(Image Courtesy of Charmed Events Planning)

Though we at Yazzie & Co. would usually kick off the holiday season by writing about holiday weddings, we wanted to switch gears this time around by honoring our troops. With so many of you all fighting for our country, we thought it right to discuss wedding planning – military style. After all, you brave men and women are in love with love as much as we civilians are, so why not share in that by learning how to pull off a magnificent military wedding? It’s not as daunting as you’d think, so stick around and let us show you how to pull it off with panache!

(Image Courtesy of MB Weddings)

Should you decide to go all out by getting married in a military chapel or military academy, you’d do well to book well in advance. EHow thinks that a year’s time will suffice in ensuring that you don’t get lost in the military marriage shuffle. Do make sure that you thoroughly investigate who you choose as your chaplain, for you don’t want to be stuck with someone who is unlicensed or unqualified to preside over a military wedding. According to EHow, decoration standards are very particular, so you also want to check with the staff to make sure that what you’ve chosen is in line with what they allow. If you’re not sure how to go about decorating your military venue, we suggest featuring the American flag. Not only does it pay homage to your military background, it also serves as a symbol of unity. Even better, you can take things a step further by featuring flowers that reflect the flag – like red and white roses and blue cornflowers. While military chapels don’t charge to rent for weddings, Tracy Guth from The Knot recommends that you donate to its fund out of courtesy. Think of it as giving back to the milieu that made you the person that will stand tall in front of your new spouse.

(Image Courtesy of the Old Glory Ranch)

Your next priority, soldiers, is to address your guests properly. Not quite as easy as seating your soon-to-be in-laws in the front row, one needs to follow proper military protocol when inviting your wedding guests. For instance, while using regular invitations are fine, you should include yours and/or your soon-to-be spouse’s rank and title on them. Also offer your military loved ones and colleagues the option of attending in full dress, EHow suggests. That way, they will be able to pay tribute to your military bond in uniform. You should also be aware of who you invite and where they will be seated, since this also directly reflects on military tradition. According to Gigi Rena Rogers of Favor Ideas, your commander and high-ranking officers should be seated beside your immediate family while your colleagues should be seated directly behind them. Once you work your seating arrangements out, you’ll be ready to move on to the next step – dressing the part.

(Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

If you’re a soon-to-be bride that’s currently serving, you aren’t bound to wear your uniform. However, you can if you choose to do so. Should you be a soon-to-be groom in the military, it is recommended that you dress in traditional military garb for your big day. Since Winter’s around the corner, EHow recommends that you wear a blue uniform with your medal(s) and pristine white gloves. You’ll be dapper enough in your gleaming shoes to do the Arch of Sabers walk with your new bride. The most defining moment of a military wedding ceremony, this consists of you and your new bride walking through an arch of sabers towards your new life together. Whether you’re using swords as a Naval or Coast Guard officer or sabers as an Army officer or a Marine, EHow strongly suggests that check to see that your chosen base location has them available. Also make sure that there are commissioned officers available to hold up those swords or sabers during that moment on your wedding day, for Tracy Guth mentions that they’re the only ones that are authorized to participate in this part of the ceremony. Once the walk has been walked, your former civilian spouse will now officially be a military spouse – another thing that you’ll be proud to hold your head up high about as a member of the military.

Thanking You from the Bottom of Our Hearts for Your Dedicated Service,

The Yazzie Blogger

I almost didn’t make it to the first official meeting of the American Marketing Association’s Guam Chapter. I got a late start, and when you’re in Guam for a few days you start to become paralyzed by the idea of driving from the “South” to the “North” or vice-versa. My long-time friend Mary Torre (current president of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association) is among the chapter’s officers, so I made it just to have a bit of time with her on my last day on island. The topic of the first meeting: Twitter. I was less than excited about the topic since I figured I had heard it all. Shame on me! I was blown away by the featured speaker: Jason Salas, KUAM’s interactive media manager. He was a wealth of information. He’s not just using Twitter to deliver KUAM’s news to the 400 Guam residents with Twitter accounts, he’s creating original programming with specific applications to Guam.

Being on Guam again, I was constantly reminded just how small the world is. (Kinda like being on Twitter.) I thought I was so clever “tweeting” the following from my Dad’s bar while I drank coffee and contemplated the shortest route to the Hyatt: “Having lunch with the new AMA chapter in Guam. Going to hear about Twitter strategies for business. Thanks Mary!” I just visited Mr. Salas’ Twitter page to follow him and grab something for this post and I found that were in similar positions within a 24-hour period… here’s the tweet I found:

“i drove halfway across the island to have an ice cream sandwich at Jeff’s Pirates Cove on the beach. the view is indescribable. “

Gotta love it. He’s so right about the view… nothing to the left, much less to the right. I don’t think Dad will entertain the idea of a Twitter account, but it’s clear he should.

