a liturgical service I'm likely to find. She told me if I'd let her know in advance that I was coming, she'd let me preach when I come through, but I didn't realize I'd be down here on a weekend so I didn't coordinate that.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tales from the Sandbox (Wed 6/3)
Well, tomorrow the training exercise will be done – unless the Commanding General was unhappy with the outcome and wants to extend it. I’m not picking up vibes to indicate that is the case, though.
I suppose it went well. I think we tried to cram too much into the exercise, though. We worked our various staff processes with a battle rhythm of briefings and meetings that is quite wearing. As one of the observer/controllers said, exercises, by their nature, are more “compressed” than most real-world operations.
On top of that, though, we were also re-writing our standing operating procedures (SOPs) for each staff section – that took a chunk of time on top of the ambitious battle rhythm.
Still, it’s close to done and hopefully the Commanding General thinks we did well as a staff.
Fr. Jonathan Landon +
I suppose it went well. I think we tried to cram too much into the exercise, though. We worked our various staff processes with a battle rhythm of briefings and meetings that is quite wearing. As one of the observer/controllers said, exercises, by their nature, are more “compressed” than most real-world operations.
On top of that, though, we were also re-writing our standing operating procedures (SOPs) for each staff section – that took a chunk of time on top of the ambitious battle rhythm.
Still, it’s close to done and hopefully the Commanding General thinks we did well as a staff.
Fr. Jonathan Landon +
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tales from the Sandbox (Sun 5/31_ Part 2)
Things are going reasonably well here, as far as the training exercise goes. The night before last, though, after the evening shift-change briefing, the Deputy Commanding General kept all the Staff Principals (the senior officer in each section of the staff) and many of the other senior officers until 1:45 AM to review the cycle of planning meetings and decision-making boards (which we call the “Battle Rhythm”) because the current battle rhythm – he said – wasn’t working.
The ranking chaplain had already gone before anyone in the chaplain section knew this was going on, so I had to be there in his place. I don’t have any significant input into the battle rhythm, as I don’t chair any of those meetings or boards, but every staff section had to be represented, so I couldn’t go off to bed.
However, as far as the training itself goes, and the Unit Ministry Team’s participation in it, I think things are going pretty well. The main working group I participate in is pretty pleased with some suggestions I made and is working them into their plans. Eventually they’ll be included in a FRAGO (Fragmentary Order) to subordinate units – which is as far as things go for this exercise, because there are no real, subordinate units in this exercise.
This is what we call a Command Post Exercise (CPX) – meaning the point of the exercise is to work the people and the procedures of the Command Post. Each of the major subordinate units is represented by a single role player whose function is to receive the orders, and report information as if there were a real unit there. The actual information he reports is made up, based on a combination of computer simulations of what might happen in a real, military operation, and also what the training objectives of our commander and staff principals are. In other words, the information is made up that will drive specific staff processes on which our bosses want us to be trained.
Our higher headquarters (US Central Command) is also represented by a role player, as are other organizations that influence our operational environment. For example, non-governmental organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent can have significant impact on our operations. So can US governmental agencies like the Department of State, the governments of allied nations or the host nation (where our operation is supposed to be happening), and the mass media. All of these are represented by role-players.
In CPXs, computer simulations provide inputs that represent information from intelligence gathering systems. For example, the computer can be programmed with the location and activities of enemy units, friendly units, and various neutral aspects of the battlefield (such as the shape of the terrain around us), and with the capabilities of various intelligence systems, then you can ask the computer (for example), “If I fly an airplane along this particular route, at this particular speed and altitude at this particular time, what will the pilot see?” or, “If I put this particular type of radio intercept equipment at this particular place, and turn it on from this time to that time, what will the operator hear?”
You might well ask, “With all this simulation and role-playing, why do you have to go to Kuwait to do this CPX? Why don’t you just stay in Atlanta?” Good question. The major reason is simply that the equipment to set up and operate the command post is here in Kuwait. We keep it here so that it will be faster to deploy it to a crisis location in the Middle East if we have to do so. There’s too much to easily get it all into airplanes, and sending it by ship can take a long time. Therefore, the closer we can keep it to where we think we might need it, the faster we can respond to a crisis by moving our headquarters.
