Today is Kyle's Birthday. Here is a link to his Birthday Blog entry.

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I 'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEA R TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE";

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

This poem was written by a Marine. The following is his
request. I think it is reasonable.....




PLEASE. Would you do m e the kind favor of sending this to
as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon
and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women
for our being able to celebrate these festivities.Let's
try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe.
Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead,
who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small
part to plant this small present from afar so far ahead.
Merry Christmas to all in the Air Force-Army-USMC-Navy-Coast Guard .
whats up dude,maybe you seen this one my mom sent this to me and it just made sense of it all,you can relate to it i know, being a fellow soldier!!,it definately hits home,,have a good one

I am out at Yakima, have been for about a week. I will be going home the end of next week. It is so freeking cold.

It has been a long time since I last had some time to sit and relax. I have been running all over the place and doing a lot of training, doesn't look like it is going to stop anytime soon.

I am the Weapons Squad Team Leader and as of 03 December I am going to be Weapons Squad Squad Leader. It is a Sr. E-6 position and I am only a E-3. I have been running my guys threw EIB Training, out of 5 guys 1 of us got it. Unfortunately I was shafted by one of the graders and my protest was shot down by our Brigade Sargent Major. I took on a "Problem Child" in our Platoon and would have gotten him his EIB if it was not for Grenades.

I took Kyle to work last weekend and took a bunch of pictures. I had him messing with Grenades, .50 Cal, 240B, 249, Thermals, Nods, M9's and Claymore mines.

Kyle asked me to create him a site for him. Son of a Soldier is where he is going to be posting his stuff. Show him love.

I am still alive and kicking. I have been promoted to PFC and I am now the Team leader for Weapons Squad. I have 3 guys under me and we are trying to get another one. I am learning a lot of shit and it will not stop for a while. We are going threw EIB Testing in a few weeks so there is a shit ton of stuff to train-up on.

Dawn is doing good. She and Kyle are looking at Halloween costumes. She has started her Childcare stuff so I stay out of the house during the day. She is wonderful wife and is appreciated.

Kyle is doing good in school. He is doing the same shit and has not changed much, except for his height. He was talking about being a Boy Scout.

Rebecca is getting so big and is a beast. She has a great personality and is a lot like me. I do not get to see her much during the week. She goes to bed just about the time I get home. She is the coolest little girl.

I dont know what it is but I am really loving my kids today, not like I dont any other time.

We spent all of last week in the field going over Battle Drills. I had a lot of fun until my squad got attacked by a bunch of Wasps while we set in a support by fire position. I was stung twice in the eye. It swelled up pretty good and I lost most of my sight. I could not see anything beyond 4 - 5 ft in front of my on my left side. I ended up having to go to the ER and found out that I am now allergic to stings. I now have to carry an epipen with me everywhere I go. The doc said that from now on it is going to get worse when I get stung. The next morning my eye was swollen shut.
It is doing good now, not that swollen anymore. They gave me a bunch of pills to take. They keep my eye feeling good.

Next week we have a lot of classes we have to go to, still going thru EIB Training. So I am probably not going to be posting much.

I just finished my 12 mile road march for EIB. It wasn't that bad and I finished almost 20 minutes ahead of the time limit. I am glad it is the weekend but I may have to take a PT test on Monday for EIB, Last PT test my lowest event was 89% you only need 75% in each for EIB.

enough about me, yesterday was Rebecca's 2nd Birthday. We did not do much, we got her a cake and we were loving on her all day. It was a good time.

I am done and ready to lay down and put my feet up for a little while.

We took a Trip up to Mt. Rainier.

I am all shot out today. I was in the field for about a week and had a lot of stuff go on. We are going to be starting EIB (Expert Infantry Badge) next week. We got a ton of shit to do, I am not looking forward to the 12 mile ruck in 3 hours. It is going to suck. We are going to be rucking 3 - 4 time before the EIB Ruck and I need new boots.

I am so tired. I got a new Squad Leader and was told that if anyone in Weapons Squad can not cut it or if he feels you cant cut it you are out. I was, before the changes moved from AG to Gunner because I out shot the old gunner. I don't want to leave the Squad, I love the 240.

I have to go clean my shit for Monday so I am going to cut this short, not to mention my kid is wanting Cereal and I cant think of anything else to write.

Here is a pic a got at the end of our training session together. It is a shitty pic of me, I was sick and just got done rolling around.

If you do not know who he is then you do not know MMA.
BJ Penn is going to be coming to Ft. Lewis for a DVD Signing.
What is cooler than that is some of our Combatives Instructors have setup with him to come down to our gym and roll around with a few guys. I am one of those guys.

I took this a while ago, I was bored with nothing to do.
Dawn wanted to have some pics of me so this is what I took.
I am posting them so you can see what I looked like about 1 - 2 months ago.

