What we can learn from Children

I am back in the land of the Hindu Kush. The mountains have very little snow left revealing their jagged teeth that reach for the haze-blue sky. Here in a land filled with tribal factions where the big voting event (2 days ago) followed a series of threats including one where the Taliban would cut off any "purple-stained" fingers.

The winds of 120 days provide gusts from the northeast and kick up sand in the air. It has cooled here and there is a bit more crispness to the night.

On to the subject of my blog today...

A dear friend and brother in arms, Chris lost his oldest child a few weeks ago; his son, David was 24 years old and the oldest of 7 children. I learned of this tragedy from Chris while riding across the Cooper River Bridge with my own oldest son and his wife. Over the coming days I found myself thinking a lot about Chris' loss, and the thoughts came in and out of my awareness as I prepped to depart yet again to Afghanistan. I followed the emotions on the Facebook posts and the comments left on the obituary page set up. The funeral was on a Friday when I was in Norfolk.

Chris commented on a small vignette with far reaching implication of a discussion he was having with his family about an upcoming trip to a cabin - one of David's favorite places. His youngest son, AJ who, when told that his oldest brother would not be at the cabin they were going to, proclaimed, "...yes he will be there, he'll be driving a cloud." And I thought, here was wisdom in its truest and most innocent form - wisdom that is spirit inspired rather than created by man.

I told another friend of this and commented on how children - by their nature - have not been yet conditioned by the world and how pure thoughts like this are. He told me of another story of when he was 4 years old at his father's bedside. The Doctors had said that the father had days to live. Amidst all this sadness, the 4 year old boy said to his dad, "come on out of bed, dad and play some ball with me." His father told him that one comment changed his whole attitude and also his will to live - that indeed his son through his natural want to play with his dad gave him the inspiration necessary to pull through. His dad revealed that story to his son 15 years later.

I know my brother Gary was and continues to be encouraged by his own son, Nick during his recent struggle with illness.

Children give me hope and encouragement. And they sometimes have a better understanding of the life-death-life interface than we do. The way things have gone in recent years, I wonder if we are leaving a better world for our children. I think we can though, if we just see God and act, through our children's eyes.

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22 Aug 09

Perspective from the USA

I have been able to enjoy the fruits of this good country. Two things I want to share with you. One is an article about the current political climate and is a poignant example of how victory was viewed during WW II and now, and the other a link to a powerful sermon by Anthony Kowbeidu entitled "The Terrible Reality of Hell," which relates clearly to victory by recognizing and staring into the reality of Hell.

The link for the sermon: http://www.wearestandrews.com/sermons.aspx?ArticleId=187#

And the article from IBD posted at: http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=333326274391143

which is copied below:

Winning Is All

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Friday, July 24, 2009 4:20 PM PT

Afghanistan: It was a bad week for the president. After accusing Cambridge, Mass., police of acting stupidly, he called victory unnecessary in Afghanistan. Does the commander in chief misunderstand the use of force?

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Read More: Middle East & North Africa

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In the dark days of May 1940, Winston Churchill famously outlined the task before the British people: "You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terrors, victory however long and hard the road may be — for without victory there is no survival."

Contrast that with what the president told ABC News last Thursday: "I'm always worried about using the word victory, because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur."

If the goal of the U.S. in Afghanistan isn't victory, what is the purpose of the blood, toil, tears and sweat of our forces? What is the meaning of the struggle and suffering of their families?

According to Vince Lombardi, "If you can accept losing, you can't win."

Now, in fairness to our president, he doesn't seem to be saying that losing is an option. He noted in the same interview that "when you have a nonstate actor, a shadowy operation like al-Qaida, our goal is to make sure they can't attack the United States."

Going on, he said the U.S. "will continue to contract the ability of al-Qaida to operate," which the president called "absolutely critical." We agree.

But we are at something of a crossroads in Afghanistan. The toil, tears, sweat — and especially blood — have increased of late.

As a result, public displeasure is on the rise in Britain, Canada and Germany, which with their tens of thousands of troops are taking part in the U.S.-led coalition — the kind of coalition, by the way, that liberal Democrats consider absolutely vital before fighting wars against terror states.

