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!!!

Update on Atterbury

Incase you can't tell, its a little cold here in the middle of Indiana...today was the first day of snow that actually stayed on the ground...kinda makes walking around a little difficult...hope everyone is enjoying the Cali weather...def missing the hell outta the beach right now...Love you all, hope to hear from ya soon...Hasta !

KFOR 11

Kosovo Force (KFOR)

Phi Delta Theta

Incase anyone is curious i will be heading out to Kosovo as part of the KFOR mission, my mission is KFOR 11, the 11th deployment of US troops headed to this area. Kosovo recently gained there independence on 17 Feburary 2008 officially becoming their own nation after centuries of waiting for this day...it is def exciting to be apart of the first year of a nation's birth...i was in Iraq for their first Democratic Vote now Kosovo for the first full year of Independance.

here is me getting OC Sprayed....

Keep in mind i got Tazord and OC Sprayed in the same day...good times rock and roll. :)

Me getting tazored !!

Here is some of that HOOAH Army training I have been doing...hope ya'll enjoy the video, very short, but fairly funny...the next post will have video of me going through OC Spray !!

Christmas Leave

Hey hey everybody...what's going on ? Just got home for my Christmas Leave, got a few more days before i gotta head back to good ol' Indiana...not going to lie, not a fan of zero degree weather...oh well...hope everyone has a very merry christmas...