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What has changed?

When I left then-FOB now-COB Speicher in early 2004, things were different. This place was different, I was different, Iraq was different. What’s different? I can blog. Which means a bunch of other...

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Hypervigilance: A Daily Struggle

At 1005 the other morning, I was sitting in a conference room, listening to my heart. It was beating strong. It was beating a bit fast. More than anything, I wanted to put two fingers to my neck to...

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When in Iraq: How to End This Year on a High!

Inspired by this. Yes, it’s tongue-in-cheek. 1. Review the year that is about to end. Write down some of the highlights of all the good things that happened to you. Be sure to include all the basics...

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Why so serious?

I had a coworker ask me today why I’ve been so pissed off the last couple of days. It was as if time stopped. The words just hung there in the air, like cigarette smoke on a cold day. Pissed off? What...

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It’s election day

They’re going to the polls today, and I’m pretty excited about. It’s election day here in Iraq, with the citizens taking to the polls to elect members for their provincial councils. It’s these councils...

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The glory of the day, stolen

I have been looking forward to day all week long. I was hoping that today would be the day that the IHEC — Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission — would announce the preliminary results of the...

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On oportunity

I have been in Iraq now for over 100 days. I was in Hawaii for 4 or 5 weeks before coming to Iraq, and in Georgia (the state, not the country) for the 110 or 120 days before Hawaii. Since June, I’ve...

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Life and death and the stress of being deployed to war

I suspect that what I am about to say won’t be for everyone. Go ahead, skip this one. I won’t be offended. Our army is on the warpath again, this time trying to affect the suicide rate in the Army. The...

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The DNI Speaks Out

I haven’t really talked much about the Long War recently. Been kind of busy with it. A few pieces have been in the press recently. I am not going to try and sum them up, but am going to recommend going...

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30 June, or what it means to be out of the cities

Darkness in the neighborhood This was the view of my world, an hour before the start of 30 June. Dark, quite, not much moon. Alone. Many people, I suspect, fear darkness because of the great unknown....

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The Warrior Tours

Figured it out yet? That is, of course, me and Frank Shorter. Frank Shorter (book), winner of the gold medal in the marathon at the Munich ’72 Olympics (YouTube). And silver medal winner in the same...

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On sleep

My little experiment is over. It’s Sunday afternoon, and I just woke up from a 13 and a half hour sleep. I am feeling almost human. My little bi-phasic sleep experiment drew out of a need to be in the...

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The train derailment in Russia

CNN is just now starting to talk about a 1.5 meter by 1 meter hole under the railbed, and Russian assertions that — gasp! — this tragic accident may not be an accident but indeed the work of (dum, dum,...

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A Thousand and One Reasons

I have a thousand and one reasons to stop and reflect on all of the great running I have done in recent months. On Saturday morning, as I wrapped up an 11 mile run through my neighborhood, I passed the...

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The Sparta Challenge

I suppose I’ve always been known for having some crazy ideas. This, though, is probably pretty high up on the list of craziest things I’ve done. Over 30 calendar days, I just ran 300 miles. I didn’t...

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Iraq, the US, an American Vice President, and the Need to Keep Calm and Carry On

American Vice President Joe Biden has an interesting piece in the New York Times, here. His article starts off with all of the usual fluff, about how the US has stood by Iraq and her people and her...

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When ISIL Comes to America

The war in Iraq and Syria, being fought between Sunnis and the Shia backed governments there, is at risk for spilling over into the broader region. Americans fear that it’s going to come home to US...

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Teachers & Mentors

One of my most rewarding experiences in the Army was the time I spent both as a mentor and as a protege. I am proud to say that many of those relationships continue on today, just as I am proud to say...

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Before You Separate from the Army, Fix Your Records

I retired from the Army this spring. I didn’t want to. I had more years of service to the national left in me, more cans of whoop-ass, more things I could and wanted to do for the nation, for the Army,...

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As we use to say, History is Written By the Winners

I still love that quote, from George Orwell. It was the title of a column he wrote in 1944, you can read it here. I bring it up because China – the People’s Republic of China, or as it’s also called,...

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