marriot gas lamp

Let me vent for a second...it is depressing at the very least to see so called "bouncers" at such an impressive hotel as the Marriot GasLamp act in such a way as they did during my last stay...its sad to see people who, given normal circumstances would be given no authority at all, are placed in a position such as a "bouncer" to kick people out...the so called "bouncers" at Marriot Hotel wer terrible...not only were they discusting looking, but they were rude and foul mouthed not representing the Marriot Hotel in any way ... very very sad.

Bengals

Go Bengals !!

Tiger Woods

Lets throw this out there....
Its been awhile since i've posted...been back from Kosovo for a while...been traveling around, a trip to alaska, texas, seen a Dallas Cowboy game and a Bengal game. I'm back to tossing some posts on here so you can read how i feel bout some random stuff...

I have enough hearing about Tiger Woods and his countless mistresses...who cares, hes a man, no different than anyone else...lets move on...im sick of ESPN spending countless hours talking about this...lets get back to the bowl season, lets talk about college basketball, lets talk about the Cowboys beating the Saints, lets talk about the make a wish foundation...something...something other than who Tiger is sticking his "9 iron" into...

Euro Trip 2009 Paine Brothers Inc

Alright everyone...sorry for the oh so over-due post...but here is a shit ton of photos i took while on leave in Europe...Rome, Paris, Luxemburg, Brussels, Nuremberg, Berlin...good times to say the least...i will post some stories and randomness a few days from now...once i get settled into my new "home" and get caught up on school...shouldnt be too long til describing in detailed the various shananigans by the infamous Paine Brothers :) sorry if some of the pics are sideways (wrong way) or if they are a bit blurry-i think the amount of alcohol consumed has something to do with that...the goal : Drink 'til i could taste color ! - (think about it....now laugh) mission accomplished...yellow tastes the best...blue is over rated...

one thing...one story....never in my life have i ever seen a man wearing capries...in italy...dudes all over the place were wearing capris...so...being the smart ass i am...i decided to wander around during one of our pub crawl induced blackout drunken nights to roll my pant legs up and make some -"man-pries"- one italy guy came up to me and told me "your pants don't look good like that" (in an italian accent of course) so i responded "really...no shit sherlock, you look like a fag...if your going to buy some pants, by ALL of it, dont setting for 3/4 of a pant leg !" hahahahah i thought it was funny...funnier if told in person, but let your imagination run with it. Might make ya laugh.

Update

Still alive...life is getting busy jsut before i take on leave...hope all is well..love you all,,,miss you all !!!

Michael Vick, Donte Stallworth

Well...big news i guess...Mike Vick gets a two year deal...
And Donte Stallworth gets suspendend for ONE YEAR FOR KILLING A PERSON!!! WTF Goodell...what would it take for the NFL to come down hard on someone...you have a player KILL A PERSON...a normal civilian would get charged with man-slaughter and spend a good amount of time in jail...Stallworth gets a slap on the hand and house arrest...wow...way to set the example there NFL...NFL=money...what ever it takes...sell tickets...sell uniforms...dont worry 'bout the example your setting...WTF...
Michael Vick...thats another story...i have no idea what to say about that nightmare of a situation...yikes...another day.

Couple Volleyball Pictures

Here's a random pic for ya...life is good...can't really complain...hope all is well...miss you guys, love ya guys...see ya soon

Ty Loomis, Angie Akers, Tyra Turner, Ryan M, AVP Trip to CBS

Thank You AVP for coming out to Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo and playing some great volleyball...def gave us one hell of a day and tons of stories to talk about...i really appreciate you guys taking the time outta your busy schedules to come out and entertain us...thanks for the shirt too, hope you guys have a safe trip home, and have a great season/tourney's when you get back. Best of luck in your future tourney's...thanks again.
P.S. Euro Trip '09 is getting closer and closer !!! WOO-HOO!

David Ortiz, Steroids, and baseball

Well...another name has been dropped from some obscure 2003 drug testing list...David Ortiz...the more these names trickle out, the longer this list exists in abscurity...the more harm it will do to baseball...it does start to make me think that just about how much steroids has effected the game of baseball...how much steroids are / were running through baseball... does it really matter ? Six years ago some guy tested positive ? punishing him now seems "too little, to late"...who knows...hopefully this ends soon. Love you all, miss you all...

Bill Clinton

I realized i had forgotten to share this picture with all of you. This is a giant picture of Bill Clinton on the side of a building in downtown Pristina. It puts into perspective how thankful and how much Kosovars appreciate what the US did back in '99 in our 78 day bombing campaign to end the terrible things that were happening. Im not going to get into the debate of who started it, what crimes did or did not happen, both the KLA and the Serbians hands are dirty if you know what i mean. But regardless, the UN and the US came in, dropped some bombs, and ended a conflict. The people here appreciate what we did and show it not only in bilboards and signs, but in their everyday actions and "thank you's" and "we love america's" they say to us EVERY DAY. Its nice to be appreciated. I see more US flags flying here in Kosovo then i see in the states...not sure if thats good or bad, but it def puts things into perspective. You might have to click on the picture to make it big enough, but, enjoy! Love you all, miss you all, see you soon.

Fantasy Football

Here's the deal boys...fantasy football season is about to be in full swing and i know you guys are looking for any and every advantage you can get over the competition. I found exactly what you need take home the championship this year. WaiverWire has an offer that can put you two steps ahead of the competition. Thier offer, $9.99 for the entire 2009 season and you get an insane amount of detailed information to help you put together the best starting line-up you possibly can. Information like: Fast, up to the minute player alerts sent to your email or Waiver Wire profile page, injury alerts, strength of schedule rankings, player projections, points allowed by position, cheat sheets, Red Zone stats, depth charts, access to Waive Wire's Fantasy Social Network, Player news and updates, Expert fantasy football analysis for every alert telling them the impact on a fantasy team/league, potential replacements, and much much more. The site is easy to navigate, easy to use, and will give those fantasy football owners to upper hand they have been looking for this upcoming season. I hope this heads up is helpful to you guys, at least check out the site and see what they have to offer, i have no doubt that once you check out the site, you will see how Waive Wire can put you in the championship seat.

Macedonia Round 2

Another trip to Macedonia...guess what we found ?!?!?! a McDonalds!! no shit...even here in the Burmuda Triangle of the Balkans McDi's found a way to get a foothold...anyways...we had a good time hangin out at the Turkish Castle, taking some pics, talking to the locals, over all a good time. Got my passport, so life is good now on that front. Hope everyone is doing well...i miss you all...love you all...talk to you guys soon !

Swedish

Had an interesting day with some Sweedish soldiers as well as an LT from the Ukraine a couple days ago...we flew into an undisclosed area and walked around, just basically showing the Sweeds a bit of our area...the best part was lunch. We settled underneath a a few trees for some shade and broke out some French, Sweedish and US MRE's (meals ready to eat) and a cooker and started making a feast. We cut apart water bottles to make "bowls" and "spoons" and ate some French Duck, Sweedish Thai and some various other military foods...it was great...we spent a couple hours just shootin the shit and talking about life...while we ate some military foods and had a make shift picnic-military style. Good times.

(This is me holding a Swedish Assault Rifle-much heavier than an M4, but not a bad weapon.)