Well my wife and kids flew in yesterday. It is nice to be with them again, it has been too long. Now the fun begins.

We are staying at a friends house for the next 10 days while our house is getting ready.

OMFG, I am so fired up about this fucking jackass. Not only is he a little bitch that should have never joined any branch of the armed forces but should get the MAX punishment for Desertion... DEATH.

I thank god that I did not have to fight along side of this little bitch. He is probably the type to hide or run during battle. NO I wish he was next to me so I could shoot him myself when the little bitch ran. OH GOD that would have been a great time to watch him try and outrun a fucking 240B.

I want to find this kid one day so I can fuck his ass up. AND he needs to take off the DCU's and put the fucking flag on right you fucking tree hugging hippie. OMG I want to hurt something now.

You need to stop calling Soldiers your brothers you AWOL little piece of shit. You are such a waste of life. Grow some fucking balls and shut the fuck up you cock holster.

Well like always, it has been a while since my last post. A great change from my programming days. I am barely online now. I am settled in my new life now and thank God I made a change. My last job was sucking the life out of me and this one seems to be giving me life. I love what I do, I get paid to shoot weapons and blow shit up.

I am currently an AG (Assistant Gunner) for the 240B, which I have a talent at shooting. I am so good at shooting it it is scary. I just hope that I can use my talent to keep us safe. We have a great time training and I have found the relationships I have been looking for.

I got so tired of the Cooperate World and the Every-Man-For-Themselves attitude that everyone seems to have. Here I have the backs of many and they all have mine. We work and live together. My outlook on life and people has changed a lot. I do not feel better then but I know I am different. Not too many people are willing to sacrifice all they are for others, even when most do not deserve it or think that we do not know any better.

I am going to be going home on 25 Jun 07 to get my family and bring them up here. It will be so nice to finally see and live with them again. It has been a long time. Way too long. It sucks to watch your family grow in pictures and mark their accomplishments over the phone. Soon everything will be right.

It seems like forever since I was on the Internet last. I remember when I was online for 18+ hours a day. Funny how shit changes.

I am now with my Unit, Platoon, Squad and Fire Team.

I was already friends with a few guys in the Unit so it is not that bad. I am in the Barracks until Dawn sells the house, I hope. If they run out of room in the Barracks they the "Geographical Bachelors" are the first to go.

Guess we will just have to wait and see.

I haven't seen my family for a while. Kyle wants to be a soldier and Rebecca is getting so big. I can not wait to see them again. And not to mention the Dawn, don't know how much of her I can see with the lights off...

The time difference sucks, I get off when it is Kyles bedtime and by then Rebecca is already sleeping. One day we will all be back together again.

I am here in Ft. Lewis for a week. I am done with reception and I am waiting to go to my unit on Tuesday. We are off until then.

I am setting up some hiking trips to Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. I will be uploading pics and have some up on flickr already.

It is about chow time and I am hungry, so later.

I am now in Atlanta Airport on my way to Seattle, Washington. I will arrive there about 10 - 11:00 pm. My flight is not till 8:00pm so I have about an 8 hour lay-over. Fun Stuff. Lots of movies and lots of naps should pass the time.

I am going to be leaving Ft. Benning on Wednesday the 28th. I am going to be going to Ft. Lewis Washington. Dawn is still trying to sell the house, we have tons of people that are looking at it and love it but no one is buying anything.

I am trying to ride out the rest of my days here cuz it sucks. I can not wait until I go but it will suck to be so far away from the family. I will not be able to just go home for the weekend. We have our last formation @ 2200. I am almost done here.

I was told yesterday that I would have to complete jump week again.
I was only able to do one jump, if I was lucky, according to the Physical Therapist.
He would not give me the RTD (Return To Duty) for the jumps, so I am done with Airborne School.

It sucks that I am unable to jump and that I am leaving without my wings. Oh Well.
The school is not bad and I have fun jumping so I will have to come back. I WANT MY WINGS!!!

I guess it is all for the best, I am not in any condition to jump and I really shouldn't either but I would jump my last jump if it was going to get me my wings.

I am going to be here either until my report date or they are going to be changing my orders and I will have to wait until they come in. Guess we will have to wait and see

I had my cast taken off yesterday. And, the Orthopedic Surgeon said I need to have Physical Therapy for 4 weeks. I had Physical Therapy this morning and we are going to condense my Therapy time to about 1 - 2 weeks. I have some exercises to do to strengthen my ankle.
I also found out that I broke my leg in Basic Training. Funny how they did not know when I did it, it would have saved me a lot of pain but I would have been restarted.

If I do not heal in enough time I am going to be dropped from Airborne. I would have 6 months to come back and jump my last jump but if I come back any later I would have to do Jump Week all over again.

