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.

Coach

The Army's Morale Welfare & Recreation program (MWR) is in charge of giving U.S. Servicemembers things to do that take their mind of their mission. MWR here at Anaconda does supports and coordinates a lot of events for soldiers. Everything from softball leagues to Toby Keith concerts are MWR functions. A couple days ago MWR brought some college football coaches to visit us here at Anaconda - one legend, and one arch enemy of mine.

Lou Holtz was great. He's much smaller in person than I imagined - 5'7" or so, maybe 150 lbs. Fiery as heck though. When I stopped by his table, I told him it was an honor to meet him. Holtz replied with, "No sonny, the pleasure is all mine". That pretty much sums up Coach Holtz right there. Every soldier that stopped to talk to him got a firm handshake, a warm smile, and kind words of thanks for what we're doing over here.

Here is my arch-enemy, Les Miles from LSU. Les was the head coach at Oklahoma State for a number of years, but moved on to LSU a couple years back. Since his arrival at LSU, Coach Miles has been a burr in Nebraska's side. He has signed a number of blue-chip recruits that NE was also chasing. One high-profile example was about a month ago, when a highly rated high school quaterback from Texas, Jarret Lee, spurned the Huskers in favor of the Tigers. I couldn't help but give Coach Miles a hard time over this. When I asked him about Lee, Miles initially tried to play coy as if he didn't know NE was recruiting him. I pressed him harder, and Miles admitted that he knew NE was indeed recruiting Lee hard, and knew that Lee had basically chosen LSU over NE. His story was that location was big to Lee's parents, because they wanted to travel to alot of Lee's games. Baton Rouge is a 5 hour drive from Lee's home town. Lincoln is over 14 hours away. LSU wins. I tried convincing Miles that it would be most benificial for him to stop recruiting against NU, but I think he was too busy waving over the security folks to listen to my rant. I should give Les a little credit overall - he seemed genuienly thankful for my service over here, and looked me in the eye when I talked to him and never once gave me the impression he was bummed out to be in Iraq's sweltering heat instead of sitting on his deck in Baton Rouge, LA.

All in all it was a fun afternoon, highlighted by meeting Lou Holtz (Lou Holtz!), a living legend of college football.

Flying Squirrel

As some of you may or may not have heard already, I had a horrific accident a few days ago at the LSA Anaconda outdoor swimming pool. As my faithful readers will know, I posted a blog a few weeks back documenting the outstanding outdoor pool facilites here on LSA Anaconda. I'm a big fan of the pool, and try to visit a few times a week. I've been busting out a few moves on the diving towers that I haven't used since my days growing up at the Milford, NE swimming pool. Needless to say, I'm a little rusty. Anyways, one such move was the "flying squirrel". I won't go into great detail explaining the move, but for those of you who grew up at a pool (my three younger brothers, for example) you should know exactly what I'm talking about. While attempting to pull of this high-wire act, I made a very unfortuante error upon my entry into the water, and my knee ended up making a violent collision with my left eye. The picture above was taken less than a couple hours after the incident. As you can see, the swelling is spectacular. This is the first black eye of my life, and I couldn't be more proud that it was self-inflicted (although my Dad may feel differently about his first born son). Anyways, I wanted to give you the straight scoop right from the source, and kill any rumors (see SGT Kane's blog) or speculation of how I earned this shiner.

The picture to the left was taken yesterday. As you can see, the swelling has gone down significantly, but the nice dark black bruise is showing up nicely. Also, on the whiteboard you can see MAJ Teegerstrom's rendtion of how the "flying squirrel" incident unfolded, for those of you who are unfamilar with the move. Just so you know, I have since visited the pool on two seperate occasions, to get some sun and enjoy the water. However, I have yet to travel back up to the 2nd tower. I'm sure once the black eye disappears I will have no problems moving forward and jumping off the second tower again.

1-167 RSTA

I encourage you all to check out the new link that I've posted to the right. The 1-167 RSTA (my unit) has been working on creating a unit web site for awhile now, and the web site is starting to finally take shape. The main attraction, for me at least, is that the RSTA Review newsletters that I've been emailing out to all of you are now posted and archived on this site, for easier access.

