Anaconda in pictures - Sprung Gym (part two)

Here are some more pictures from the Sprung gym here at Anaconda.
The other side of the weight lifting end of the gym. Don't be fooled by the air conditioning ducts you see hanging from the ceiling - the average temperature in the gym at night is around 80-85 degrees. This contribuites to getting your sweat on in no time.

Who's that leading this group of soldiers in PT (black shirt, black hat)? Well it's none other than the Diamond Cutter himself, three-time world wrestling champion Diamond Dallas Page. He's old (50) and promoting some strange work-out routine that he's doing now that his WWF days are behind him. (For more information on DDP and his new shtick, click here) Nice of him to visit us over here though, I suppose. The basketball court is on the opposite end of the building from the weights.

Here I am, crushing it on the assisted pull-up/dip machine. Just in case your wondering, the reflective belt I'm wearing around my waist is part of the Army uniform over here in Iraq. It's worn mostly at night, in order to increase visibility and decrease accidents.

Thin mints anyone? It's not uncommon for the girl scouts to donate a box or two of their famous cookies for the troops over here in Iraq, but the gym obviously received an overabundance of cookies, as you can see in the picture above. SGT Kane and I were really excited about this, for some reason, and decided it was a blog-worthy photo opportunity. (For the record, SGT Kane is the king of recognizing blogworthy events)

Anaconda in pictures - Sprung Gym

One of my favorite things to do over here is crush it at the gym. By crushing it, I'm referring to getting in crazy good shape at the gym by lifting weights and running. On my last deployment to Bosnia we were lucky enough to have a very nice gym on our base that allowed us access to a dizzying array of top of the line equipment. The gym here at Anaconda is larger and contains more equipment than the gym in Bosnia, but the gym in Bosnia supported roughly 500 soldiers - the Sprung gym (named after the manufacture of the building) here at Anaconda supports 15,000. Little bit different scope, but the bottom line is that the gym is here and I am more than happy to use it. One critical element to a solid workout routine is having a battle buddy to lift with you. SGT Kane has stepped up and filled that role, and has done a knockout job. We've been working out 4-6 days a week for the last 5 months or so. Lately, we've added SSG Johnson to the routine, which has added this whole three musketeers type dynamic to the whole thing. So far I'm roughly six months into this deployment and I can honestly say that going to the gym has been the best thing to happen to me so far. I've really enjoyed it. Here are a few pictures.

Inside the gym. Not really sure why we have racquetball. Sure, it's a good way to burn a few calories, but the court eats up a lot of valuable gym space that could be used for more weight lifting machines. Oh well. People seem to enjoy it.

The gym is basically a U shape that curves around the racquetball court. Wide variety of free weights, cardio and other equipment. It's usually not too terribly busy, but it can get a little crazy at night. This photo was taken on a relatively busy night.

An exterior shot of the gym. The gym is the large structure with the white metal roof in the background of the photo. In the front is the smaller gym, with an indoor basketball court and more cardio equipment. I don't usually spend too much time in the smaller gym. The serious weight lifters who are taking it to the next level stay in the larger gym. So of course that's where I go.

Re-enlistment

I re-enlisted a couples days ago for another 3 years of good times in the Army National Guard. I know, some of you are probably scratching your heads wondering what illegal substance I was on when I made this decision, but trust me, I was in a clear state of mind. My original contract was set to expire in August of 2007. After my re-enlistment my new end date will be August of 2010, for those of you who can't do basic math. I'll use this extra time to finish up my college work on Uncle Sam's dime, which was one of the main reasons I joined the Guard in the first place. I'm crossing my fingers that the Army will leave me alone for three years, so I can graduate college before I'm thirty. Anyways, here are a few pictures from my swearing in ceremony, complete with tongue in cheek commentary.


Milling about before the swearing in. At this point I was contemplating my escape routes in case I decide to bail at the last minute. Mr. Regan (facing me, back middle) is eyeing me suspiciously, like a gunslinger in a wild west movie. He knows I'm screwed.