Our allies could eventually pull out. So at a time like this, the job of the president is to remind them, and the American people, that we are in a world war against a network of evildoers.

Barely two months into this administration, the Pentagon was sent a memo announcing that we were no longer engaged in a global war on terror; this was not a "long war" the American people were faced with.

No, the endeavor U.S. servicemen and women were being asked to spill their blood for would from now on be called an "overseas contingency operation."

How's that to stir your patriotism?

Imagine the message that al-Qaida, the mullahcracy in Iran and nuclear-armed North Korea take from these choices of language. The U.S. doesn't consider "victory" to be its goal in Afghanistan; the U.S. no longer believes it is engaged in a "war" against the Islamists who killed thousands of Americans on American soil in 2001.

Apparently, "winning" a "war" is passe to our 21st century way of thinking. Using an "overseas contingency operation" to "contract the ability" of "nonstate actors" is the enlightened phrasing.

Was the same mind-set behind the president's decision last week to second-guess police officers without knowing the facts? The "good guys vs. bad guys" mentality just isn't nuanced enough.

The truth is that eschewing plain language in favor of this kind of muddled babble sends a message of weakness to our enemies around the world.

And it downplays what is at stake at a time when the American people and our allies are in dire need of some unvarnished, old-fashioned, Churchillian truth telling.

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God's Peace, my friends

Awaiting Mission

I look at ships from my quarters and wonder. Where will they go? What mission will they be called to do? Who will man the battle stations and at what time? Who will command them? And how well will the commands be carried out? How well will the sailors execute the various missions they will be commanded to do? The questions have parallels to life itself. As a vessel myself I wonder these things. I wonder what I will be called to do, and how well I will do it...

I am back in the states now - Norfolk - a true Navy town. Had my 2nd tour here in the early 80s when Secretary of the Navy John Lehman under President Reagan was charting the course for a 600-ship navy. Today, we struggle to meet half of that. In a world with much more uncertainty, and a nation certainly less sure of itself and struggling financially, there is a great need for leaders who will return to the foundational pillars that built a great and strong (not borrowing) America.

LT Stephen Decatur - those of his ilk, the Navy - the nation - calls you...

Norfolk

10 Jul 2009

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February 16, 1804

The most daring act of the age

During the First Barbary War, U.S. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur leads a military mission that famed British Admiral Horatio Nelson calls the "most daring act of the age."

In June 1801, President Thomas Jefferson ordered U.S. Navy vessels to the Mediterranean Sea in protest of continuing raids against U.S. ships by pirates from the Barbary states--Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripolitania. American sailors were often abducted along with the captured booty and ransomed back to the United States at an exorbitant price. After two years of minor confrontations, sustained action began in June 1803 when a small U.S. expeditionary force attacked Tripoli harbor in present-day Libya.

In October 1803, the U.S. frigate Philadelphia ran aground near Tripoli and was captured by Tripolitan gunboats. The Americans feared that the well-constructed warship would be both a formidable addition to the Tripolitan navy and an innovative model for building future Tripolitan frigates. Hoping to prevent the Barbary pirates from gaining this military advantage, Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a daring expedition into Tripoli harbor to destroy the captured American vessel on February 16, 1804.

After disguising himself and his men as Maltese sailors, Decatur's force of 74 men, which included nine U.S. Marines, sailed into Tripoli harbor on a small two-mast ship. The Americans approached the USS Philadelphia without drawing fire from the Tripoli shore guns, boarded the ship, and attacked its Tripolitan crew, capturing or killing all but two. After setting fire to the frigate, Decatur and his men escaped without the loss of a single American. The Philadelphia subsequently exploded when its gunpowder reserve was lit by the spreading fire.

Six months later, Decatur returned to Tripoli Harbor as part of a larger American offensive and emerged as a hero again during the so-called "Battle of the Gunboats," a naval battle that saw hand-to-hand combat between the Americans and the Tripolitans.

from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=4768

The 11th Thing...

Watching said terrain as I fly towards the land of milk and honey...

