Texas- what?

Now I have been to Texas. To be clear I went to Brooks Army Medical Center (BAMC), my dad's house in San Antonio, the airport in San Antonio and the Wal Mart close to my dad's house (we did drive thru a starbucks and a Sonic, but I wont count those b/c I was just in the car). Not really the typical tourist visit, but I hate typical so I dont feel like I missed much (except for Olive Garden and I can get that here, somewhere).

I didnt see the Riverwalk, the Alamo or the Spurs. My dad tells me the Alamo is over rated and that if we have a chance go see the other missions. I didnt really have the chance. The thing about San Antonio is that it is not pretty, it is pavement and suburbia for miles. There is a dome building where the Spurs used to play that is called the armadillo dome because it looks like a dead armadillo-really unattractive.

BAMC is a special place though. First because my dad was healed there thankfully but also because the wounded warriors that are healed in that facility. It was a special privilege for me to pray for the family I met there and the other families/soldiers I didnt meet but saw.

I slept in the waiting room multiple nights, no one bothered me (and I snore). The cafeteria only accepts cash, which I never ever carry, but generous family members provided the money and the meals were so cheap. Admittedly it was difficult to eat for the first few days, not because of the food, but the circumstances, the appetite came around for all of us and the food was nourishing and above average.

We watched a lot of SportsCenter, my dad and I were both so grateful on Saturday and Sunday when we could watch football all day and not the same sports news all day. I like sports news because it really doesnt matter in the grand scheme and no one has an agenda to overthrow our president on SportsCenter.

CT surgeons are my new best friends and post op nursing teams. The surgeon could not have been better, so personable, listened, spent time with us oh and brilliant. Bless that man. Because my step mother and aunt and cousin and I were constantly by my dad's side the care my dad received was exceptional, it helps to have advocates. The nurses were all good. They can get busy so it helps to have family gently reminding or even the patient himself tell the nurse what he needs.

Perhaps my view of Texas would not be so negative if I didnt arrive there under inauspicious circumstances or if San Antonio wasnt in a multi-year drought. Perhaps. I hope my step mother's next assignment is slightly more scenic & closer. I am however grateful to be able to leave Texas w/ a dad who is recovering. Blessings abound so I cannot be too harsh to the state.

'splainin the army to the boys at bedtime

"What is armies?" David asks, Andrew echoes the question.
"An army is a group of..." I am interrupted in the middle of my wonderfully vague statement.
"Do armies carry guns?" Andrew asks getting to his bottom line.
"Yes" I hesitate.
"Why do you ask?" I ask frantically thinking of what to say.

The boys then explain they saw the photograph that is tied to this article. They explained it something like a man carrying a boy, wearing camaflage, the boy looked scared. We discuss armies, soldiers, the military not in much detail but explaining how grandpa, Pauline and Grandma Sherry have all served in the military.

"Why was the boy scared?" David really can see himself in that photo- he is 5 now, why would any boy need to be so scared?

I think about the story tied to the follow-up article and how scared that soldier and the boy must have been and my heart is breaking. I tell the story of a brave man carrying the boy away from harm and how soldiers protect our freedom. I explain very briefly how some want to harm us ("why?" David asks, why indeed). I talk about being peace-loving people and others arent so peaceful. And we are in Iraq to protect the peaceful people of Iraq who want freedom from the people who would scare them.

Who is this person explaining this? Karl Rove? No, it is me. Thankful the boys cant read a 1500 word article, thankful they didnt see the picture on the front page a few months ago of a person holding a wounded child, who died later and most certainly looked dead in the photo (all I can think about is the shoes the child was wearing- really cute sandals, absolutely something my children may wear). I cant find the link to the WaPo photo/article.

Andrew wants to be a soldier, David an astronaut. Those are both noble, brave professions I tell them, praying we end this war soon and somehow find a way to be a force for peace in the world.

"What is the government?" David asks, I say "time for bed".