Jason has created two Guam-specific Twitter applications. Here are two clips about Guam TweetBot and TwitterNene:

I raced back to the Hinasson Taotao Guahan conference to catch the “Federal-Territorial Relations” panel. There was some finger-wagging in the presentations. Two seated Guam Senators called out past issues involving federal matters. The questions regarding the Compact of Free Association* were perhaps the most compelling.

Sen. Vicente C. Pangelinan, on self-determination:

Sen. Frank Blas, on the 1985 Compact of Free Association:

University of Guam professor, on culture preservation:

* The 1985 Compact of Free Association is sometimes referenced as “COFA,” but most people call it “the Compact.” For 15 years, 1985-2000, the United States committed to financial assistance in exchange for defense rights. This “compact” was made with the FSM (Federated States of Micronesia), The Republic of the Marshall Islands and Palau. In 2003, the agreement was renewed for another 20 years (RMI, FSM). This is referenced as “Compact II.” The new compacts provide $3.5 billion in funding to both nations. American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii and the Northern Mariana Islands receive $30 million annually to help them with the expense of providing services to immigrants from these nations.

– BAP

One Man’s opinion, as a former United States Marine Infantry man I would like to give my thoughts on the complete integration of gays in the services. While we are currently engaged on two war fronts and with our armed forces questioning the current administration’s commitment to winning, it would be a foolish to force the services to adapt to such a policy. The current “don’t tell don’t ask” is actually the best policy that could have been adopted.
Let me break it down, small unit cohesion is not only necessary it is an absolute must. The infantry and combat arms is the last bastion of male machismo, I hate to say it that way but it is the truth. The militant left, hate the military and the Country as it is today. They want to shove a minority groups views down the throats of majority.
As a libertarian I don’t care what people do on their own time, but to break down the nation’s armed forces by shoving the minority view is dangerous and wrong. The military is not in a position to adapt to this kind of policy at this time. If this policy is shoved down the militaries throats, it will be disastrous. I belive there will be a lot of men and women in leadership that go into retirement. This will spread thin and already thin military. The military has become soft enough with our “soccer” culture mentality; this is the last thing we need at this time.
As always I look for your opinions.

Trust Him

   It is challenging at times when God seems slow to answer our pleas for either help, healing or provision.  I find myself setting deadlines for Him to follow.  Usually He does not follow them at all.  He wants us to grow in our faith and trust in Him.  This takes time through a variety of events where He demonstrates with certainty to you that He is there.  Jesus said “I will never leave you or forsake you…”  He really meant that.  Maybe you have doubt, or impatience. You have not heard back from God on a pressing concern.  Just stop for a moment.  Pray.  Ask Him to help you in your uncertainty.  His Word says that His strength is perfected in our weaknesses. God will be there for you when you can’t even understand how things can possibly work out.  Trusting in Him is a continuous growth process.  It is painful for me at times to accept this.  Ask Him today to see you through this trial you face.  He will.  Trust Him today and everyday.  He loves you so much.  He does not want your heart to be filled with fear and uncertainty.  His desire for you is that your heart be filled with His peace, love and joy.

By Carl J. Humphrey

Master Sergeant

U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

Daily D’s

This year on Thanksgiving Day please pray and give thanks to all Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines serving around the globe to defend our freedom.  Pray that our Troops serving in Afghanistan are provided all the resources they need to complete their mission so they can return home safely and victorious to their family and friends. 

God Bless America!

Rushing dishevelled into the Law building last week (post-Marines exercise with Tom Mooney et. al, which may feature in a later blog post), I was glad to have only missed the opening couple of minutes of what was a very intriguing lecture by Joanna Geary, the Business Development Editor for Online at The Times.

Joanna’s story of how she carved out her own career path by building networks through blogging was both interesting and inspiring.  It was yet another indication that in an industry which is generally seen to be crumbling, being proactive and innovative are the keys to building a successful career.

Her advice to be “obsessive” about media news struck me the most; maintaining contact with the communities within which you interact and trying to keep ahead of the curve are clearly the way to keep building an individual profile despite the gradual decline of traditional journalism, which could be seen as enclosed within fortresses (pp.6-18).

Joanna built a blogging network at the Birmingham Post and, while she admitted that it wasn’t perfect, it was sufficiently successful to raise her profile further and eventually help land her a job working for Mr Murdoch in London. 

A bit of Googling just now showed more than 19 million results are found for the search term ‘Birmingham Post blogs’.  Pretty impressive for something that started little over two years ago with Joanna sat on the floor being flummoxed by DIY.

This is Mary-Kate and Jack Prentice! They have been married for a little over a year. Jack is a Marine and just got back from a tour overseas. Mary-Kate wanted to surprise him with a couples shoot when he got back! It was a lot of fun and we got some cool pictures. Always glad to help out! God bless our troops as well.

Have a great day, and again, please let me know what you think in the comments!

Once upon a time, I was in the Marine Corps.

