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!!!

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 !!