MAJ Teegerstrom, the squadron XO (executive officer), swore me in. SFC Lechner, the retention guy who swindled me into this whole deal, is standing in the background with a U.S. flag. To make it official and what not.

I'm not really sure why I look so happy in this photo. I just gave the U.S. government three more years of my life! Is it too late to take this back? Maybe I was on some type of narcotic after all. I know Nicki thinks I was.

Anaconda in pictures

More pictures from the bazaar...


Soldiers browsing the booths, checking out what the LNs have to offer.


This fellow saw me snapping pictures, and was begging for me to take one of him. The LNs can speak some English - usually just enough to get your money in their pocket. Most seem happy and enjoy working the bazaar. When I gestured to this dude that I was going to take his picture, he asked me to stop while he grabbed a few things. Without wasting any time, he snagged a copy of Click! and a knife. Essential items, to be sure.



Shoes? Anyone want some shoes? A pair of brand spanking new Nike Shox will run you about $30. Beat that Footlocker!

Another table full of DVD box sets. There is a mixture of things you would find back home (Sopranos box set, Nip/Tuck, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, etc.) and some things you won't find at your local Wal-Mart or Best Buy (50 Disney movies in one box, 20 Julia Roberts movies, etc.).

Anaconda in pictures

Anaconda is the base here in Iraq that I am spending my lovely all-expenses paid twelve month desert vacation at. Nicki says that I haven't shared enough pictures of what exactly Anaconda looks like. Well, when Nicki speaks, I listen. Most of the time. Yesterday was my day off, and I spent some of my afternoon wandering around taking pictures of things that you folks may or may not find interesting. I took over fifty pictures, all in all. I'll share a few of them, here and there, over the next few days. If the pictures are confusing or don't make sense, or you want clarification on something, feel free to post a comment and I will answer. I will call this series of photographs "Anaconda in pictures". Hopefully when it's all said and done you will have gained a better visual image of what I see and interact with on a daily basis.
I took this picture as I walked up to the bazaar. The bazaar operates on the weekends and allows LNs (local nationals) the opportunity to hawk their wares to the folks who live here at Anaconda. The bazaar is located on the back side of the pool, a few blocks away from our office and housing area. (the pool is located behind the t-walls, on the right hand side of this picture)

A shot of the bazaar, as you walk into it. The whole thing isn't that huge - less than one city block in length, with booths on both sides of the street. It has grown quite a bit since we first got here back in April - roughly doubled in size since then. The vendors try to obtain as much shade as possible - the heat is horrible.

DVD box sets, knives, 9MM holsters - the bazaar has it all! DVD's are the top seller - the discounts on what we pay here versus retail back home is fairly significant. For example, on this particular trip I picked up the Brad Pitt box set, which includes 15 of Brad's best movies - including Fight Club, Legends of the Fall, etc. I only paid $25 for this collection, which comes out to roughly $1.67 per movie - beat that Best Buy!

Moving on

Alright, I've finally come to grips with the fact that my R&R leave is over. I've decided I need to move on with my life and start looking forward to the end of this ordeal and quit focusing on the past. To mark this occasion I will post one final batch of R&R leave photos. Enjoy.

Nicki holding her newest sister, Emma. My time back on leave gave me the oppertunity to hang out with Emma for the first time. She seems pretty cool, except for when she drooled on my t-shirt when I was holding her. But that happens to all of us from time to time, so I won't hold it against her.

Another picture of my welcome home party, hosted by the Kools. My cousin Amanda was able to come, which was very cool. Looks like she is having a fun time.

Nicki and I at BW3s.

Pool Party

I'm going to break up the normal "Jon home on R&R leave" photo routine with something a little different today. A couple nights ago the S-1 guys (my section) were invited to a pool party, hosted by some of the soldiers working at the ECPs (Entry Control Point). They had a nice spread of food, including steaks, ribs, and lobster tails. Also had all the extras, including baked beans, potato salad, and even some n/a beer. A good time was had by all. Here are some pictures from the event.