Fortunately for me, this was back in the day (the mid-80s), before the U.S. was fighting two wars halfway across the globe against enemies that are difficult to define, much less defeat.

But that’s another story.

During my four-year tour, I was exposed to many things that were unfamiliar.

Teamwork.

Discipline.

People who weren’t white.

Regional dialects. (Of course, being from Massachusetts, where people die from “hat attacks,” I had one of my own — I just wasn’t smart enough to know it.)

At the beginning and end of every workday, one of my platoon sergeants at Camp Pendleton, Calif., a cheerful fellow named Sgt. Wren, would do a roll call and let us know what had happened that day, and what we could expect to happen in the coming days.

I forget where Sgt. Wren was from, and I never learned his first name, but he had a way of throwing an “r” into words where they didn’t belong, like “Atlanter,” “squarsh” and “Warshington.”

Anyway, one Friday, he did his usual roll call, told us what was coming up, then asked: “Anybody got any querstions?”

Being the knucklehead I was at that age (and still can be), I couldn’t resist. I raised my hand, and before I could stop myself, said, “Yeah. What’s a querstion?”

You could have heard a pin drop, even though I was working at a heavy equipment shop at the time.

“Uh-oh,” I thought, much too late. “This can’t be good.”

Well, I never did find out what a querstion was. But I did find out what it was like to spend that weekend, and the next one, if I remember correctly, picking up cigarette butts along the side of the road, rather than doing something I might have liked.

And so, now you have some idea why, despite spending four years in the Marines, I never made it higher than the rank of lance corporal.

Anybody got any querstions?

© 2009

Dear Doctor Query:

Peter Grant had the good sense to retire from his stint as a Marine on permanent loan to the CIA while all his parts were still in working order. Fifteen years as the pointy end of Uncle Sam’s big stick earned Grant the right to a quiet life.

Then an old friend calls in a chit, asks a simple favor. Since Grant already has plans to visit Tibet, all he has to do is deliver a letter when he gets there. The recipient? A mole. A high-ranking officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army, commander of a top-secret military facility outside Lhasa.

Based on an intelligence officer’s assessment, Grant expects to find a self-important, avaricious traitor who’s lost his nerve. Instead, he meets Colonel Sun, a determined, principled man caught in the closing jaws of a State Security investigation. Sun requests exfiltration, a move that would threaten the existence of the Tibetan network.

Grant finds himself sucked into the vortex that swirls around clandestine operations gone bad. A State Security officer dogs the colonel’s steps, half a world away Chinese spies relentlessly dig for the truth, and the carefully woven shroud of subterfuge that protects the Tibetan underground begins to unravel. In the scramble to protect networks, operatives, and secrets, the interests of nations threaten to grind the Chinese agent under the wheel of necessity.

But, Grant doesn’t have to let it happen. He doesn’t work for the CIA anymore.

Deep in hostile territory, operating naked on the remote Tibetan plateau, Grant takes a risky gamble. He plots Colonel Sun’s escape, a hell-for-leather race to freedom.

The simple favor just got complicated.

I am seeking representation for SKY FUNERAL, a completed 90,000 word spy thriller, the first in a planned series. I have a master’s degree in aerospace engineering and a fourteen-year career in the defense industry. I’ve been a member of Pikes Peak Writers, Colorado Springs Fiction Writer’s Group, and Valencia Critique Group, and have attended numerous writing seminars, conferences, and classes.

This is very good.

You have given us a sense of urgency, and your voice has authority.  The query and the subject matter fit together, and your life experience makes a convincing argument that you could tell this story.  As a reader, I feel as though I would be in good hands with you.

The only thing I would do is tighten it up.  Take your seven paragraphs and try to turn them into three or four. Brevity is strength.

Then send it out!

That is all.

Doctor Query

My companion snapping a shot of the executed men

Microphone in hand to catch the full sound of the gunshots, I watched the first victim crumple on the ground. Fear was etched across the face of the second as he looked from his friend’s slumped body to the executioner. His body jerked awkwardly as he attempted to face the man who was about to kill him.

After he had dispatched the two policemen, the insurgent leader turned back to our camera, still intently trained on him. He held aloft the detonators connected to explosives – explosives tightly bound to two more local policemen.

A stark warning was issued: “If Nato attack our position I will blow these men up and myself with them.”

I asked him if anything could be done to save the lives of these unwilling human timebombs. I felt sick with fear for them – this man had already dispatched two others in front of us – their only crime was to uphold the local rule of law.

“These men are traitors. They have collaborated with the infidels. They will die no matter what,” came the harsh reply.

Safe and unthreatened, we returned to our transport – we were being used to deliver a message and to inspire fear in the local population.

Back at the Nato base where we have been embedded with the troops there is a dispute. Should we broadcast the horrific images of two men being put to death? I argue that we shouldn’t but my companion feels the images are so powerful that we must.