Couple of Pictures

Here are a few random pics i found...kinda forgot i had them...hope you guys enjoy:)

Lets talk about the Braves for a sec...we trade Francouer for Church...the first game played with these guys after the trade Francouer goes 2-4 with 2 RBI's and Church goes 0-4...lets hope this is not a habit for our new Right Fielder...only 5 games back...we need a serious run if we have any hopes of making the Post Season.

Macedonia Trip

Below is a clip of a few recent events here at lovely Camp Bondsteel, Kosvo to include our trip to Macedonia. I can now scratch off another country i have had the pleasure of visiting :) I went down there to the brand new US Embassy in hopes of figuring out this Passport issue, alas i will have to wait awhile, but on the plus side, i will get another trip to Macedonia. Some of the sites we saw were a Soccer Stadium nameed "Phillip II"- after Alexander the Great's Son, an accient Turkish Castle, a 65 meter high cross that stands about the city of Skopje, Macedonia and the video begins with a weather update-im sure you guys will enjoy the video...hope all is well...i love you, miss you...hope to see you guys soon. Hasta Luego!

Random..

Hey...still alive..just hangin out in Kosovo...all is well...cross your fingers i get my passport issue figured soon...besides that...same ol' same ol'...love ya

Craig Ferguson Comedy Show

Here's a clip from a comedy show that was put on by the USO here at Bondsteel...Craig Ferguson was here...it was good times...lots of laughs !! Thank you USO for giving us another night to relax, laugh and forget for a few hours that we are away from family and friends...much love. Hasta!

Blu World

Hey guys..As you know, i tend to spend quite a bit of time online as i am deployed to lovely Kosovo. In one of my many attempts to kill time and keep myself occupied on this deployment, i stumbled across a great site with a legit contest tonight. The site is http://itsabluworld.com/. You could win an Xbox 360 Elite, trips to New York, Aspen, Chicago, Orlanda, etc. By far, the one i want win, if i can, would be the New Years Trip to New York. What would be better than for a soldier to come back from serving his country and winning a trip to the city that never sleeps for a wild and crazy new years party. BluFrog. It would be one amazing night. The site gives you three different ways to win, all free and easy, with no commitments or costs. You can also use your Twitter account to tweet about the contest telling everyone which prize you would want to win and why you want to win it. So get out there, get on your twitter account, use your 140 characters, use a few minutes of the countless hours you spend online anyway giving yourself a chance to win some great prizes!

weather up-date

Just a little weather update for everyone...weather here is NUTS ! rain, then sun, then insane wind...its been a guessing game trying to figure out what to wear...ACU's or ACU's...hahaha anyways...hope all is well..love ya guys, miss ya guys...talk at ya later.

Sarah Palin in Kosovo

Goood Ol' Gov. Palin stopped by Camp Bondsteel today :) very down to earth, respectful, jsut a great person...honest and open...told some jokes, shook some hands...it was definently a great visit...no pomp and ceremony...just a Gov/politician/mother stopping by to say thank you to the troops...it felt legit...it felt real...good times overall...her visit def lifted the spirits...

New Orleans Hornets Cheerleaders

Thank you girls for stopping by and giving us a night to remember...i havent laughed as hard as i did this entire deployment...PS YOUR GORGIOUS !!

International Day 2009

Hello from Kosovo...it keeps coming up so i think i will address it now...Where the hell is Kosovo? Well, kosovo is located in between Serbian and Albania...north of Greece, south of Yugaslovia...basically find a map, put your finger on Italy and head east (thats to the RIGHT)...most likely your map will not have Kosovo on it since it declared its independance 17 Feb 2008 , nine years after NATO led 78 bombing campaign which ended the war of 1999 between KLA forces and Serbian forces...lets not get caught up in the hype...both sides were/are guilty of terrible things...simple as that...but now, regardless of the rhertoric, Kosovo is a country...
I have been on deployment now for roughly 165 days, but whose counting...i've seen a lot here...

Today i attended International Day...a day for all the countries participating in this thing we call a Kosovo Deployment to come together, get some equipment, gear and food and stuff em into a booth and run around and check each other out...this event included live music, awards ceremony for US Volleyball and Basketball champs and plenty of time to run around and talk with our fellow allies about whatever you can without the help of a translator...things were interesting, fun, unforgettable all roled into one...i got to see some old faces and new faces, met some folks who had interesting and meaningful things say as well as the ever so awkward conversation with someone who speaks no english and i dont speak (insert language-Slovenian, French, Italian, Greek, etc). Old faces: The Irish, Slovenians, Italians, Germans. New Faces: Portugese, Latvians and Polish. The ever popluar exchanging of email address in hopes of establishing a long term or at least deployment long friendship via the ever so personal internet...a time to kick back and let the HOOAH/Squared away Army culture down for a bit and relax in a semi-informal enviroment...a chance for folks to talk, walk and just be themselves (to an extent) with out fear of reprisal via counceling statements/lectures or any other form of military punishment..i mean "corrective training".

I got to talk with my old friend Zhelka, a female Slovenian Infantry LT. We worked together many times in Germany as well as see each other at events like the CRC training event, Camp Bondsteel PX or pretty much any time i end up in Pristina...her face has become a welcome site at events...its always a fun time talking to her since i know about 40 words in Slovean and she speaks "okay" english...we spend about half the time we talk trying to work our way out of awkward silence and on to a slightly meaningful conversation...regardless of the language barrier, we are never short of shit to talk about...whether its patrols, life deployed or life back home, we always seem to find a new topic of conversation to battle our way through limited shared vocabulary...its fun...shes as cold hearted, unpolished and vulgar as I which is probably the main reason we are able to carry on conversations...i seem to keep offending foreign soldiers with the language, though it should come to no suprise...Infantry is known for its lack of tact in pretty much any and ever situation...

I also got the chance to talk with my many Irish friends (no translator needed). Their hospitality and ever cheerful attitude is a much welcome change to the normal greeting i recieve far to frequently hear at Bondsteel. I had the pleasure of spending a day at Camp Clarke with them, touring their base, learning about their weapon systems, touring there Area of Responsability (AOR) as well as sit in their bar and watch as the Irish Soccer team played Bulgaria for spot in the world cup. Gift of the Gab does these men little justice...there stories and manorisms are far more entertaining then anything i have seen so far deployed...the relative joy and constant smiles as we went about the day were ... almost inspiring...my morale was lifted ten fold just by sitting in there "rec-room" drinking coffee and commenting on the days events...everyone we met wanted to know where we were from, what we did before we came to kosovo, ever detail of our lives were set out on a table...it was great...there chaplain, what can you say about an Irish Priest...hes an Irish Priest...his very presence was uplifting and brought a smile to your face...

All in all today was a good day...lots to think about...plenty happened i didnt mention, plenty happened i sadly dont remember...but alas...life goes on...tomorrow, God willing, i will wake up...and will continue doing what i do hear in Kosovo...rest assured there will be plenty of drama, events, topics and randomness in the near future for me to write/blog/bitch about...until then...

"To do what ought to be done, but would not have been done unless I did it, I thought to be my Duty" -Phi Delta Theta

Dean Brody-Brothers

love you bro...miss the shit outta ya...im proud as fuck at the man you are and man you've become...love you, miss you...look forward to crushing a beer with you when i get back!