Apropos of nothing in particular… attached is a photo of the inside of our sleep tents. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the sleep tents to the command post (which can seem a lot more in 115-degree heat). The focus isn’t great – partly because the lights were off on the end where I was standing so the camera wasn’t getting enough light to focus well. But, it gives you the idea. The tent is supposed to accommodate 70 people – but that would feel very crowded. Right now, it has about 45 people in it, I think, and it doesn’t feel crowded, at least not by the standards of someone who has been in the Army for 24 years. “Not crowded” in this case means that we have space between cots that is just about as wide as the cots themselves. Most of the extra cots are set up along the walls, for people to set their rucksacks and duffel bags on. That way we can keep our gear off the floor so the tent doesn’t feel so cluttered, and looks like it has a modicum of organization.
Well, I haven’t managed to connect to the Internet, yet, and it’s about time to put away my computer so I can go to work. Next time I try to go on-line, I guess I’ll go to the wireless hot-spot that’s closer to the network service’s office, and if I can’t get through, I’ll step in there and ask whether there’s something they can do about it.
Fr. Jonathan Landon +
The ranking chaplain had already gone before anyone in the chaplain section knew this was going on, so I had to be there in his place. I don’t have any significant input into the battle rhythm, as I don’t chair any of those meetings or boards, but every staff section had to be represented, so I couldn’t go off to bed.
However, as far as the training itself goes, and the Unit Ministry Team’s participation in it, I think things are going pretty well. The main working group I participate in is pretty pleased with some suggestions I made and is working them into their plans. Eventually they’ll be included in a FRAGO (Fragmentary Order) to subordinate units – which is as far as things go for this exercise, because there are no real, subordinate units in this exercise.
This is what we call a Command Post Exercise (CPX) – meaning the point of the exercise is to work the people and the procedures of the Command Post. Each of the major subordinate units is represented by a single role player whose function is to receive the orders, and report information as if there were a real unit there. The actual information he reports is made up, based on a combination of computer simulations of what might happen in a real, military operation, and also what the training objectives of our commander and staff principals are. In other words, the information is made up that will drive specific staff processes on which our bosses want us to be trained.
Our higher headquarters (US Central Command) is also represented by a role player, as are other organizations that influence our operational environment. For example, non-governmental organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent can have significant impact on our operations. So can US governmental agencies like the Department of State, the governments of allied nations or the host nation (where our operation is supposed to be happening), and the mass media. All of these are represented by role-players.
In CPXs, computer simulations provide inputs that represent information from intelligence gathering systems. For example, the computer can be programmed with the location and activities of enemy units, friendly units, and various neutral aspects of the battlefield (such as the shape of the terrain around us), and with the capabilities of various intelligence systems, then you can ask the computer (for example), “If I fly an airplane along this particular route, at this particular speed and altitude at this particular time, what will the pilot see?” or, “If I put this particular type of radio intercept equipment at this particular place, and turn it on from this time to that time, what will the operator hear?”
You might well ask, “With all this simulation and role-playing, why do you have to go to Kuwait to do this CPX? Why don’t you just stay in Atlanta?” Good question. The major reason is simply that the equipment to set up and operate the command post is here in Kuwait. We keep it here so that it will be faster to deploy it to a crisis location in the Middle East if we have to do so. There’s too much to easily get it all into airplanes, and sending it by ship can take a long time. Therefore, the closer we can keep it to where we think we might need it, the faster we can respond to a crisis by moving our headquarters.
Apropos of nothing in particular… attached is a photo of the inside of our sleep tents. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the sleep tents to the command post (which can seem a lot more in 115-degree heat). The focus isn’t great – partly because the lights were off on the end where I was standing so the camera wasn’t getting enough light to focus well. But, it gives you the idea. The tent is supposed to accommodate 70 people – but that would feel very crowded. Right now, it has about 45 people in it, I think, and it doesn’t feel crowded, at least not by the standards of someone who has been in the Army for 24 years. “Not crowded” in this case means that we have space between cots that is just about as wide as the cots themselves. Most of the extra cots are set up along the walls, for people to set their rucksacks and duffel bags on. That way we can keep our gear off the floor so the tent doesn’t feel so cluttered, and looks like it has a modicum of organization.
Well, I haven’t managed to connect to the Internet, yet, and it’s about time to put away my computer so I can go to work. Next time I try to go on-line, I guess I’ll go to the wireless hot-spot that’s closer to the network service’s office, and if I can’t get through, I’ll step in there and ask whether there’s something they can do about it.
Fr. Jonathan Landon +
Tales from the Sandbox (Sun 5/31)
Well, we’ve reached the half-way point on the training exercise. Tomorrow morning we have “stand down” and mid-course AAR. I don’t have to go to work until after lunch – which is a good thing, I guess, because I forgot to pick up my laundry from the laundry point this afternoon. :-( However, I do still have a couple of days of clean underwear and socks, so fear not!