One issue in particular that I will point out is the 1 May, 2006 edition, with the feature article on my section, the S-1. The article starts on page 4 of the previously mentioned newsletter.

Cabelas

As you all may or may not know, I am an employee of Cabelas. I work at the bank location in Lincoln, NE as a credit card collector for the wonderful Cabela's Visa card. I am on "military leave" until I return to Lincoln to continue working for Cabela's. Cabela's has treated me very well every step of the way throughout this deployment process. They are keeping my job for me, and while I'm gone I am earning all the normal raises and benefits I would have earned if I was still actively working at the bank. I am very grateful to the company for this.

One popular way for soldiers to take a little bit of Iraq home with them is to fly a U.S. Flag on the flag pole out front of our building here at LSA Anaconda. This way soldiers can take a flag home with them that they can say was flown in Iraq. The flag also makes a great gift to family members and friends. Anyways, I was trying to think of a fun way to say thanks to my friends and co-workers back at the bank in Lincoln, and thought flying a Cabela's flag here in Iraq would be a neat way to show my gratitude.

I got in touch with the Human Resources department at the bank, and shared with them my idea. They were able to hook me up with the Cabela's flag that was actually being flown on a flag pole at the bank location in Lincoln, and sent it my way. I received the flag in great condition a few weeks ago, and yesterday I finally took the time to have it flown over the clear blew Iraq sky. See a couple pictures I took below.

Here I am attempting to attach the massive green Cabela's flag before I raise it up. The Cabela's flag was much larger than the U.S. Flags that are usually flown, so I had to rig together a custom hook-up procedure with zip ties to attach the flag to the rope.

Posing with the flag before hoisting it up the pole. You can really tell in this picture how large and in charge the Cabela's flag actually is.

Thanks to all the folks at Cabela's who were able to make this project happen - specifically L. Prater and J. Fisher. Cabela's has been a big supporter of mine ever since I got deployed. I really appreciate everything they've done for me so far. This is not the last post, hopefully, related to the Cabela's flag. I plan on taking the flag with home with me on my R&R back to NE, and have plans to do something special with it once I return home. I will give you the details of the event at that time. Until then, thanks for checking out my blog and continue to keep me in your thoughts and prayers - I really appreciate it!

Non-alcoholic beer

I'm always brainstorming ideas for things I can write about here on the blog, and one topic I haven't touched on yet would have to be non-alcoholic beer, or NA beer for short. Since we are U.S. Military service members serving in a hostile part of the world, one simple pleasure in life that we are denied is access to alcoholic beverages. All alocholoic beverages of any kind are prohibited in a "combat zone" such as ours. However, one way that soldiers such as myself are able to get around this rule and still enjoy in the pleasure of a beer every now and again is in the consumption of NA beer.

My section sergeant, SFC Kerchal, and I have tast tested a handful of different NA beers during our time in the desert, and we've seperated the haves from the have-nots, based on taste. NA Budweiser was by far the worst we have tried up to this point. A handful of others have also dissapointed. Becks and St. Paulies have been favorites so far. The dining facilites stock NA beer, and every once in awhile we'll have a NA beer with dinner. Little things like the NA beer are not neccessary, but serve as a decent reminder of what home is like, and also allow service members to kick back and relax for a bit and feel like a regular person.

Below is a picture of SFC Kerchal and I enjoying a can of NA Amstel in the office.

Mail Call

I was planning on putting together a post here sometime covering our mail operations and all that they entail. However, my co-worker and workout partner SPC Kane stepped up to the plate and hit a home run on his blog with his own mail operations piece, so instead of trying to match the high standard he has set, I instead decided to do the American thing and simple ride the coat tails of his good work. You can check out Kane's outstanding post by clicking here, or by using the link on the right hand side of this page. I encourage you all check it out - the article is a good read.