SGT Kane, SFC Kerchal and myself, hanging out poolside sipping on ice cold Becks n/a beer.

SSG Johnson wanted to be cool for 5 seconds, so SFC Kerchal and I let him take a picture with us. I think he felt left out because he wasn't in the first picture. Notice that SFC Kerchal and I won't look at the camera. We were slightly ashamed to be in a photograph with SSG Johnson. Poor guy.

This is a picture of the brand new shelter that was constructed at the pool, just for pool parties like this one.

Some of the meat, cooking on the grill. The steaks were outstanding. Best cut of meat I've had since I was home on leave. Delicious.

The sweetest thing

Nicki and I, keeping it real at the welcome home bash thrown by my grandparents, Bill and Nancy at their home, Fountain Glen.

Couples

Jamie came up to NE allll the way from Colorado State to attend my shin-ding and say hello. High five to Jamie for being a good friend and taking the time out of her busy summer to visit us all up North. In the picture below, from left to right, is myself, Nicki, Jamie and her boyfriend, Jake.

Brothers

Flanked by my two youngest brothers. Jacob on the left, James on the right. James will be a freshman at Hastings College and Jacob a senior at Seward High. Crazy.

homecoming

This picture was taken only hours after I had arrived in NE. Nicki picked me up at the airport in Omaha, and we had just arrived at her apartment. Notice two things: I'm still in partial Army uniform, and Nicki made an awesome shirt just for my return!

b dubs

Me and my boy Nate, at BW3s.

Boyd's are back in town

Tim and Zach Boyd made a pit stop on their way to Chicago to stop in Lincoln and say hi to me. They were on their way from Denver, CO up North to Chicago to see their brother David graduate from Navy basic training. Tim and Zach were only in town a couple days, but it was a fun time and I was stoked that they were able to stop and say hi before I left for my return trip to Iraq.

Saltdogs

This picture was taken at a Saltdogs game that Nicki and I attended. Being at the ballpark is always a good time, and I believe the Saltdogs won this game, which was an added bonus.

Picture time

Here is a picture of me chilling out with some of the guys at my welcome home party, hosted by the Kools. Clockwise from the top, starting with me: Nate, Ben, Alex, James and Ryan. Good times were had by all.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Recently, my awesome girlfriend Nicki sent me a CD chock full of sweet pictures from my time back in NE. I wanted to think of a creative way to share some of these pictures with you, my loyal readers, and I think I've found it. I will post one random picture a day (or as often as my schedule allows me), until I feel I've posted enough to give you all a good feel for how my leave went, and to give certain people or events the attention (for one day, at least) that they so richly deserve. This will also give me a reason to hold on even longer to the great memories I had while I was home, and take my mind off of the task at hand. I'll try and include a little caption under each picture, describing who was involved and what was going down. So here we go...


I would be remiss if I didn't kick this whole thing off without a picture of my better half, Nicki, and I. This picture was taken over at Nate, Ryan and Mitch's apartment one fine evening while I was home. I think this picture pretty much proves that we are are the best thing since sliced bread.

Flying Squirrel

While I was at home, a few friends and family members inquired about the story behind the black eye I was sporting for a week or so back in early June. (Read about it here) During the course of describing the entire incident in painstaking detail, I mentioned that our Squadron Executive Officer, MAJ Teegerstrom, had drawn up a sketch on a whiteboard next to my desk. The sketch is MAJ Teegerstrom's best effort to visually paint a picture of how my whole black eye incident went down. Well, upon my return from R&R leave, I found that my comrades here in the office had taken the sketch to another level. They had added mathematical equations and other numbers to add more detail to the original sketch. I decided I would capture this work of art by taking a picture, so as to record the event for historical purposes and record keeping. So without further adieu, here is the much talked about, much hyped sketch.