Anyway, I think that things are going pretty well, on the whole. Not as well as some exercises I’ve been on, but not too badly, either. Yesterday, I was surprised to hear that the Commanding General wanted to give me a commander’s coin, after the morning briefing. Someone had told him about an incident I was involved in right before I left Atlanta for this exercise in Kuwait.
A Soldier in Afghanistan was feeling upset – suicidal, actually – and for some reason he didn’t trust the leadership of his own unit to take care of his problems. So, he phoned back to Carlysle Barracks, Pensylvania – his permanent duty station – and vented his feelings to the mental health counselor he had been to for treatment in the past. When you have someone on the phone that you think is suicidal, you do your very best to keep him or her on the phone, while getting a helper to them. You never want to break contact with such a person.
This counselor, kept the Soldier on the phone, but he didn’t know how to get in contact with anyone who might be able to get to the Soldier in Afghanistan. However, he knew that Headquarters, US Army Central is the supporting Army headquarters for all Army forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and pretty much the whole of the Middle East and Southwest Asia. So, he kept the Soldier on the phone on one line, and on a different line, he phoned the Office of the Commanding General, US Army Central. That’s kind of like phoning the Governor of New York because someone in Queens is suicidal… sort of. The big difference is that pretty much ALL Army leadership takes the danger of suicide VERY seriously.
When the call came in, the Commanding General’s secretary – naturally – forwarded it to the Office of the Command Chaplain. My boss, the Deputy Command Chaplain, and the Current Operations Chaplain and I were still in the office when the call came (though we were pretty much on the way out the door). I went to the Operations Center of US Army Central to get a phone number for the young Soldier’s Brigade Headquarters. The Deputy Command Chaplain and the Current Operations Chaplain kept the mental health counselor on the phone and somehow found a phone number to a Master Sergeant in Afghanistan who knew this particular Soldier personally.
So, by the time I got back with the phone number of the unit headquarters, the Current Operations Chaplain had already launched this Master Sergeant in the direction of the young Soldier to get him the help he needed. For chaplains – as much as for the mental health counselor – we just considered it our duty to do what we could to help this Soldier. That’s especially true since his life was in danger. Apparently, though, the Commanding General’s secretary was impressed, and told the CG about it.
So, he sent notes thanking and commending me and my fellow chaplains, and after the morning operations brief, called for us to meet him by his “office” (a tent which is part of the command post complex of linked tents) and presented a commander’s coin to me and to the Deputy Command Chaplain. The Current Operations Chaplain didn’t come on this exercise. He has a badly sprained ankle, and besides, is getting ready to leave our unit so he has some administrative out-processing to do. I assume he’ll get his coin from the Commander when we get back to Atlanta.
The General said he didn’t want to make too big a fuss over it, because he knows chaplains “aren’t in it for the glory,” but it would have been very easy to say, “It’s just too hard to do,” and he wanted us to know he was pleased that we would go the extra mile for a Soldier’s well-being.
For those who don’t know, military commanders (battalion level and above) traditionally have unit coins made with distinctive designs that they give out as awards for special performance that they want to recognize, but which they don’t consider to be at a level that deserves a medal.
There several traditions that have arisen around those coins, such as – when Soldiers are in the club, they can challenge one another by pulling a unit coin out of their pockets and tossing it on the bar. A Soldier who doesn’t have a coin to respond with buys a round for the Soldier who challenged him. For that reason, the coins are also called “challenge coins”.
Soldiers value those coins. Many of them value them more than medals and it is a point of pride to them if they can get a coin from every unit where they’ve been assigned. It’s also a common way to give recognition to a Soldier who gives good support to a unit to which they are NOT assigned as well, so many Soldiers end up with coins from units they’ve never served in, as well. The tradition is not unique to the Army, either.
Anyway, all three of us chaplains really felt that we were just doing our duty and I suppose I’m really writing this up to have something to write about, just to keep in touch with my friends and family. Still, I think it gives insight into the General’s character, that he values and goes out of his way to show his respect for people who do what it takes to save the life of a Soldier. Actually, I already knew I like this guy. He hasn’t been in command of US Army Central for very long – it will be a month next week – but I can tell already, he controls his temper, he controls his language, I’ve seen him angry but I’ve never seen him abuse or degrade anyone… and I have seen him go out of his way to show how he values people.
So, … as far as the command climate goes… I think I can look forward to a reasonably good year.