A look back

Let me preface this post by saying i am not depressed, sad, or in anyway feeling different than i was yesterday or the 100 days before that here in Kosovo...i am just sharing a random thought i had..

Tonight was a look back at how things used to be...i was sitting watching the movie Rudy...that got me thinking about Friday afternoons at Buddy's house before a home game...sitting in his den watching a few motivational movies before we went out later that night to crack some skulls on the football field...i started thinking about home, as most soldiers do when they are deployed, and got to thinking how different things will be when i get home...
I wont be heading back to my dorm at U of La Verne to crush some beers with my fellow Phi Delts...i wont be sitting in class listening to a lecture...i wont even be heading back to my old stomping ground...in fact i'm not even sure what my place in this world will be ... i am at the perverbial "fork in the road"...college is done-the good times have sadly come to an end...the safety and security and identity of my former self that i wrapped myself in is now a memory, another chapter written down in the pages of what is The Life and Times of The Ben Paine. If this sounds a bit fatalistic, i appologize. i've never been good with sugar coating the truth, blunt might be a good discriptor to use.
I will eventually head back to good ol' So Cal in search of not only a job (great economy and all) but for a meaningful path to take. Friends are getting married and having kids left and right, friends and former lovers are moving on, leaving me as a distant memory...
I turned 20 in PA shortly before heading to Mississippi for deployment, 21 in Iraq, 24 in GA training, and now i will turn 25 in Kosovo...
looking back at my "plan" coming out of high school, i laugh...i mean really laugh...WTF was i thinking...things are vastly different that i thought they would be leaving high school at the tender age of 17.

i know this thought is fleating...i'll be lucky to even remember what im thinking right now in a few hours...hence me posting this...much love...miss you guys...hope all is well...
Long is the road and hard is the way...

Jailbait

Hello everyone ! Just thought i would drop a line...things in Kosovo are much the same...now its a bit rainy, but the sunshine we've been getting is always nice :) Hope the poster is worth a grin...every little bit helps :) Hope all is well...miss you guys, love ya guys...see ya soon (kinda)

Irish Eyes

Heres me and the Irish...it was nice working with guys who spoke english :) gotta love the irish.. BRILLIANT !

KFOR 11 VOLLEYBALL TOURNEY

Here is the KFOR 11 Volleyball team that won the KFOR TOURNEY !!! We beat the Czechs, French, Germans, Italians and another team that i forgot the name of....it was a long day...very tiring...thinking of it makes me sore again...it was an amazing time...playing the sport i love with different nations...now we get to head to Gnjilane (major city) and play a girls team...they're suppose to be pretty good...Hope you guys enjoy the pic...lots of love...miss you guys...
(more pics and videos to come....)

Just a thought

Just thought i would drop everyone a line, a little update of sorts...things here are still interesting...the weather is getting more humid, the sun is coming out and its warming up, so that is a much needed change from the insane thunderstorms and snow we had been having...
I've started my masters degree via the internet, so yea for homework and papers while deployed...nothing like coming back from a patrol to study for a test ... hahaha...its worth it :)

hope all is well..hasta !

Tillman and the Italians

I had the pleasure of hanging out with four Italian soldiers today at Mt. Goles ( a mountain outpost ) for several hours. The man on the left is Carlo and the man on the right is Paulo (Paulo is getting married next year). We talked for quites sometime about various subjects as we traded patches and PT Gear with one another...on subject struck me...one of the Italian soldiers (not pictured) talked about his time in Afghanistan where he had the honor of meeting Pat Tillman. Professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals who left the life of fame and money to serve his country, only to end up being shot by one of his own Rangers. These Italian soldiers spoke at length at how amazed they were that a person would do what he did; leave fame and fortune for a life a service. They passionate and very expressive through hand gestures and body language at how they honored what he did. This struck me...how amazing it would be to hear that if i had done something worthy enough for soldiers, years later, from two different armies still talk about...to hear that i had made such an impression...
Just thought i would share that with everyone...hope all is well...love ya, miss ya...talk to you guys soon.

some albanian music for ya

Thought you guys would like a little taste of Albanian music...this is what is blasting on our radios :) More to come...

Just another day

Well....life continues here in Lovely Kosovo...lots of drama...but that is that...things here, though interesting, has given me the opportunity to hangout with various countries' armies. Like the British...this guy, though not as animated as the last British Officer i hung out with, was still pretty fun to talk to...the accent made it difficult to understand what he was saying, but we were able to soldier passed it and get the mission done. Hope everyone is doing well...miss you guys. Hasta!

Manny Ramirez

Well...another steroid/substance abuse/taking something your not suppose to scandal has hit the MLB. Manny Ramirez...WTF...I'm not sure i actually care...It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers respond...without Andrew Jones or Kent anymore...the dodgers are back to where they were last year without a guy who can slug doubles and homeruns consistantly...i know i know, Lowney is fairly consistant with Blake stepping up...but, honestly...now that Manny is out of the line up, i'll get to watch ESPN without 3-5 minutes of life being wasted with replays of manny rounding firstbase and knocking off his helmet so his dreads can get some air...i wonder what ESPN will show in the place of those 3-5 minutes...who knows...time will tell...

This is suspenstion comes at a perfect time for the Diamondbacks and the Giants...they have the next 50 games to erase that 8.5 game back stat and really put some distance between themselves and the streaky dodgers...if the Dodgers without the homerun/clutch double hitting Manny, i forsee the dodgers having some serious issues being able to put games away in the coming month...i mean they face the Giants, Angels, Phillies, Mets and Marlins...all teams that put up some serious runs with one to two starting pitchers that could "goose egg" the dodgers to inlcude Santana, Lincecum, and any Phillies pitcher...without a big bat in the line-up, they are in serious trouble of getting swept this month and sliding to third or even fourth in the division just at the close of May...not that i would be upset, not a dodger fan.

Eye Candy

I realize i have been remiss...i have said plenty of times how beautiful the women are here and have yet to post a picture...above is one of the thousands of attractive women that grace the land between Serbia and Albania known as Kosovo...hope you enjoy the eye candy...i know i am...hasta

Swine Flu (cont...)

i have received several comments in response to what i said about the swine flu (see posting below)...let me now respond to those comments...i had someone say "that's good advice the news is giving out....some people don't know what they need to do!" For those out there that lack to mental capacity it takes to down a few extra glasses of water or shove an orange in their mouth...for those who "don't know" they should wash their hands or cover their mouth when coughing...BE AFRAID...the swine flu is Darwin's way of cleansing the gene pool...
is it sad that people have died, yes...but if your reading this...then you most likely poses the necessary means (money) to purchase A. soap and B. an Orange...so you should not worry 'bout the swine flu...

Swine Flu

hello hello again...how is everyone doing? Things here are interesting to say the least...lots and lots o' Army Drama...those brave souls who have served will understand...its the kind of drama best described to civilians as Army Politics...but, anyways...I'm alive, being fed and being paid...hard to complain...i would have to say by far one of the more annoying things here is the time difference between Kosovo and California...9 hours...so i either have to stay up really late or wake up wicked early to catch a family member or friend online...dont get me wrong, its worth it to talk to friends or family...sleep is so over-rated, but when you take the chance and stay up late, and you end up striking out...then its a bit annoying...but, i digress...to the topic at hand...Swine Flu:

Not sure what the major fuss is all about...its the flu...drink water, wash your hands...eat an orange...i got it...yea yea it affects "the strong" rather than the weak, young and old..i got it...do schools shut down when ten kids call in sick from normal flu? Give 'em a Z-pack, toss a Sunny Delight in the brown bag, pat 'em on the ass and continue on living your lives...thats just my opinion...throwing it out there...