Cabela's Flag

About two months ago, I wrote a piece on this blog about my employer back home, Cabelas, and how they had genourously donated a Cabela's flag for me to fly over here in Iraq. (Read about it here) The flag had been flying in front of the Lincoln Cabela's office, and they took it down just to send me so I would have something to fly over here. I flew the flag and then when I went home on leave recently, I returned the flag to the kind folks at Cabelas, complete with a framed certificate documenting the event. They were very happy with how the whole thing turned out, as was I. Here is a pic of me and the Human Resources rep at the Cabela's Bank with the certificate that I delivered. Thanks again to Cabela's for all their help in making this happen!

Go 'Skers

Considering that the majority of my unit is from Nebraska, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that there are a lot of die-hard Husker fans within our ranks. When we first arrived in Iraq, there was a debate about what flag we should fly daily on the flag pole outside our headquarters building (where I work). Well, the logical choice to Husker fans in the unit was to fly a Husker flag, to show the rest of our base where our allegiance lies. SGT Kane generously donated the use of his Husker flag to this purpose, and from day one Kane's crimson and cream flag has been flying proudly (read about it here). Four months of Iraqi sun, sand and wind has put this Husker flag through a true test of durability. SGT Kane was aiming for a nice weathered look, so he can proudly display this Husker flag when he gets back to Nebraska as a veteran of the war on terror. SGT Kane is satisfied that his flag has reached a desirable level of wear and is prepared to hand off the baton, so to speak, to a new Husker flag. I am prepared to step up to the plate and take control of this important role within the Squadron, but I am missing an important piece - a Husker flag. I am using this post as an opportunity for some caring, compassionate soul back in the states to donate a Husker flag to this worthy cause. If you need my mailing address, shoot me an email. I appreciate your help in continuing this important tradition!

Shenanigans

One of the highlights of my time spent back in NE had to have been the welcome home party that the Kool's threw for me. Nicki's mom Dianne and her husband Kent graciously hosted my friends and I in their back yard, allowing us to socialize and have some good times all night long. Nicki did a lot of the leg work, inviting what seemed like every friend I've had in the last 10 years to come say hello to their favorite guardsmen serving in Iraq, have a few drinks, and enjoy a warm summer night in Nebraska. Here are a couple of pics from the party.

Hanging out with some of "the guys" - Shaun, myself, K-Mart and Wags.

Two of my brothers made the trip from the farm to say hello, despite being in the midst of detasseling season. The scary thing about this picture is that I appear to possibly be the shortest Hanseling of the bunch. Yikes. Jacob, myself, Nicki and James.

Me with two lovely ladies - the hostess of my welcome home shin-ding, Mrs. Kool, and her daughter (and my g/f) Ms. Blazek.

Nicki and I with Wags and his girlfriend Hannah, whom I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time at the party.

Thanks again to the Kools for hosting, all my friends for showing up and saying hello, and most of all my lovely Nicki, for putting the whole thing together.

Back in the saddle again

Some of my readers may be wondering why it has been such a long time since my last update. Well, do not fear, all is well here with me, but I've been away for awhile and that is the reason behind my break in posting to this blog. The general rule of thumb in the military is that you can not discuss specific details of events to be held in the future, but once an event has passed, it is then acceptable to discuss what is now in the past. Therefore, I wasn't able to share with the world that I was returning to NE for a 2 week long break from this lovely desert home of mine, but now that I'm back from NE and enjoying the heat and sand once again, I can now say that I've been back home visiting family and friends. I had a lovely time (as always) and enjoyed every minute of my vacation. I was able to visit with tons of family and friends while I was back, but I'm sure I missed a few people that I would have liked to touch base with. Fear not, people who I missed - come spring of 07 I will be home for good and we can hang out as long as we want. Hopefully in the next couple days I'll find time to share with you all a few pictures and comments on things I was able to do while back in NE.