Tomahawks

Our unit (the 1-167th) is a Cavalry Troop. I don't have the knowledge or the time to go into a big history lecture on the Cavalry, but most folks should recognize a Cavalry trooper as a soldier riding a horse, wielding a saber. Click here for a better explanation of Cavalry history. The Cavalry trooper has a long, rich history in the United States military. Aside from the saber, another weapon that the Cavalry trooper was known to carry on occasion is the tomahawk. I believe this goes back to the Cavalry troopers close ties to various Indian tribes - but don't quote me on that (like I said, I'm no history buff). Anyways, the point of all this is that our Squadron Executive Officer, Major Eric Teegerstrom, is a big fan of the tomahawk and it's ties to the cavalry. While our unit was conducting pre-mobilization operations at Camp Shelby, MS, MAJ Teegerstrom ordered a few tomahawks and was determined to share his love of tomahawks with the 1-167th soldiers. One thing led to another, and tomahawk fever spread throughout the Squadron. Once we arrived to LSA Anaconda, one of MAJ Teegerstrom's priorities was to build a tomahawk range, where proud tomahawk carrying soldiers could go to polish their tomahawk throwing skills. I would rate my skill level at this time as "novice", and that is being generous. On Saturday evenings, MAJ Teegerstrom holds a weekly tomahawk gathering, where tomahawk owners can get together and throw their trusty tomahawks, discuss their love/obsession with tomahawks, check out all the different types of tomahawks, and so on. The main attraction of this event is the tomahawk HORSE competition, a game that most should be familiar with (most normally played on the basketball courts). I recently purchased my own tomahawk and participated in my first tomahawk night last Saturday, and I'm already looking forward to tomorrow evenings festivities.

Below you can check out some pictures I took yesterday, when SPC Kane and I went out to the range to practice and brush up on our skills. We played a practice round of HORSE, and SPC Kane came out on top. I look forward to seeking my revenge in the future.

SPC Kane throwing his tomahawk towards the center target.

Removing my tomahawk from one of the targets after a solid stick (tomahawk lingo).

Up close shot of the head of my tomahawk. You can make out the "167 CAV" that was hand stamped into this custom made, hand-fabricated tomahawk. MAJ Teegerstrom's contact does an excellent job of making these tomahawks - they are of the highest quality.

I will try to take some more pictures tomorrow night at the weekly tomahawk get-together to give you a better idea of how the whole thing works.

like opening the oven door

100 degrees is somewhat of a magic, almost mythical number. People back home mention 100 degree weather, and folks will cover their mouth with their hand, and gasp. The weatherman forecasts 100 degree weather, and mothers tell their children to stay inside, enjoy the a/c - it's too hot outside, almost dangerous. Swimming pools overflow with customers. Summer sports and other activities shut down, due to the brutal heat.

Well, as most folks know, it gets real hot in the desert. Having never visited the Middle East before, I only had stories and word of mouth of what exactly "desert heat" feels like. Well, I'm here now, and experiencing it all first hand. When we first arrived in Iraq, we were still enjoying the spring season, and mild temperatures that came with it. High temperatures back then peaked around the high 80s and low 90s. Not too bad, we told each other. This is bearable.

Spring is in the rear-view mirror now. Summer is here, dropping the hammer of scorching summer temperatures on all of us. Soldiers stationed in the desert are defenseless to the bright sun, the hot dusty wind, and everything else that summer brings with it. Soldiers can not simply stay inside and enjoy a/c, or spend all day cooling off at the pool. Soldiers must continue on, complete their missions, all while enduring the triple-digit temperatures.

Each day this week our sections weather guru, SPC Burnham (a meteorology major at UNL) has been monitoring his weather station and recording the steady climb of the Iraq heat. Today has been the hottest day so far - we topped out at 111.6 degrees. The effect of this level of hot is hard to describe, but SPC Kane found a way to sum it up perfectly - "it's like opening the oven door in the kitchen - the heat kicks you in the face and forces you to look away". Everytime you dare to venture outdoors, the heat is waiting.

Continue to keep the soldiers of the 1-167th RSTA in your thoughts and prayers as we continue our mission in the extreme heat of Iraq. I'm thankful for my desk job and the stream of a/c - now more than ever!