This is the War we have to Win

9 American soldiers died in Afghanistan last week. The Coalition is abandoning the post where those men/women died. I am not concerned with strategy, I have to assume this is the right thing to do. But I am concerned about the message it sends. Are we committed to making Afghanistan part of the modern world? The answer must be yes- the Taliban harbored the terrorists, facilitated the training of people who have killed civilians all over the world and otherwise tortured its own people.

We are in a mess, two Wars- one completely unnecessary in the beginning, but obviously one we have to win now. But Afghanistan is fundamental, the War on Terrorism, is the war in Afghanistan, we must win and we must devote resources now.

Rescue mission

UPDATE: So US military did not rescue these hostages-oops, Columbian military folks infiltrated the group holding them captive and rescued them. Lets face it, it is great news for those hostages and their families. I will leave the original post below to remind myself to read things thoroughly. Oh and I still am proud of our troops even if they had nothing to do with this rescue.

I am so proud of our troops.
Today- hostages are rescued in Columbia.
Did you even know there were hostages in Columbia? Turns out they have been held hostage for the past 6 years.

Impressive- those men and women who leave their families, train and prepare for all sorts of danger, execute a mission as planned and return home anonymously. Amazing. Thank you.

Elitism, bitterness

I just read a blog post on VABlogNewsNet or whatever (see sidebar), that tried to call out Dems for accepting liars in our country (and used the term Barack Hussein Obama- clearly not someone I want to highlight on my blog). I did however find it hysterical that this fellow was appalled Democrats accepted liars in their candidates.

I read the whole article and the blogger was oblique- did not actually mention this alleged lying. I cant help but wonder why this guy would accept such liars in the White House, people who would stretch the meaning of the word torture and then actually torture people in the name of safety, or start wars in the name of hypothetical WMDs, then restate the reasons for the war to reflect their own interests and not actual reality? Finally these liars- I have to assume this blogger supports the Republicans- even if he doesnt believe they are misrepresenting the truth at every turn- have never been concerned with telling the truth to the American people- how can he accept that? National Security, perhaps?

Hypocrisy is rampant, I try hard to check myself, but it is difficult not to be a hypocrite. The people I support however arent trying to hurt more American lives through endless war brought on by these lies fed to us by this administration.

Iraq, tv, support troops

Last night's Frontline was another winner. The show gave the Bad Voodoo National Guard platoon cameras and the troops taped their thoughts and actions over the past nine months. Bad Voodoo isnt home yet so the ending isnt definitive, but I will keep watching online and praying for their safe return.

One fellow had broken up with his girlfriend over his leave, it had been 'rocky' while he was in Iraq so when he returned home they decided to take a break. The kid is young for sure, only 22. That is just one story in the platoon, there are thirty guys. The director of the documentary is very good at telling the stories (including when the IED blows up in front of an Iraqi checkpoint and the powerlessness of the platoon in the face of a crappy mission and anonymous enemies).

Bad Voodoo has a website, here is something you can do- send a care package- here is where you can learn more about Bad Voodoo and how to support them.

I am sure other platoons have websites, search for some, perhaps more obscure ones and help them out if you wish.

A little bit of bragging for Sherry!

As those who know me, well know, I have been bragging to all those around me about my step-mother. She was recently deployed to Germany to serve on C-Cat flights from Germany to Andrews Air Force Base. She is a nurse in the Air Force. She returned home the day after Thanksgiving. It is not easy being home and not directly supporting the injured men and women who serve our country so valiantly in Iraq and Afghanistan (not to mention lots of other places). C-Cat (and I am totally guessing at the spelling) flights fly injured troops from one theater back to the US. Sherry is an intensive care nurse so she flew with the most injured, most needy troops. I am moved to tears by her descriptions of these men and women, their bravery and selflessness (she says they never take credit for their actions, they always find someone else to give credit too, who always throws it right back at the other, and it isnt false, it is genuine- so different than our lives here). SO of course having been serving for six months the war and its injured, it is difficult to transition to bureaucracy and apparent indifference to the wars we are fighting overseas.