A problem – there’s no audio. We don’t have the words of the militia leader. It makes our editorial decision for us – we show the images but with a voice-over – hopefully our package is more than just propaganda. The escalation in violence and the threat of retaliation that the local people live with is our justification for the sensational images.

The piece goes out and I hear back from military officials – they thought the guys wrapped in explosives were suicide bombers – when they attack they will now try to rescue these men. So the attack is to go ahead and we are to join them…

Night has fallen, it’s dark and there is surprisingly little noise as the line of soldiers makes it’s way across the heath towards the insurgent stronghold. The sky is clear and I am seeing the stars for the first time since I moved to the UK. We stop to regroup before the assault begins and I see a shooting star so bright that I think it’s a flare for a moment…

Troop-sergeant Seacroft is our minder. He is in command of the attack and so he stays to the rear unless there are casualties at which point he reassures me “I will hand you over to someone else and deal with that situation.”

We’re held back from the front as the troops rush through the trees in which the militia have their stronghold. They’re quickly spotted by the sentries and we can see the bright bursts of gunfire. Two loud explosions momentarily drown out the sounds of the battle – I know whose sad demise the sound marks…

Seacroft is on the move, low and quick. We struggle to follow through the vegetation, unused to jogging in body armour and helmets. We’ve smeared our faces with camouflage paint but my impractical navy and cream rain jacket practically glows in the inky atmosphere.

Our helpful minder explains that the two groups are attacking from different sides but have arranged their angles so that they are not shooting across at each other. We’re moving left towards the main force but we venture a little too far toward the centre – the point where the insurgents are still in control, the troops have not come this far yet.

An ‘enemy combatant’ jumps out of the trees ahead and lets off a quick burst of gunfire. A few feet ahead of us the troop sergeant falls to the ground and we, the four ‘impartial’ media professionals fall victim to the same hail of bullets. As I slide to the ground the shadows above brighten as light from a flare brings the foliage into relief…

…

Or that is what would have happened if this had not simply been a training exercise – for the young officers of the Royal Marines and equally for us journalism students.

We continued on with Troop-sergeant Seacroft until he reached the casualties. Men who had been picked by the supervisor of the exercise to play ‘almost dead or wounded’. At this point however we had been showered with blank rounds several times over and our valient troop-sergeant was declared dead.

Chaos ensued for the next 30 minutes until the insurgent threat had been eliminated. It was now time for me to enjoy myself and bother the poor guys trying to reorganise themselves with an endless stream of questions. ‘How many have been killed?’ ‘Did you take any militia captive?’ and so on.

We were on our way back – the ‘tactical’ route i.e. not straight – we had stopped to allow the brass time to discuss and plan what to do and how to get home. I wrangled an interview with our miraculously regenerated troop-sergeant but his brother-in-arms decided I had asked too many questions. I was roughly grabbed by the arm and pulled away. “He’s very busy and he doesn’t have time to answer your questions now!”

The fun continued back at the base.

Two huge explosions not far from the camp resulted in a scrabble to investigate. I bagged an interview with the commander of the base. A few questions in I get a gem of a quote. “These kind of occurrences will happen in the early stages of an invasion,” said troop sergeant for Nato headquarters 2nd Lieutenant Perks.

It was just a slip of the tongue and he quickly corrected himself but I couldn’t help the smirk and he gave me a look that said ‘Damn, you caught me’.

Hard at work

Being embedded with the military was an amazing experience. The fictional country the soldiers were dealing with unsurprisingly had several similarities with the situation in Afghanistan. Though it was always clearly an exercise rather than the real thing, it was important and simple enough to take it seriously. Many of the men involved had already been to Afghanistan and Iraq. Most of the ones who haven’t already been have signed up to go when they graduate (in two weeks).

I talked to as many soldiers as I could during the two days to try and understand why they sign up for this. One of the most interesting conversations I had was with one of the training officers on our way back from the chaotic attack.

He made the point that there is a new generation of soldiers now – they knew the UK was at war when they signed up and they knew what kind of war it was. He had decided to join the marines when he was 17. He was 15 when Nato invaded Afghanistan.

We lay on the ground during a break in the march and watched a shooting star. We didn’t know that we were watching the Leonid meteor shower. He promised to let me try on his kit when we got back to base to feel the weight of what they have to carry.

But when we got back I was busy chasing interviews and writing stories.

I couldn’t see his face in the dark so I didn’t know which one he was. He has signed up to go to Afghanistan as soon as he passes out. By now, he’ll know if he’s being granted his wish.

It seems to me that the majority of American’s are asking themselves “What happened to our country?” We no longer recognize our country as we once did. America use to be considered the most powerful country across the globe, its president the most powerful man in the world regardless of which party he represented. Not any longer.