Fr. Jonathan Landon +
Anyway, I think that things are going pretty well, on the whole. Not as well as some exercises I’ve been on, but not too badly, either. Yesterday, I was surprised to hear that the Commanding General wanted to give me a commander’s coin, after the morning briefing. Someone had told him about an incident I was involved in right before I left Atlanta for this exercise in Kuwait.
A Soldier in Afghanistan was feeling upset – suicidal, actually – and for some reason he didn’t trust the leadership of his own unit to take care of his problems. So, he phoned back to Carlysle Barracks, Pensylvania – his permanent duty station – and vented his feelings to the mental health counselor he had been to for treatment in the past. When you have someone on the phone that you think is suicidal, you do your very best to keep him or her on the phone, while getting a helper to them. You never want to break contact with such a person.
This counselor, kept the Soldier on the phone, but he didn’t know how to get in contact with anyone who might be able to get to the Soldier in Afghanistan. However, he knew that Headquarters, US Army Central is the supporting Army headquarters for all Army forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and pretty much the whole of the Middle East and Southwest Asia. So, he kept the Soldier on the phone on one line, and on a different line, he phoned the Office of the Commanding General, US Army Central. That’s kind of like phoning the Governor of New York because someone in Queens is suicidal… sort of. The big difference is that pretty much ALL Army leadership takes the danger of suicide VERY seriously.
When the call came in, the Commanding General’s secretary – naturally – forwarded it to the Office of the Command Chaplain. My boss, the Deputy Command Chaplain, and the Current Operations Chaplain and I were still in the office when the call came (though we were pretty much on the way out the door). I went to the Operations Center of US Army Central to get a phone number for the young Soldier’s Brigade Headquarters. The Deputy Command Chaplain and the Current Operations Chaplain kept the mental health counselor on the phone and somehow found a phone number to a Master Sergeant in Afghanistan who knew this particular Soldier personally.
So, by the time I got back with the phone number of the unit headquarters, the Current Operations Chaplain had already launched this Master Sergeant in the direction of the young Soldier to get him the help he needed. For chaplains – as much as for the mental health counselor – we just considered it our duty to do what we could to help this Soldier. That’s especially true since his life was in danger. Apparently, though, the Commanding General’s secretary was impressed, and told the CG about it.
So, he sent notes thanking and commending me and my fellow chaplains, and after the morning operations brief, called for us to meet him by his “office” (a tent which is part of the command post complex of linked tents) and presented a commander’s coin to me and to the Deputy Command Chaplain. The Current Operations Chaplain didn’t come on this exercise. He has a badly sprained ankle, and besides, is getting ready to leave our unit so he has some administrative out-processing to do. I assume he’ll get his coin from the Commander when we get back to Atlanta.
The General said he didn’t want to make too big a fuss over it, because he knows chaplains “aren’t in it for the glory,” but it would have been very easy to say, “It’s just too hard to do,” and he wanted us to know he was pleased that we would go the extra mile for a Soldier’s well-being.
For those who don’t know, military commanders (battalion level and above) traditionally have unit coins made with distinctive designs that they give out as awards for special performance that they want to recognize, but which they don’t consider to be at a level that deserves a medal.
There several traditions that have arisen around those coins, such as – when Soldiers are in the club, they can challenge one another by pulling a unit coin out of their pockets and tossing it on the bar. A Soldier who doesn’t have a coin to respond with buys a round for the Soldier who challenged him. For that reason, the coins are also called “challenge coins”.
Soldiers value those coins. Many of them value them more than medals and it is a point of pride to them if they can get a coin from every unit where they’ve been assigned. It’s also a common way to give recognition to a Soldier who gives good support to a unit to which they are NOT assigned as well, so many Soldiers end up with coins from units they’ve never served in, as well. The tradition is not unique to the Army, either.
Anyway, all three of us chaplains really felt that we were just doing our duty and I suppose I’m really writing this up to have something to write about, just to keep in touch with my friends and family. Still, I think it gives insight into the General’s character, that he values and goes out of his way to show his respect for people who do what it takes to save the life of a Soldier. Actually, I already knew I like this guy. He hasn’t been in command of US Army Central for very long – it will be a month next week – but I can tell already, he controls his temper, he controls his language, I’ve seen him angry but I’ve never seen him abuse or degrade anyone… and I have seen him go out of his way to show how he values people.
So, … as far as the command climate goes… I think I can look forward to a reasonably good year.
Fr. Jonathan Landon +
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