Anyways...hope all is well...take care...catch ya on the flip side of the pandemic :) hasta

When it Rains, it pours...

Well, HELL...the economy, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq...Pakistan is doing its thing against the terrorists in the north...two more Brigades are suppose to go to Afghanistan...No more Pontiacs...and now there's a part Pig, part Bird and part Human virus running its ass around Mexico spreading all over the world...nice...guess we can add that to the insane drug wars that are going on along the border...and now we have Secratary Sebelius getting on national news stations and telling us to "wash your hands, and cover your mouth when you cough"...thanks lady...you want to explain to me the process step by step involved in wiping my own ass?!?!? Jeez...

anyways...life here in Kosovo is good. The weather is getting nicer and nicer...the country is turning greener by the day and crops are being planted, things are suppose to get absolutely gorgious here in a few weeks as the crops begin to sprout...

Some economic advice... Beazer Homes USA inc. (BZH) Standard Pacific (SPF) and Hovian Enter. (HOV) all "ousing stocks" that have gone from under a dollar a share to $3 plus a share in the last two weeks...might wanna look into dumping some cash into these...by no means am i an expert, but im making money, maybe you guys could make a few bucks yourself.

Hope everyone is doing well...love you guys, miss you guys...look forward to hearing from you guys...hasta!

So Cal's Finest

Here is the team known as SO CAL'S FINEST !!!!!!!!!! Bronze (3rd Place) for all of Camp Bondsteel...not bad...

Sorry for the delay...

Hello indigenous Frog...
This frog was hopping around my barracks...

I appologize for the long break between posts...things got kinda busy here for a couple weeks. Things are good...the snow is gone and now we're dealing with scattered showers, but the weather has been beautiful...all the baren ground has turned to green, farms are planting and growing shit EVERYWHERE ... these farmer markets are going to be great once the plants do there thing...very very excited, cept we cant seem to find avacados...i'll let you guys know how the search goes...

Here ya go...

Here's a picture of me at our latest event...spent all night in the muddy Kosovo Mountains withe some very interesting Kosovo police officers...it was fun to say the least:) Hope everyone is doing well...we finished 3rd in the volleyball tourney...not too bad...a bronze medal is still a medal...miss you guys, love ya, hope to talk to you soon. Hasta!

Volleyball tourney Game One

We won our first Game...we are the So Cal's Finest (team name) hope you guys enjoy !!

A bit of a Morale Booster...

Here's a bit of a morale booster...there's nothing wrong with a few pictures of beautiful women to brighten up the day...Hope everyone is having a great day/night...Just to update everyone, life is good. Spending my time doing what i gotta do...nothing too exciting...we start our volleyball tourny tomorrow...cross your fingers that we win...Our company has put together a pretty good rotation and match up against the competition about as well as we can. I will post pictures/videos assuming i can get a camera man...we'll see....

Todays Bit-O-knowledge from the House of Paine:

It's nearly one in the morning and sadly i am not tired at all...maybe it was the late night coffee or the three Coca-Colas i slammed while watching the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Anyways...for some reason I've decided to put on a movie, toss in a chew and hope that todays work out would finally catch up with me and i'd fall asleep...alas...nothing could be further than the truth...i am now on my second movie and no where near a state that would allow me to rest...I am watching A Good Year with Russell Crowe...Good movie to say the least...I have this intense erge (after watching the movie) to get a bottle of wine and sit in a chair over looking the Tuscan landscape...drinking and drinking til im blackout drunk....i dream...oh well...hope all is well...love you all, miss you all...hasta !

Here's to you...an Update from the barracks...

Hope everyone is enjoying Spring Break :) Be safe, get drunk.....

A Sober St. Patricks Day

I'm not sure what a sober St. Patricks day is...more of an oximoron than anything...for some reason im having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that i am not shit-faced drunk right now...oh well...im sure sobriety is a good thing...healthier for body and mind if you will...but anyways...heres an update...life is good...just hangin out in lovely Kosovo...same ol' same ol'...just doing my thing...stock market is lookin up, which is of course a great thing...not really a fan of the idea of the US diving into a full blown depression...besides that life is good, lookin forward to another fun filled week, lots of missions, lots of paperwork...hope all is well, love you all, miss you all...talk to you soon.

A bit of a Rant...

Alright...this is my version of a slight rant...i started this blog as a way for me to update family and friends as how my current deployment is going as well as maybe make a few bucks through tossing a few ads on my site...i have realistic expectations of this blog and understand that im not going to get rich via this blog...i have about 30 visitors a day to this blog, judging from that widget in the lower right these visits are def international...this blog has evolved many times over the years...i had one when i was in iraq...then completely forgot about it while i finished college...towards the end of IOBC at Fort Benning, GA i started preparing for a deployment to Iraq, so i got another blog...as life happens i find myself in Kosovo, not complaining...i haven't been shot at since 2006 (living in so cal thats fairly impressive). But as things in my life changed so did this blog. Do not be mistaken, this blog is by no means an extension of myself able to allow the viewer of my blog the ability to know who i am, what i am like, or "understand" me in really any way. To be completely honest i am randomly posting shit in hopes that i both entertains as well as informs those i love as what life is "like". I use "like" cuz there is absolutely no way (short of using a video camera to film my every movement-which is illegal given my current situation) to truly convey what life is like as a deployed soldier. I cannot convey the meanings of simple things like "first call" or "formations" or what a "Blue Falcon" is...its hard to discribe what dealing with "Jodi" is like...i cannot paint a vivid enough picture with my substandard grammar that is worthy of what life is truly like here in lovely Kosovo. What i CAN do, is hap-hazardly post various things about ...shit....anything...in a frail hope that it sparks enough interest to keep you coming back...fear not, i will find my niche, i will find that path and actually have a focus other than "what life is like" soon enough...


The title of the blog in case your blind is The Road I'm On... yes, its a title of a 3 Doors Down song. I honestly didn't realize 'til one night i decided to google search my site...making find my site via google pretty fucking difficult when the first 80 sum-odd search results are either links to music videos or links to lyrics. One part of "The Road I'm (currently) On" is the news...i find myself sitting infront of my 19 inch t.v. watching the AFN (armed forces network) watching the news update me on what is going not only back home, but around the world. One thing i often do is make loud comments directed at the t.v. about what they are saying...so i figured i could share with you what i think about the various news that is being reported...

John Stuart v. Jim Cramer....fucking amazing...John Stuart lays out what the problem is, and what the hell CNBC financial news SHOULD be doing...if you missed it, check it out online, it is worth the 30 seconds it'll take to find...