Our president is known world wide as a blundering weakling and apologist for the once powerful and proud. This character weakness has not been accepted by any foreign country as anything but sissy weak. Imagine the fear it strikes in the heart of our allies to see the once great nation of America with all its historical might and military strength collapse under the religion of political correctness under the guard of its high priest Obama. Do our allies feel safe with Obama as Commander and Chief when the majority of Americans do not? If our level of confidence in Obama has plummeted along with the peaceful leaders around the world, what must our enemies think? I would suggest that their confidence has never been higher.

We have witnessed president Obama’s handling of the war in Afghanistan from strong criticism as a candidate, stern direction and decision of what his plans will be, to complete and total indecision almost to the point of ignoring the Afghan war altogether. It is as clear as the ring of a bell the message he is sending to our fighting men and women and our enemy alike that he is concerned above all else what the radical left of his party thinks than what his own hand picked field General believes we need in order to win this war. President Obama is more concerned with winning political battles than the battles against our enemy.

On the home front he suspends the investigation of the Fort Hood terrorist attack to further other political goals. Was he afraid of what the investigation would reveal such as a real and present danger on American soil of further terrorist attacks? I believe so. Whatever the reason we may ponder it is crystal clear he does not want the American public to know. There are more important issues in his opinion such as this disaster of a health care plan he has staked his political career on. As the blunders of this president and his incompetent administration continue to pour in on a daily basis, we Americans are far less safe than we were before he took office.

This morning my husband picked up some Lion’s mane mushrooms at a local farmers’ market.  I love these things.  They are really tasty.  They also have a lovely texture.  Much like a child, I must touch things.  And these mushrooms are just lovely to touch. They almost feel like fabric.

lion's mane mushrooms

It’s really fun to cut them up too.  Just because they don’t slice the way a crimini mushroom does (or an enoki, or oyster, or white mushroom).  They’re much different than the normal mushrooms to which I’m accustomed and I love to work with them.  They are so lovely (and expensive) that we just saute them with a little olive oil and a little garlic (and maybe a bit of salt and pepper) and leave them be.  It’s really funny because growing up, you couldn’t make me touch a mushroom.  Now I’m going out of my way for stuff like these lion’s mane mushrooms.

This is why spellcheck is NOT the answer

This evening I ended up at Borders (my absolute favorite bookstore, I really hope they can get on better financial ground.  buying books online is cheaper, but nothing can compare to getting to walk around my local Borders with a cup of coffee from their cafe picking out interesting looking books) and saw this flyer on the community bulletin board.

Why wouldn’t you spend an extra minute on this?  Wasn’t anyone around who could identify the misspelling? For God’s sake, there are only TWO WORDS  at the top and one is misspelled! How embarrassing.

I love this next thing.  No, it’s not the creepy bear.  I’ll get to the creepy bear next. At Urban Outfitters (which is a ridiculous store.  seriously, I can buy much better clothes – better made, better looking – at H&M and pay much less money), I saw what is possibly one of the most frivolous, hilarious things.  A bubble calendar.  It’s a calendar with a bubble on each day (like bubble wrap bubble).  I told Thing 1 and her friend and they both said that they would end up popping each bubble the first time they touched it.  I disagree, I think they’d pop a couple, get bored, and never touch it again.  Here’s a picture of the package in case you’re interested.

Also, in case you’re looking for black, sequined hot pants, H&M is the place for you.  It’s ok.  You can buy them.  I don’t judge.

bubble calendar from Urban Outfitter

Now, the creepy bear.  Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (which has very yummy chocolate covered apples that my husband never buys me because he doesn’t understand the appeal of chocolate covered fruit) had the creepiest bear out front.  It is this big stuffed bear. Well, here.  Look at it.

Creepy Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Bear

See, it’s creepy.  I made Thing 1 sit next to it for the picture (but I cropped her out).  Thing 2 wouldn’t even sit next to this thing.  It is way creepy.  Hell, I wouldn’t sit next to it.

Joel McHale, splicing together the Oprah-Sarah Palin interview with the Oprah-Jenna Jameson interview is brilliant.  I need to rewind it and watch again.  It took a second to figure out that it was a spliced interview.

Today was the tree lighting at a local shopping center.  There was a choir, a guy making balloon animals, a bunch of local dignitaries, and marines.  Marines in their dress blues.  They can really make a girl swoon.  Thing 1 was totally annoyed that I was checking them out.  Not half as annoyed as she was to find out that a guy from her high school hit on me (and sent me his phone number) via MySpace, but annoyed all the same.  It’s all good that I’m hip enough to steal my clothes, but when I ‘m youthful enough to attract the attention of guys her age then it’s not good at all.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on random things.  Hope you’re having as much fun as I am…… but I doubt it.

Thursday proved emotional before we even got to the first day of the two-day forum at the Guam Legislature. The morning experiences set the stage for what we would hear at the “The 2009 Island Conference on Public Administration, The Military Buildup and Beyond: Hanasson Taotao Guahan (The Guam Perspective).”

