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...)