Today Fox news reported that there is a fear that the violence in Iraq will increase due to the promise of Obama to pull all combat troops out of Iraq....NO SHIT...lemme break this down for a second...if im a terrorist sitting in my cave or shitty house in Iraq and i hear that all combat troops (the guys that shoot at me when im pulling my shenanagins) are going to leave...im going to grab my AK and a shovel and start shooting and burying IED's like i've never done before...to not only to gain some sort of social status as a "freedom fighter", but also because hey, maybe it will make the Americans leave faster...kind of live a Vietnam ?!?!




I realize that the video has nothing to do with the rant...other than the video is to entertain and the verbage is to inform....hope you enjoyed :) More to follow......

Our Economy....

Well...things are not looking good for the ol' United States economy...our government seems unable to pass a bail out bill due to something like 8000 "pet projects" written in the bill...not sure what they are doing there. And I've got to tell you...watching CNN and FOX news talk about the economy is as informative as watching Blue's Clues and as engaging as listening to Al Gore in a cold auditorium talk about Global Warming...listening to all these so called experts has gotten ridiculous...Fox is so busy bashing Obama they've lost any measure of credability and CNN has these reporters who feel they need to laugh after reporting that 2 million jobs have been lost (probably to keep from crying). Yikes !! I wonder what the American public is suppose to do when they need information?!?! Where do they go where they can trust the facts that are being fed to them? I'm not sure, but i doubt there are many sources of information out there willing to simply lay the truth down and let people decide what to think...

some CRC training...

The French...

Here's a picture of me with some french guys we met in Pristina, Kosovo. They, contrary to what i thought, very nice...it was interesting talking to some French when you have a massive language gap. Never-the-less, we had a good time talking, trading cigarettes, and taking pictures...hope all is well...love ya lots family and friends...

Another Update...

Here's another video update for everyone...hope you enjoy:) Love you all, miss you all, hope all is well...hasta!

Late Night in Kosovo...

Hey everyone...

needless to say its another late night here in lovely Kosovo...i've got myself a shit-ton of paperwork handle...i thought it necessary to post a pic of the beautiful (and furture ex-wife) Sara Shahi from NBC's TV show LIFE. Gotta say, I enjoy that show, but right now i enjoy watching anything...anything besides AFN commercials over and over again...could be worse, guess I need to get outta my room more often.

A lot has gone on since i last posted...economy is now doing great (ha, NOT). Looks like we'll be outta Iraq in 19 months or so....or 50,000 or so of us might still be there, but i guess one could see that as an improvement...or a bad thing depending on what side your looking from. The Dodgers can't seem to sign Manny (not very suprised). The big question is whether or not the Bengals are going to be able to keep T.J. "who's your Daddy"?!?!? Hope so. Palmer needs one hell of a year !

Well...love you all...take care...talk to ya'll soon. Hasta

Me and some Kosovo Kids...

Here's a pic of me and some local kids from here in lovely Kosovo. This is what happens when we stop and try and talk to some folks...the kids absolutely go absolutely crazy.."give me MRE" or "give me candy"...non stop...much more aggressive then the kids were in Iraq...but one thing i have to say is that the parents are much better at getting control of them. Its kinda werid to watch a parent walk his kid or kids down to where we are in hopes of getting his kids some candy, but at the same time being more than willing to listen to us when we tell him that we've had enough and kids need to take off...the only problem is when no parents are around...good times...hope everyone is doing well...love you guys, miss you...talk to you soon.

KFOR 11 Update Video numero uno

Here are a few high-lights from the deployment so far. I tossed the tazor and OC videos on there again...thought there might be a few folks that wouldn't mind seeing me suffer one more time. :) Hope all is well with everyone back home. Things here are about as chill as they could be. We went to Gjilane ( a major city near us)...i had yet another amazing Nes-Cafe...good stuff...pretty much chocolate, hot water and a little caffine...good stuff for 50 cents :) I love you, miss you all, look forward to hearing from ya'll. Hasta!

PS. Every women around here walks around in highheels, painted on jeans and is absolutely gorgious...not sure what they're putting in the water, but DAMN...pics to follow to prove the point...very nice scenary for this deployment.

KFOR 11 First of many updates

Everything here in lovely Kosovo is so far so good. It is snowing like crazy ! This So-Cal soldier is thinking it might be as close to a blizzard as he's been in quite sometime.

This picture is of me and some of my fellow soldiers in Novo Brdo, Kosovo. One of many stops we made on a recent trip out and about in the local area around our base. I hope everyone is doing well...love ya...miss ya...talk to you guys soon.



"Some say a hero is born to be brave....a Hero is a scared man that don't walk away

Germany Pass

First Day in Kosovo....

Well, I'm in Kosovo now...I have to say I am pretty happy about the housing arrangement...the room i am in with my fellow LT's is much bigger than i thought it would be. But before i start talking about Kosovo, i want to talk to you about my day pass in Nuremberg, Germany...it was a beautiful city...regardless of the snow, it was nice. I got to drink my first beer since December 5th (sobriety sucks), road a German train, and saw some beautiful sites ! Not a bad pass at all :) I miss everyone, looking forward to when i get home already...more stories and posts to come...good luck with what ever you guys are trying to accomplish :)

Random update....

Hello again...I would just like to wish my mother a Happy Birthday and Happy Retirement !!!!! Congrats Mom !

Right now, its about 4 am...i am sitting in our Companies Command Post (CP) typing away as a couple of my fellow soldiers play dominos and listen to some Mariachi (spelled wrong) music. We are all pretty excited, training here is winding down and it couldn't come to soon...I can say one thing about our training here in Germany, it def united many of the various countries in genuine hatred of our situation...Dont get me wrong, we've been fed, clothed and for the most part paid. Our basic necessities have been taken care of, but beyond that, here in Germany was/is not like i expected it to be.
I dont want to be the bringer of bad news...Im sure Im just being grumpy because its 4am and i am not asleep...oh...and by the way...TONS O' Snow tonight...not cool mixing snow and high winds together, makes for a very shitty combination for soldiers to walk through to go to chow, barracks or latrine...
One thing i can say, i have fallen in love Java Monsters Originale...i shit you not...im drinking about three of these a day...feeling good...and i start to crash just before bed time...PERFECT...Just incase anyone was curious...I hope everyone is doing well, love you , miss you..talk to you soon.

Part 6 Cont...

….each step he takes towards his room gets heavier and heavier as the pressure of the duty day slowly subsides and the comfort of knowing he was about to have a great weekend sets in. ben opens his door and takes a seat at his desk, as he does so he glances down at his still dirty hands. It always amazed the young LT that even after five years of service he had yet to find an effective soap that would get the carbon from spent ammo off his hands. And of course, lets not forget about the amazing sent of Cleaning Lubricating Protecting (CLP-oil used to clean military weapons) Oil.

AirField :)

brand New update...
today we got to ride some Blackhawks to a near-by airfield for a training event. When we arrived, guess what we found...this sign...i guess the Germans new i was coming :) Most of the Company got a good laugh out of the sign already being there waiting for me :) Hope all is well...our Training here in Germany is coming to an end...its been real, its been fun , but i wouldn't say it sbeen real fun. Love you all very much. Take care, i'll write again when i get the chance.
Ok...having issues uploading Pictures via military internet...i will post the pic as soon as i get to an interenet source thats worth a damn...love ya...

Part 6 of the story...

(open to ben with head phones on, laughing at stand up comedy routine on YouTube.)