Award Presentation

I'm sure some of you find yourselves scratching your head from day to day and wondering, "I know Jon is deployed, but what the heck is he doing over there in Iraq?" Well, hopefully this post will help in identifying at least one or two examples of what it is, exactly, that I do here.
We recently had an incident where one of the soldiers in our Squadron was involved with discovering and confiscating a large amount of contraband (in this case, liqour) from a truck that was entering LSA Anaconda. The General here at Anaconda wanted to reward this fine soldier with an award for his discovery. After a few emails and phone calls, the news of the event made it down to my level and it was determined that yours truly would be responsible for writing the award and seeing that it was done properly so the General could sign it and award it to the soldier. I went to work, doing my thing, and once I had the award completed and signed by all the right folks, I forwarded it on to the General's office, which took it from there. This long process came full circle this morning, with the General making a visit to the soldier and awarding him with an Army Achievment Medal. I was present for the ceremony, and was tasked with taking plenty of pictures. I'll put a few on here for you to see.

(from l-r) LTC Apprich (Our Squadron Commander), GEN Halstead, and the awardee, SPC McPherson.

(l-r) LTC Apprich congratulates SSG Vance on the coin he received from the General.

G.I. Joe

My job description and requirments don't allow me to get out too much. I pretty much spend my entire day in the office, behind my computer, doing my thing. However, every once in awhile I get a chance to be a real "soldier", and get out of the office. Today I was preparing for a mission and had a rare oppertunity to put on all my gear, and decided it would be a good photo oppertunity. I submit these pictures to you now, to give an idea of what I look like when I get all dressed up.

the Pool

The inevitable heat wave has washed over LSA Anaconda, suffocating all in it's path with triple-digit temperatures and stifling heat. Gone are the mild spring temperatures of 80 degrees. Summer has arrived, and it's here to stay.

One of the best things Anaconda has to offer is their outdoor pool. The pool was actually built by the Hussein family for Iraqi athlete to train in for the Olympic games. After 9/11 and the U.S. takeover of Balad and LSA Anaconda, the military opened up the pool to provide U.S. service members a break from the scorching desert heat and at the same time let them enjoy a nice reminder of summer fun back in the USA. The pool is open 24/7, and is used for both lap swimming and pure unadulterated fun.

My favorite feature of the pool has to be the diving tower, hands down. Not only are diving towers fun just by themselves, but if you factor in a childhood spent at swimming pools such as the Municipal pool in Seward NE and Woods pool in Lincoln NE, then you can understand my enjoyment of this concrete structure. Many soldiers make fools of themselves attempting to pull off absurd jumps and maneuvers from the diving tower, but these types of incidents are encouraged, as they provide entertainment for the rest of us watching from a distance. Unfortunately for the thrill seekers, the top deck is off limits, but I think most would agree that the middle deck is high enough (30 feet) to satisfy any service members needs.

My workout partner (SPC Kane) and I have gotten into a routine of working out in the gym (which can be seen off in the distance of the above picture) and then walking over to the pool for a nice cool down period. This has been working out well, and will probably be a staple for months to come.

Bottom line: the swimming pool rocks, is one of Anaconda's best features, and will be one of my favorite spots during my time here in Iraq.

Before I wrap this up I just wanted to say congratulations to my brother James on his graduation this Sunday from Seward High School. An outstanding achievement, to be sure. Good luck brother at Hastings College - I know Mom would be proud, as the rest of us are.

Inside the Hooch

I told you all awhile back that I would post some pictures of the inside of my room once the initial "just moved in" phase had passed and the place was presentable. After being here a few weeks and getting comfortable and everything in its place, I now present a pair of pictures of my room.


Above is the front corner on my half of the room. Most of the rooms here are laid out just like this one - two beds, two wall lockers, and lovely wood paneling.

Here is my cozy back corner. Notice the lovely blanket that Nicki made me and gave as a Christmas gift - it keeps me warm at night when the a/c is cranking. My brother Jacob sent me a handful of PS2 games that I play when I have time - thanks Jacob! This picture is now outdated, as I have now moved the green foot locker out of the way and tucked it underneath the bed. My roommate and I feel that the switch really opens up the space.

The living quarters are simple, yet efficient. The beds are comfortable - I sleep well every night. In the past, soldiers lived in tents, on cots, with as many as 12 men per tent. I am very grateful for what I have!