We were drinking coffee at Dad’s “Jeff’s Pirates Cove” restaurant when employees started running and shouting about a car accident. Dad shot out of his office,  jumped in a cart, pulled me and the flip camera with him and went out to the road for the estimated thirtieth or so incident in a year’s time. Dad has a string of fishing floats along the road in front of his business to prevent such accidents, and has advocated for decades for safety on this stretch. The driver and the passenger were stunned, but fine. The car was tangled in the floats. It was pretty obvious where the car would have ended up. Earlier this year Dad worked to have a phone pole moved so it would not be yet another hazard. (Another pole nearby has been part of some pretty gruesome accidents.) This is an example of the kind of infrastructure gaps Guam grapples with in the face of a population boom that will increase numbers by 27%.

On the way to the forum I dropped off my friend for a short visit with an ailing relative in the village of Yona. Meanwhile, I visited the elementary school I attended in the 1970s: M.U. Lujan School. At the front of the campus, a flood of memories washed over me—lining up for immunizations in the cafeteria, rotating among teachers in our pod-classrooms, a bus with only five kids to-and-from school with a sweet driver, Ben. Ben became my personal bodyguard as the bus became more crowded and I found myself  subject to a few bullying incidents. I was one of two white kids who signed up for a bilingual instruction pilot program at M.U. Lujan, so teachers called in their colleagues to witness my speaking Chamorro, Guam’s native language.  (Back then, I was blonde enough to be called a tow head;  my parents confirm that my public speaking in Chamorro was quite the sight.)

Unfortunately, my village (Ipan) was redistricted after third grade and I became embarrassed to speak the language among my new school friends. On a few occasions I would let on that I knew what was being said, and it helped my survival as I migrated further and further south for my public school education, becoming more and more of a minority along the way. Later in life, as I found new languages fun and somewhat easy, I would learn that’s it’s proven bilingual education wires your brain for new languages. There are a number of immersion programs in Guam now. People talk about how grandparents are able to converse with their grandkids, but there’s a language gap in a lot of families between these generations.

As you leave the south for the capital of Guam (Hagatna) which is central, you can see that Pago Bay is being carved out for a housing development. While there are many empty executive homes on the island, this development is said to be sold by a third. Detractors are concerned that developments like these are not needed and are driving up home prices for the general population. There is also some protest surrounding evidence that the site was an ancient settlement. Just under 100 homes are planned for the community. I take  this in while I remember how near to the ocean I lived as a child. By Guam standards, we were  lucky to spend our childhood in Ipan, a small village that isn’t noted on most maps. It’s a tiny coastal community with houses mostly across the street from the ocean on hills that offer an enviable view. We lived there because that’s where our family business, Jeff’s Pirates Cove is located (next to Ipan Public Beach).

Clip from Pago Bay:

Thursday was the first day of the “other” conference related to the build up; the first was in Tumon and organized by the University of Guam. Two Guam Senators organized the free two-day event held at the Guam Legislature (I Liheslaturan Guahan). There was another conference the previous week. This one was billed as a forum for “all the voices” to be heard.

U.S. Marine Corp. leadership filled most of two and a half rows of seats at the front of the forum. I give them a lot of credit for committing to the two full days of feedback from government officials, community leaders and some clearly anti-buildup activists. Below are a few clips from the conference featuring Sen. Judith P. Guthertz (my Mom’s classmate from Academy of Our Lady of Guam) who discusses the concept of “One Guam” versus two; one inside the bases and one outside the bases. The third clip is a woman representing the Committee on Natural Resources, Civilian-Military Task Force, who warns against turning Guam into Hawaii. The last clip is an interesting segment from a longtime farmer who now runs the Farmers Co-op in Guam.

Sen. Guthertz wrap up on first day of forum:

From the Natural Resources panel (note reference to Hawaii’s lack of affordable housing):

On Agriculture (Bernard Watson, Vice President, Farmers Co-operative Association of Guam):

This is a repeat of the clip from “The 671 on Guam: Day 2″

–BAP

So, I am finally back. I spent a week in the field on an exercise. Most of it was spent being incredibly nasty and eating MREs. I went out to there hopeful that I could stick to my diet. Unfortunately, I was entirely wrong.

There is absolutely no way you can eat MREs and call it healthy. It is a paleo nightmare. Everything in a Meal-Ready-to Eat is processed and scientifically engineered. They follow the usual government food diet pyramid. A rough breakdown of the maconutrients inside would be about 80% carbohydrate, 10% protein, and 10% fat. Wheat bread, crackers, pound cake, and candy do not exactly round out the healthiest meals, but they are all a big part of field rations. Surprisingly, the 2000+  calorie meal in a bag has instructions that say that food gives you energy and you need to eat all of it.

No. No no no no!

I threw most of the stuff out, but even eating protein is hard, because they will usually put carbs in with it in the main meal. The bottom line is that if you are trying to eat healthy/paleo, an MRE is impossible to stomach.