Long about mid-laugh there is a knock at the door followed by a loud "Formation" call coming from most likely the barrell chested and equally hairy LT from the otherside of the hall. Ben quickly takes out his headphones, puts his laptop into sleep mode and grabs his uniform top. Moving gingerly down the hall, zipping up his ACU coat as he walks down the stairs. He can feel the excitement of the coming weekend building up.
"Hey Paine! What are you doing this weekend?" Knowles asked.
"You don't remember, I told you earlier. I'm heading to the Braves game." Paine responds.
"oh yea, totally forgot, we still planning on having some beers if your plans change", says Knowles.
Ben responds, "Now worries, I'll call you on Sunday for lunch or beers during the game."
Knowles in classic style throws out, "Sounds good. Your still a pussy for not coming out this weekend!"
"Fuck Off!" Ben said with a smile on his face, extending his middle finger to enfasize his point.

All the LT's gather together in their various platoon formations four squads with each having ten soldiers in them.

2LT Paine stood rigidly at the position of attention, anxiously awaiting the one amazing command. The student platoon sgt sounded off with a loud "DISMISSED" unable to hold back his own smile. 2LT Paine and his classmates sounded off in return with an enthusiastic "HOOAH" followed by random cheering and the dull murmering of conversations about the various fomrs of debatchery that would take place during the weekend. 2LT Paine makes his way back to the barracks, removing his ACU cover as he crossed the theshold of the doorway, moving happily up the two flight of stairs back to the hallway his room is located along. Smiling he entered his room as the rush of cold air hit his face being pumped out by the AC...

PART 5 OF THE STORY...

A couple of miles down the road Katie is scrubbing her hands after helping her last patient of the day. Shortly before 1600hrs a large Drill Sgt came came walking up to the front desk. His "brown round" (Drill Sgt hat) sat perfectly parallel with the ground atop his head. He had two soldiers following him in the door, one had some swelling around his left eye and walking with a bit of a limp while the other soldier had whads of toilet paper shoved in his nose in a futal attempt to stop the bleeding from what was most likely a broken nose. Katie has seen this plenty of times. These two baby-faced soldiers were coming from the barracks over at Delta 2-19 (a basic training unit for infantrymen located on Sand Hill). As she was patching up the young soldier with the broken nose she the got the story. These two soldiers were in week six of training and according to this soldier the platoon was sick of getting "smoked" (made to do push-ups, sit-ups, flutter-kicks, and various other physical exercises) for the other soldier's (the one with the messed up eye) mistakes. So the soldier with the broken nose, after their most recent "smoking", had had enough. After the Drill Sgt had left, he walked over to the soldier who had been late to formation and started yelling at him and shoved him. Next thing he new, the soldier he just shoved punched him right in the nose. Needless to say a fight broke out.
After she had finished patching up the young soldier she escorted him back to his Drill Sgt. (Little did Katie know, her beuatiful face and tender touch would be the highlight of this young soldiers experience at Fort Benning.)

Part IV

He quickly sheds his sweat soked MOLLE (gear vest) and ACU's, hanging then up on his locker with a towel strategically placed on the floor to catch the dripping sweat. As he does most days, he moves directly to his laptop and turns it one. As the laptop boots up, he tosses in a chew and grabs a coca-cola out of the ice chest that rests next to the desk. After a minute or two, one password and a couple clicks he begins his normal internet routine: check emails, check the banks statements, check the investments, then its off to YouTube to watch some standup comedy videos. But today was a little different...he had already booked a hotel and bought tickets for the Braves game on Saturday night. Growing up in Southern California, he rarely had the opportunity to go and see his favorite major league baseball team "Da Braves". he was not about to pass up any chance to go and see Chipper Jones, Jeff Francour or Bobby Cox. Plus, he had found this awesome sports bar just a couple blocks from the stadium he would have to find his way to again. After confirming both his tickets and his hotel reservations, he closes his laptop, strips his clothes and heads in for a much needed shower. After a quick Army shower, he tosses on a new set of ACU's and awaits word of when final formation will be. (final formation is the last formation where the soldiers gather together to get accountability - know where everyone is - and pass out any last information before being released to do what they may).
A couple of miles down the road...Katie ....

Random Thought...

I had a bit of a random thought today...i was thinking about this training almost being over and getting yet another opportunity to spent a bit of my life in another country...i would be doing everyone a great dis-service if i did not mention that i do get "liberty" or a "pass" at the end of all this training i am doing here in lovely Germany...The plan right now is do a mixture of drinking and site-seeing...might be hard to site-see if Im too drunk...but it will be fun none-the-less...still not sure where i am going to go...maybe Munich, Berlin or even Prague...guess it depends on how much time i have combined with how much money i am willing to spend. Damn euro being worth more than the Dollar...kinda hurts the ol' wallet while traveling 'round Europe...oh well...thinking of the drinking i will be doing while here in Germany reminded me of some of the drinking ive done in the past and i remembered that i had this video (see below) of my brothers 21st B-day...man was i mess...this is a short snippet of what is truely one of the greatest drinking songs ever...thanks Buddy for bringing this back from the East Coast. Love you all, hope you enjoy...Hasta!

Update from Germany...

Just an update from Germany...I got to fly in a Blackhawk helicopter...It was an interesting training event...Weather here is pretty cold, lots of ice and cold wind making life a little difficult...Not a whole lot going on, wish there was something else i could write...i'll put more out next time i log on. Hope everyone is doing well, talk to you soon.

Part Three of the story...

(an old picture-obviously cuz im in the old BDU's)

I suggest scrolling down and reading part one and two of the story to both fully understand and appreciate part three of the story…


About two miles down the road a young 2LT by the name of Benjamin Paine is just returning from five days out Forward Operating Base (FOB) Voyager…His body is exhausted from the heat and humidity, his feet hurt from five days of walking and running around the red Georgia clay of Fort Benning in the Oh so comfortable” standard issue brown boots. A steady stream sweat makes its way down the brim of his ACU cover (a baseball like hat), dropping heavily onto his nose, pausing ever-so-slightly before pouring down his face glancing off his chin as it careened down towards his already sweat soaked ACU uniform. 2LT Paine had just fought his way through your standard BlueBird school bus with his ruck sack, duffle bag, load bearing equipment (vest with ammo pouches, canteens, flashlight, etc.) and weapon. A skill aquired through several years of service to “God and Country”. He sets his extensive baggage down on the sizzling blacktop outside his barracks, leans back, exposing his entire face to the sun. Reaching back with both his hands he stretches his back in a futile attempt to relieve the pain in his back. As he does this he lets out a sigh of relief and tilts his head back to parallel with the blacktop allowing the shade from his cover to once again protect his face from the wave of heat he felt any time the sun touched his bare skin. Glancing around the parking lot he sees lines of future LT’s heading back to the barracks like ants marching one by one out of a long line of buses that brought the entire Company back from FOB Voyager. He, like every other future 2LT, anxiously makes his way back to his room in the barracks. Moving both slowly and gingerly from the parking lot to the front steps of the barracks. It is important to note that the 10 steps leading from the ground level to the stairs always seem ten times harder to traverse when a soldier returns from a training then they are to head down…the stairwell offers ever bit of resistance it cans as 2LT Paine wedges himself up the stairs to the second floor where his room is located. He had learned from making this trip several times that if he just leaned forward and pushed himself forward as hard and as quickly as possible, the sheer physics of such a motion was more than enough to cram his body plus his ridiculous amount of gear through the doorway that seemed to have been built by gnomes. He moved his way slowly down the hallway arriving at his door to find it locked. He had hoped his roommate had beaten him up to stairs to avoid having to put all is stuff down just to unlock the door. 2LT Paine, after dropping his gear, reaches up and lifts up the ceiling panel directly in front of his door and secures the key he and his roommate had hid during week one…He grabs his key, unlocks the door and prepares himself for the blast of cold air that no doubt awaits. (Given the fact that 2LT Paine is not a native of the hot and humid south, the first time he had returned back to his room from a rough day of training, he opened the door and was assaulted by the rush of cold air he was met with. If one is not mentally prepared, it can become an overwhelming experience.)
As he opens the door the cold air hits his sweaty body sending a chill down his body. He drags his ruck sack and duffle bag along the linoleum floor and with a quick jerk, tosses both bags onto his bed.... (to be cont...)