My Orders are going to change because I am still going to be here when I am supposed to report, either that or I am going to have my report date changed. No matter what happens I would not know until it happens.

Well I find out on Wednesday how my ankle is healing up. I have been told that I am going to be in hold so I can jump during jump week again. This means that instead of graduating with 5 jumps, I am going to graduate with 9 jumps. I sit at the CQ Desk just about all day, about 12 - 24 hour shifts.

My orders are to go to Ft. Lewis in Washington State. I hear it is nice there and I am willing to go anywhere, so it does not matter to me much.
If I do go they are not going to deploy until 2009, from what I hear. It sucks that I am not going to be going to an Airborne Unit but they might change it once again.

Oh well, we will see I guess

I am now in Airborne Hold.
I jacked up my ankle on my fourth jump and now have a cast on my leg.
I am just sitting here until I heal up or they kick me out, whatever comes first.
It sucks, my company graduated yesterday and I could be home now but it did not work out that way.
I will keep you posted on what is going on.

I have to go back to the Ortho Surgeon in 2 weeks to see how I am healing up.

I am here just waiting for Dawn to send me some emails, so I decided to post something to try and waste time.
I have to get up at 3am and have first formation at 4am. We are jumping in the morning. I can not wait. The only thing that I am worried about is leaving the plane. There are a lot of things that could go wrong and we are told that if something does that we have the rest of our life to try and fix it. ;)
It should be alright though. I am going to do it the way I was tought and hope that I do not mess it up and everything goes alright. We had another company jump the other day and a bunch of guys got hurt. Lets just hope that is not our fate. I will keep people posted.

Well I am about 1 week away from Graduation from Airborne.
We have been jumping from 34' and 250' towers.
We will be having our first 2 jumps from the plane on Sunday.

It is funny, I am still perplexed that I am being paid to do this shit.
It is all good....
I am still waiting to see if my orders are changing. It looks like a toss up between Ft. Campbell and Ft. Bragg. Guess we will have to wait.

Another day and still nothing going on. I had CQ this morning from 3 - 6 am. It sucked, I was wrecked by the end of my shift. I crashed until about 11 am.

I am going to be trying to find a place on base that is showing the UFC fights tonight but I do not think I am going to have any luck. There is a place off post but I do not want to take a cab anywhere tonight, it get costly to keep doing that shit.

Some people are going to the Brew Pub so I may do that, but I do not know.

It would be nice to hang out with my fam this weekend but that was not an option, so I am hanging out with a bunch of knuckle heads from Airborne.

I talked to my brother today and he said he is thinking of going to the Marines. It was good to talk to him, I wish we could interact more but I am having to settle with phone calls for now.

Kyles tooth fell out last night, and there is another on that is just about ready, well it has been ready for a while but for some reason it is not coming out.

Well I am running out of time on this damn thing so I am going to go. I will try to post something later on.

We got released early today. I am off until 5 am on Monday.
Airborne is going good, we are doing some cool shit, I like it.
On Wendsday we are going to be jumping on the 250 ft towers.
I have my cell and PSP, we are able to use them after training.
I maybe getting 2 weeks off after I finish here.
Well I am going to go, maybe I will post something later.

Oh, BTW Dawn has posted pics on my Flickr site.

I talked to Gordon lastnight and the day before. We still have no idea where we are going. Maybe Ft. Hood, TX or Ft. Bragg, NC. We wont know untill the last minute. His graduation is Friday. We are so excited to see him again.

I talked to Gordon on Tues. The connection on my cell phone sucked so I couldn't hear him to well. What I got out of the conversation was that his spot at Ft Campbell was given away. He dropped his Ranger contract and apparently they dropped his airborne. He got his airborne contract back. We may be going to Ft Bragg in NC instead of Ft Campbell, Ky. I would much rather go to Ft Bragg. It's only 9 hours from NJ and 9 hours to Fl. I only got to talk to him about 5 min before my phone dropped the call. He called me back but it dropped again. It breaks my heart every time I miss his call or the call drops. We will be going to his graduation next week. We are so excited. I can't wait to wrap my arms around him!!!!

Kyle decided to cut his hair to be like his dad. He got his 2nd report card today, all A's again. I'm so proud of my guys!
Gordon is doing good. He started FTX ( Field Training Exercise) today. He will be in the field for 7 days straight. I hope it's not to cold! We have a frost warning down here tonight. I'll be sending him big warm hugs in my dreams tonight. I miss him with all my heart. We will be going up to Ga for his graduation. I rented a log cabin at Uchee Creek Army Campground and Marina. I'm really excited. I started counting down the days.
Rebecca is getting so big. She's talking a lot more. She has started singing parts of the alphabet.