Turkmen vs Turk

From the "Bad news doesn't get better with time" department:

This afternoon, at a dry dusty expanse of land east of the runway being transformed into a helicopter apron, an Afghan Turkmen surveyor was giving directions to a Turkish form worker to establish grade of the forms in preparation for the evening's concrete placement. There was apparent disagreement as to the direction being given at which point the form worker picked up one of the sharpened to a point, half-meter long steel form spikes and assaulted the surveyor striking him above the eye. The workers pulled the men apart. Both men were wearing all of their required safety gear (hard hat, steel-toed boots, protective eyeglasses) but this gear was inadequate to prevent a gash on the surveyor's brow requiring stitches. An investigation will ensue but it is no doubt that the Turkmen will return to his home province and the assailant will be on an early return to Turkey and will seek employment elsewhere, hopefully where there are no sharp objects laying about.

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06 July 09

The 10 things I like about Afghanistan

1.  The Scenery.  The magnificent mountains of the Hindu Kush - part of the Himalayan chain - and the way they carve themselves through the landscape.

2.  The Sky.  There are ever-changing cloud patterns and the dust kicked up by the winds make the sunsets spectacular.

3.  The Terrain.  The wide variation in topography draws you in and is quite inviting.

4.  The Air.  Except for the dust, and the burn pits that waft our way periodically, the air is surprisingly clean and fresh.  I like the fresh air before the thunderstorms we had when I first got here.

5.  The People.  They are resilient, wise, and reverent.  They have the capacity to stare right through you.  Their smiles are genuine and from their soul.  They are giving.  If the meek inherit the earth, I believe I have found them - at least the ones I deal with!

6.  Working with Troops.  Now they can be hard to work with but for the men and women who go out and do the dirty work, I really like what you do and when you do it.

7.  The sound of outgoing.  The 155s pack a pretty good punch going out and we can hear the impact a little later, not a good sign for the bad guys.

8.  The camaraderie we have in our band of builders - we stick pretty well together and get our projects done for the warfighter!

9.  The fact that I get to go home to see my sweetie every few months, and my boys, and Anne!

10.  And Finally, (does this have to be 10?) I guess each day, this puts me 1 day closer to going back to my permanent home!!!

Happy 4th everybody!

Scott

04 JUL 2009

Leadership 101

Today was an "off day."  It does not have a lot of meaning in a combat zone.  But in this garrison called Bagram, there sure are a lot of folks strolling about.  I could do for some strolling...but not too far out.

So I was called this morning due to one of our drivers driving through an overhead fiber optic communications line.  I kept waiting for some organization to scream "no comms!!!" to find out who the line belonged to, but my guys worked a deal with the line owner for a small fee that I will receive later.  The cost of not paying attention to detail...(Later, I get the excuse that the line was too low...)

Then, as I drove on the flightline, there is another bonehead sight.  One of our compactor rollers sitting on a flatbed and not tied down.  "Where is the operator?" I yell, "I want to see him!"  As he turns the corner of the truck, he sees me and I could tell he knew I knew.  He immediately began getting the chains out to secure the equipment on the flatbed.  No words had to be exchanged.  Sometimes what you don't say has more meaning than what you do say...

Now, for a little over 30 days now, we have been placing concrete pavement on Taxiway Juliet. Although we are over 50% complete, there have been difficulties with the mix, the placement technique, the finish, the wind, and a host of other variables.  Every night we assess what can be done differently and we surmise that it is a slightly higher water content.  And then tonight, the brass comes out, and ooos and ahhhs over the finished product.  All their concerns are alleviated.

I see my two associates - local Afghans - who were arrested a few nights prior.  I bring them tea and crackers.  In my small way I try to make up for the stupidity of overeager troops who see every local as an enemy insurgent.  It is my mission now.  These men are the salt of the earth, one is a Turkman, the other Pashtun.  I can feel their warmth more than any other person out there at the site.  I admire the way they are and the manner in which they greet me.  That is one of the best things about this job - meeting simple folks like that.  Simple men, but full of wisdom.

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03 JUL 2009