part two of a random story...

Part Two of the Story:


I suggest scrolling down and reading part one of the story to both fully understand and appreciate part two of the story…



“What are you guys smiling about?” Katie asked.
“You coming out with us this weekend…(long pause as her friend Amanda scans the table making eye contact with each individual at the table, as if making sure everyone was ready for the announcement she was about to make)…we got you tickets to Braves game!”
(Amanda pushes a plain white envelope decorated with “BFF” and drawings of flowers hastily done seemingly with a dry erase marker..)
“Why two tickets”, Katie asks, “aren’t you guys coming with me?”
“Oh, you know I hate going to baseball games, they last forever, but Sara here is going with you. We’ve got it all planned out; You and Sara head to the game and have fun checking out all the rich baseball players in their tight pants…Melissa and I have to work the morning shift, so we’ll need time to get ready…cause we are going for a night on the town in downtown Atlanta!” Amanda said all in one breathe.
Sara takes over while Amanda catches her breathe, “Jenn and Amanda will meet us at the hotel after the game. We already booked two rooms. That way after the game we can use the hotel room to drop off all our stuff and get ready to go out. What do you think, Katie?”
“I don’t know”, Katie said hesitantly, “you guys know I don’t like going to the bars down here…it’s the same ol’ Army crowd with a bunch of soldiers just looking to score”
“Come on”, Melissa pressed, “you never come out with us and your taking off back to Cali soon. One last night with the girls before you go! Please!?!?!”
(Katie lets out a long sigh, un able to hold the smile back) “Okay, it’ll be great” Katie said with anticipation.
“Who knows”, Sara sarcastically says, “maybe you’ll meet someone who catches your eye?!?!?”
Laughing Katie says, “Well, remember the last time we met some “nice” guys…” (flash back to a bar with several drunken frat boys being loud and inappropriate)
(the table erupts in laughter and stories of old…)
About two miles down the road a young 2LT by the name of Benjamin Paine is just returning from five days out Forward Operating Base (FOB) Voyager

Another Update for everyone

I almost forgot to tell everyone... http://painebrothersllc.com new web page....still under construction to say the least...its an actual site that my brother and i own and will use to start the "buzz" about Paine Brothers LLC. When ever we actually start this company...couple new pics...no videos yet...but i will continue to update and get that site working as time allows due to training and the deployment i am on......the times i miss being here in Germany so far from those i love...Soon enough i will be back home enjoying the freedoms that my commrads in arms provide through our sacrafices...I love you all very much...if you have comments or questions or suggestions for the blog/site just kick me an email at painebrothersinc@gmail.com ... thanks for stopping by.

PS. Here's a little Albanian for ya .. "Tung, zoteri. Si jeni? Miredite." ( Hello, Sir. How are you? Good Day (aka have a good day).

A heavy dose o' Culture

Needless to say i am getting a heavy dose of culture here in Germany. We will be/are working with yet another country here at Hohenfels, Germany. This is the Slovenian Flag. They are also heading to Kosovo the same time we are. I have been learning Albanian, Serbian, Croatian and now Slovene languages in order to communicate with our allies. Its been interesting the say the least trying to talk to another nation's soldier without butchering their language...It is nice though getting to talk to and train with other soldiers. Get to experience folks from other nations and teach them what i know and they teach us what they know,....a little international interaction is always a good thing...Slovenia is one of the many countries to come from the break up of the old Yugaslavian "empire"...hence why they speak a Serbian-Croatian type of language..the "slavic" languages if you will...I'll try and get some pics of my new friends here...i've been trading american cigarettes for language lessons...maybe i'll trade a pack of smokes for some good pics...hope everyone is doing well..talk to you guys later.

Part 1 of a short story...

It’s Friday afternoon, Katie (a young Army nurse stationed at Fort Benning, GA) has just finished making her rounds. The rooms she is responsible for are full of either Airborne school students with various injuries ranging from broken legs, ankles, torn ACL’s, and the like caused by improper landing or Active Duty soldiers with colds, flu’s or other sicknesses related to a long night of drinking and debauchery. But honestly (she thought to herself) when you jump out of a completely good air plane at 13,000 feet in the air, you’re asking for trouble. As she finished her rounds she made her way into the break room where she found her fellow nurses gathered around the far right table directly in line with the flow of cold air from the A/C. Being stationed at Fort Benning conditions soldiers to battle the heat and humidity by finding the coldest spot they can where ever they might find themselves. Katie was a rarity, to say the least. A southern Californian girl, born to a father who served two tours of duty in Vietnam and a stay at home mother. Katie stood five feet six inches tall, long flowing brown hair wrapped neatly in a bun at the base of her perfectly shaped head in accordance with army standards, her hour-glass shape hid well beneath her Army Combat Uniform (ACU’s) swayed ever so slightly side to side as she made her way to the table where her friends waited anxiously for her arrival… (too be continued…)

Address in Kosovo

Address in Kosovo:

2LT Paine, Benjamin
KFOR 11 Task Force Nightstawker
Team Aztec
Camp Bondstell
APO, AE 09340

Here is my mailing address when I am in Kosovo...I wont be there for about another three weeks or so..when i get a better idea of when i will be there i will let you guys know...mail is suppose to take about 5 days to a little over a week to get from CA to Kosovo...and of course i'll post plenty of pics so everyone can see what this base looks like and what my living conditions are going to be...hope everyone is doing alright...love ya...miss ya...

Something Old and Cool I found ...

Hey everybody...guess that this tower thing is ?!?!? A German Guard Tower from World War II ! Pretty Cool huh? I thought so...its just sitting next a main road here on Hohenfelds...it over looks a bridge, which i imagine was its intended purpose 70 some-odd years ago. I just took a quick picture of it so i could share with everyone back home...hopefully lots of fun photos will be all the way soon...no guarantees though...Hope everyone back home is doing well...look forward to hearing from ya'll...hasta.

Hello From Das Germany

Hello to everyone from lovely Hohenfels, Germany. I arrived here yesterday...and due to jet lag ... I pretty much slept the day away...i am draggin some serious ass right now...but no worries, the snow and icy wind helps keep me awake! I'll try and update this as often as possible...hope all is well with everyone...take care.