So, one Sunday she is invited to give a briefing to a VIP, not a General or other brass but to Gary Trudeau, of Doonesbury. She spoke to him for hours, he asked all sorts of questions and took a lot of notes. The result is the current storyline in Doonesbury. Trudeau made Sherry a doctor in the storyline.


Sherry by telling her story to Trudeau continues to make a difference for those troops at war. And Doonesbury with his kind light shining on these stories makes a difference because who else is going to tell the stories if he doesnt? So far, my conclusion is no one. So thank you to Sherry for her service and to Doonesbury for bringing a little piece of the war into focus for us. [click on images to make them bigger- and dont forget to read the rest of the story as it becomes available in your favorite newspaper or on the previous link].

News from the hospital front

Grandma Sherry emailed me! I just love calling her that, David and Andrew sound so cute when they say it. (David and Andrew are having a party soon, and when we asked who they want to invite- they say "Grandpa and Grandma Sherry", in addition to all their other grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends).

She has been deployed to Germany for almost a month. She is my step-mother and an Air Force Nurse (I believe she is a major now). Her son has been in Iraq (Army) since October and her daughter recently got out of Iraq (Army- I think).

I admire her. Why? Well here is a little bit of her email:
"I love my job... Taking home our young people is such a privilege and blessing. They are so young, but so heroic in my eyes. They do not have bad attitudes and are proud to serve our country. When I talk with them about their injuries, they state that they are "just doing my job."

God Bless.

War Documentaries

My dad frequently has the tv on as background - baseball, ESPN and the history channel. He likes to watch the films/documentaries on World War I and II, in addition to the other wars. I never understood this interest. While I love history- it was my major at UVA- war films were not my interest.

However, with this war I cannot get enough. Every night I turn the tv on around my bedtime to watch the news or Frazier or other inanity- only to become completely engrossed in Frontline. Last night's episode was titled The Lost Year in Iraq. Next Week will be Endgame- how are we getting out of this mess in Iraq. On Monday night I watched America at a Crossroads from Kansas to Kandahar. Another spectacular documentary detailing an Army reserve unit's year in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

So I am now a fan of the war documentary. I suppose it had to be relevant to my life before I learned the value- but now I suspect I will watch all kinds of them. The soldiers are amazing- the sacrifice these men and women and their families make is dramatic. The reporters do such a good job (imo) telling the stories.

My only criticism is about last night's Year in Iraq- the reporting made it seem like the choices the Bush administration made were obviously wrong at the time they were made. While I tend to agree with that perspective (hiring a 25 year old to create policies for a country at war?). I have to believe, even if somewhat naively, that the choices were not so stark and obviously wrong. People seemed to be sounding the alarm at every turn that neocon policy and electoral politics were driving the war & CPA effort. At this moment I do not want to conclude that 3500 lives are a political tool for this administration to test its crazy theories. Things would be different though if Rumsfeld had lost his job earlier.


I dont know if this helps the war effort at all, but I am glad to know more about the work the troops are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

3,000+

Numbers make people seem meaningless. The higher the number the greater the chance of ignoring. In Sundayand today's Post a couple of nice articles on families/friends and soldiers. Some are injured, some are dead. The public has not been asked to sacrifice for this war. There is a true disconnect between the soldiers in the field and those not really affected by the war. How can one bridge the divide or make a sacrifice for those who give so selflessly of themselves?

Here is where I plead for better care of our injured soldiers. Families are giving up a lot to care for these soldiers, and who wouldn't? Why in the midst of battling the greatest challenges do these families and injured soldiers have to fight the government bureaucracy to get services they are entitled to?

Everything seems so trite compared to the sacrifices the soldiers (and their families) are making for our country. Forget politics, it is humbling to witness the commitment of those who serve. Let us not forget to remain humbled and grateful.