That being said, I came back and checked out Melissa Urban’s blog and saw that she was donating Paleo Kits (with your help) to Soldiers in Afghanistan. An amazing and worthy cause and I wish her the best.

Workouts

I didn’t do too many workouts while I was there, but the ones that I did do involved my 24 kilogram kettlebell, which I brought with me. I know that Pavel would be proud of these fine workouts:

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps for time, of:

Walking lunge steps

Kettlebell swings

My time: 5:00

150 kettlebell swings

Every minute that passes, stop and do 5 burpees

My time: 6:34

3 rounds for time:

10 air squat

10 burpees

10 kettlebell clean & press (right)

10 kettlebell clean & press (left)

My time: 6:50

Eric and I been discussing our memories/experiences in the Gulf War. I thought I’d share some of our conversations.

The Marine Corps, with the support of Navy air power, was tasked with going for the jugular. Afte rperforming their own deception by shifting both Marine divisions some 40 to 50 miles northeast from their original staging area, the Marines stepped off into battle. The 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions, each more than 18,000 strong, and the U.S. Army 1st Brigade (“Tiger Brigade”), 2nd Armored Division, plunged into the attack. They were supported by the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and thousands of combat service support staff from the 1st and 2nd Force Service Support Groups, and by Navy air forces.

On their way, the Marines had to cross two belts of minefields, 12-foot high sand berms, barbed-wire defenses, booby traps and fire trenches, all the while under sporadic attack by Iraqi artillery. These “impenetrable barriers” were quickly breached by the Marine teams. As the two Marine divisions advanced, two Saudi and Qatari task forces moved up Kuwait’s east coast in a similar drive. The initial Marine advance was described by Schwarzkopf in his 27 February briefing as follows:

“It was a classic, absolutely classic military breaching of a very, very tough minefield, barbed wire, fire trench-type barrier. They went through the first barrier like it was water. Then they brought both divisions steaming through that breach. Absolutely superb operation — a textbook, and I think it will be studied for many, many years to come as the way to do it.”

Overhead, Cobras, Harriers and Intruders provided close-air support as the Marines pushed forward meetingoccasional resistance. Navy A-6 Intruders laid down heavy barrages. Marine aircraft attacked in waves as engineers continued to shoot line charges and drop bundles of plastic pipes near trenches so the blade tanks could form makeshift bridges. Even though the 1st Division Marines encountered artillery fire and a mechanized counter-attack, their attack proved unstoppable. Most Iraqis fought for only a few minutes before surrendering. Massive artillery and air support from Navy and Marine aircraft sparked a frenzy of surrender that, at times, slowed the progress of advancing Marine units.

The 2nd Marine Division enjoyed equal success. With the Army’s Tiger Brigade on the west flank, the 8th Marine Regiment to the east, and the 6th Marine Regiment in the center, the division kicked off its attack. Within hours they too had breached both defensive belts. Facing enemy mortar and small arms fire, the 2nd Division drove into Kuwait and took more than 5,000 EPWs by the end of the first day.

As Marines continued their attack the sea-based arm of the Navy-Marine Corps team continued to provide support. The battleships continued rapid, responsive gunfire on targets designated by Navy and Marine spotters on the ground and in the air. The amphibious task force in the Persian Gulf continued to demand difficult decisions from the Iraqi generals. Because of the threat of an amphibious landing and the uncertainty of where and when it [word/words missing in text] to ten divisions, totaling 80,000 men, to the defense of the Kuwait coastline. In addition they garrisoned troops and equipment on Bubiyan and Faylaka Islands which command sea approaches to vital areas.

About 7,500 Marines from the 5th MEB were off-loaded from amphibious ships at Saudi Arabian ports at the beginning of the ground attack to serve as the 1st MEF reserve force. Marine AV-8B Harriers, AH-l Cobra helicopters and special operations units from the 4th MEB aided the Arab forces in the east coast drive. On the second day of the ground war, both Marine Divisions faced sporadic resistance as they pushed further into Kuwait. They fought some intense battles along the way, and by the time Kuwait’s International Airport was secured on the fourth day of the ground war, the two Marine divisions had defeated an Iraqi force of 11 divisions.

Al Khafji

In the early evening of 29 January 1991, Iraqi armor and mechanized infantry in
eastern and southern Kuwait attacked US Marine Forces, Central Command
(MARCENT) and Arab Joint Forces Command-East (JFC-East) units at several points
along the Kuwaiti-Saudi Arabian border. The Iraqi offensive lasted a little over four days,
continuing until 2 February. Known collectively as the Battle of Khafji, the series of
engagements between Iraqi forces and the US-led anti-Iraq coalition represented the first
significant ground action of the Gulf War.
At the time it was fought, the Battle of Khafji was viewed as a small and relatively
inconsequential attack on an abandoned Saudi border town. In fact, Khafji was a very
significant engagement, since described in one highly regarded study as the “defining
moment” of Operation Desert Storm. Other than Scud attacks, Khafji was the only major
Iraqi offensive of the war and its outcome demonstrated the impotence of the Iraqi army
in the face of Coalition (primarily American) airpower.1