Upcoming Election....

With the upcoming election a lot comes to mind...given the fact that i am in the military i have worries about what the future holds. Yes, our president-elect promised to get us out of Iraq, but then promised to double the troops in Afghanistan...not sure if that helped or hurt me. Historically, democrats have not been favoriable to the military in regards to down-sizing and availability of funds...we did recieve our pay raise this year though i am not sure if the president elect has anything to do with pay increases happening in the Jan following an election...regardless...these next four years will be interesting...i am not authorized to say anything bad about my commander and chief and therefore am not able to quantify how i truly feel, all i can say is the day i found out about McCain losing was a sad day...i felt genuine sorrow to hear that he had lost...
The nation is in one hell of a recession, inching ever closer to a depression. Car makers, banks and other financial institutions are merging, busting and buying each other out....bail-out money was as effective as shooting a bb gun at a train to stop it...oil prices are fluxing from cheap to outragious...the US dollar is inching towards worthless...stock portfolios are can be described as a sea of RED, the US Armed Forces are fighting Terrorist in Afghanistan and Iraq with missions all over the damn globe...with a populace that doesn't understand how real the threat is of these terrorist groups...Israel and Hamas are once again attacking each other causing massive civilian casualties...its a hell of a world we live in...and sadly as most experts on the economy say, it's going to get worse before it gets better...at what point does "worst" kick in and we see a "better"...i remember about three years ago looking at my stocks and thinking that i made some good decesions...lots of green arrows point up...now...wow...things have changed....i can say one thing...im thankful for my family, friends and all those around me....i woke up this morning so things really aren't that bad. I love you guys, miss you....

Mailing Address in Germany...

Line 1 = 2LT Paine, Benjamin

Line 2 = TF FALCON

Line 3 = A Co 40th BSTB "Aztecs"

Line 4 = CMR 414, Box GD

Line 5 = APO, AE 09173

Above is my mailing address for the time that I am in Germany....Not sure how long we are suppose to be there...at least a couple weeks...I'll email/call with more details as to what date you should not send something..How is every one ? Hope everything is going well...Im just relaxing right now in my barracks...Not much to update...everyday is pretty much the same...wake-up, eat, train, each, train, eat, train, sleep...then i start all over the next day. At least is makes the days go by pretty quick...I am quickly losing track of the days. I was suprised to see that today was MLK day. i had no idea that the holiday was coming up, but then again, when your deploying you don't exactly get three day weekends, let alone a weekend off. it can suck after a while not having days off to yourself, but you REALLY appreciate the time with family and friends when you get back. Thats about it for now..hope everyone is doing well...love you all, miss ya'll, talk to you soon. Hasta Luego! or in albanian Diten a Mire (good day)

Issues with my HUMMVEE dorr... :)

This was me on my last training mission...had a bit of a problem with my door when i got out...it was pretty funny....given the fact that it was about 10 degrees outside and we were about to go into a "notional" Albanian town and practice our ability in conversing with locals...its always interesting when you mix a bunch of soldiers with guns with a town full folks who don't speak the same language as the soldiers...it can be fairly amusing...at least to the guys on the ground...anyways...things are the same as usual...lost of paperwork..lots of training..doing our normal thing.

Update on Kosovo and what it might mean for ME !

For the past several days of training i have been working with a translator named "lala" (changing her name for confidentiality purposes). She is a Serbian who lives near by here, not sure if she is an refugee or an actual US citizen...anytime i ask about it she gets a bit quiet so i thought it best not to bring it back up...i made the simple mistake of asker her and some of her Serbian friends about a fellow translator (who happened to be an Albanian) if they knew him or if they knew how to contact him...i got the impression that i upset them...which made me think...if the reaction (whether good or bad) between two cultures is this bad here in the states...what kind of reaction would i get actually over in Kosovo?!?! What would it take to launch this brand new country back into a late-90's type of epic ethnic clash? How much "drama" would need to be present to cause these people to start the ethnic cleansing all over again....keep in mind that we are ten years removed from the 1999 UN bombings that ended the Serbian/Bosnian/Kosovar conflict...now all those 6, 7, 8, and 9 year olds who watched thier mothers getting raped, their families lined up next to a ditch and executed are now turning 16, 17, 18 and 19 landing them in both the prime criminal age (16-24) and prime military age (18-24). Lets not forget where some argue the word "infantry" comes from- Infant-soldier...its not unusual to see 13 or 14 year olds with rifles joining the fight they feel is the "good fight". Hence why I am hesistant about my up coming deployment...there are far more issues in the region than a genuine hastred of one another....
-Serbia is not allowing Kosovar products into their country (causing an already poor nation to struggle to find outlets for its goods-making it poorer and poorer by the day)
-Bosnia Hertzvogenia (spelled wrong) is taxing FULL duties to products entering its nation from Kosovo (taking an even greater chunk of what little profits there is in that region away)
-Macedonia is naming newly built freeways after ancient conquerors whose victories included the brutal slaughter of Greece (political left hook sent to Greece which has started a political confrontation in an already unstable region)
-bombs exploiding and suveral ethnically fuled brawls have broke out in northern Kosovo in the city of Mitrovica between Serbs and Kosovoars
-paramilitary groups have begun posting YouTube videos of themselves in the moutainous areas between Albania and Kosovo as well as in Serbia declaring their intentions
-several groups of men have been arrested in Italy, France, Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia in connection with drugs, arms, explosives all supposedly coming from the Balkans...
Though these are serious events indeed...whether or not these various events will transform into violence on the ground is still debatable...the only difference for me is .... i'll be ON THE GROUND.....(to be cont....)

Goals for this Blog...

I've decided that ontop of having this blog to update family, friends and anyone who feels like stopping by as to what is going on with the deployment to Kosovo i also want to use this site for another more "multi-purpose" reason. I want this blog to both promote the concept of Paine Brothers Inc and the hope of one day starting this company with my brother but also use the site as a way of getting a Sociological perspective out there...I have known for a long time that there are not enough (if any) sociologists in the Military I want to fill this void. not sure what i will be working on yet, but when i figure this out, i will be posting it here....

Random update

Hey everyone...just wanted to update everyone on what has been going on here in lovely Indiana. We are still training up for our deployment to Kosovo, practicing my Albanian, and trying my best to stay in shape. The weather here is in the single digits (like 7 degrees right now) and the wind is just viciously cold...there is a light coat of snow on the ground making the ground just slippery enough to fall down and make a fool of yourself.

Cool Poem i found

HONOR By Corporal Anthony W. Busch
There’s a feeling deep inside of me,

One that haunts my thought…

A feeling that I can’t explain,

And one that can’t be sought…

A feeling that I can’t ignore,

And one I can’t express…

A need to do what’s always right,

And always give my best…

A hunger for that righteous fight!

My courage to the test…

To give my life in sacrifice,

Without a second guess…

This will to fight and sacrifice,

It’s one that can’t be gauged…

A pledge to fight and save the lives,

Of persons of all age…

A feeling that cannot be bought,

And one that can’t be sold…

A feeling that does hold more worth,

Than all the worlds’ fine gold…

This feeling has a name I’m told,

By many warriors young and old,

The credo of the brave and bold,

The warrior calls it…

HONOR!!!