Read more: Here and Here

I have made it clear in the past that I find reading bumper stickers to be quite enlightening and many times very humorous. Today as I was traveling down the interstate I came upon one of those cars that was covered (a little bit of an exaggeration) in the back with adhesive messages. Since we were traveling at highway speeds I was unable to read all of them–however the two that I did read presented quite the paradox. The first one proudly proclaimed, “My son is a U.S. Marine.” The second exclaimed a sentiment that did not seem consistent with the son’s participation in the Armed Forces–it simply said, “Question Authority.” I’ll let you figure it out.

Pastor Jeff

Some comic book stores in the Washington D.C. metro area have teamed up with Entertainment News International LLC for the first annual Superheroes for Toys for Tots drive.  The fundraising event will raise support for the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots program.  Joining Entertainment News are local comic book stores Alliance Comics, Beyond Comics, E.G. Comics, and Big Planet Comics with locations in Maryland and Virginia.

Finding a present under the tree Christmas morning is an experience every child should have an opportunity to experience,” says Entertainment News International president Jay Cochran. “Superheroes bring hope. We want to be a part of putting hope in the eyes of children in our community.

Items are available to purchase and donate at each of the locations ff you are in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

You also can locate other local Toys for Tots donation centers or make a cash donation at www.dctoysfortots.org. If you reside outside the metro D.C. area, please go to www.toysfortots.org to identify a donation center near you.

George’s Carpet One Floor & Home receives Certificate of Appreiciation in recognition of outstanding support to “Marines Helping Marines” program.  “Marines Helping Marines” aids wounded and injured Marines.

I hate to be cold, wet, tired and forced to do hard physical exercise. I also have a fear of life in the military and being caught up in a fight between two opposing enemies…

My thoughts have changed slightly after spending 24 hours with the Royal Marines at a military base in Caerwent, in South Wales. This experience was challenging, exciting, at times terrifying and in general fun.

On arrival a very stern Major lectured us about the role of the media in warfare today. Much of this we already knew and after donning a camouflage hat and bullet proof vest we clambered into the back of a van and became embedded with a group of 36 soldiers.

Surviving on sleep for one hour a day sounds like hell to someone like me who needs at least eight.  I don’t expect anyone this sleep deprived to be able to hold a conversation or be welcoming or polite – yet every marine I spoke to was friendly, helpful and couldn’t do more to make us feel at ease with the situation.

Despite several blatant digs at the ’scum of the earth’ freelance journalists currently out in Iraq, everyone seemed professional and accepting of us, clearly preferring embedded journalists who can be looked after, and kept an eye on at all times.

The marines we were with were all aged over 30 and being tested to become officers – so in a state of heightened stress and anxiety. They have all served in conflicts like Afghanistan and Iraq and will be sent out again.

Throughout the exercise we were very close to the action,  leaping through ditches and over barbed wire fences and we were treated as one of the marines – at one point we even had to attempt to help carry the dead and injured men away to safety.

As an embedded journalist you gain the trust and respect of the soldiers you are working with and therefore if you uncover a hugely scandalous story – you have the choice of breaking it and getting a good headline but at the same time losing the trust of the military and putting your career as a war journalist at risk.

The whole 24 hours was exhausting but rewarding. It hasn’t convinced me to become a war correspondent but has reconfirmed my view that soldiers are not just superhuman machines but real people. Even after 24 hours it’s impossible not to build a relationship with these men who are pushed to such extremes every day. Whether you agree with the military or not, these individual soldiers should not be attacked or blamed for their part in any conflict. They are merely pawns in a political game.

The experience was eye-opening for me, I realised how much each of these men must go through everyday and how impossibly hard it would be for an embedded journalist to break a story that would destroy that trust.

Buy Generation Kill here

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This is an informative article from the Santa Maris Times about a Marine Veteran and his own brain injury. I learned about the ways this Marine was initially misdiagnosed but eventually helped. It’s important to remember how many veterans come back with TBI. Also go to Bob Woodward’s foundation, REMind, (www.REMind.org) for more on the topic.

I am happy to report that the blogging fundraiser ValourIT (Voice Activated Lap Tops for Our Injured Troops) that I had the privilege of participating this year raised $113,124.90 for our wounded troops. The above picture shows caseworkers from last year distributing laptops throughout a particular hospital and this year more lap tops will reach those in need. I wanted to thank everyone that participated in this fundraiser and that generously donated and helped lift our total over $100,000. This year the Marine team raised the most money but as the ValourIT organizers like to say, our wounded troops are the real winners. Thank you to all that donated. You have made a significant impact for our wounded troops and your contribution made a big difference. I predict, team Air Force (my team) will make a big comeback next year and raise the most!