From Tri Guy to Safari Guy

Soccer Balls Galore!

2008-03-03T17:50:00.001+03:00

So many kids, so few balls. This picture if from the village of Agung, Uganda.

Susan from Tanzanite Jet, receiving a ball for the Tanzanian Women’s Team.

Letter from Civil Affairs Team:

2008-02-26T04:43:00.003+03:00

Chief,

Here are some photos of the balls that got handed out to Mama Hani's orphanage by one of the 402d Civil Affairs teams (SSG Countermine).Approximately half of the 80 children that she takes care of are either mentally or physically disabled. It is located in Garissa Kenya. The CA team goes there weekly. They also are organizing a soccer ball tournament in Garissa where they will hand out balls as prizes. The 350th is in Lamu, Kenya and they are also handing out balls. I will get something from them early next month. I am still waiting for the team in Yemen to send pix.

Thank you for your help by donating the balls to the CA teams to use.

v/r

LTC Largeman

THANK YOU! Soccer Ball Drive Contributors!

2008-02-26T01:17:00.004+03:00

Janet Abazzia and Matt Petzel

Albany Brick Company, NAWIC
Athens Gourmet
Athens Red Hat Sweeties
Marie Battaglioli, Foster & Company
Janice Francis, Heery
Susan Carson, NAWIC
Stacey Chapman
Glenn & Linda Chapman
Dr. and Carol Cuff
Ashley Dale, Barton Malow
Stephanie & Glenn Golias
Mike & Nicole Hovis
Nancy Juneau, Juneau Construction
Jeff Mason, Heery
Renee Johnson, Running Gazelle
National Association of Women in Construction - NAWIC
Brent & Anna Norman, Running Gazelle
Frank Riggs
Linda Smith, Heery
Society for Marketing Professional Services - SMPS
Diane Taylor, Sawhorse
Kim, Pete and Trent Waldrop
Sharon Whitfield, Heery
And more…

Be Careful!

2008-02-25T19:28:00.001+03:00

And more pictures...

2008-02-25T19:27:00.000+03:00

And more...

2008-02-25T19:26:00.000+03:00

More Pictures

2008-02-25T19:25:00.001+03:00

CW5 John Ely's Pictures

2008-02-25T19:23:00.001+03:00

Uganda Pet Monkey

2008-02-24T04:07:00.002+03:00

A kid with his pet monkey in Acet, Uganda. Nothing to do with the Soccer Drive (well, this kid did get to play) but cute and blogworthy anyway.

Let's All Play Football

2008-02-24T04:03:00.003+03:00

LETS ALL PLAY FOOTBALL (That’s African for Soccer).

Here is the local team on the ‘pitch’ at Atiak, Uganda. Note the soldier showing off his skills!

The Success of the Soccer Ball Drive

2008-02-24T03:49:00.003+03:00

Greetings, readers, and here is a long overdue Soccer Ball update. I am sure that you all are eagerly awaiting some feedback on all your time and effort in getting the balls shipped and donated.

At this point, over 200 soccer balls, various pumps, and several dozen shin guards and a tremendous amount of goodwill have been distributed to the following nations: Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya, Comoros, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The generosity and time that you folks have contributed to the Soccer Drive have made this effort a smashing success. Giving out the soccer balls may seem like a small thing, but this is the sort of good will that will lead to feelings of good will towards the United States and our people. The balls given out during this drive represent a tremendous gift to the people living in the nations of the Horn of Africa by helping us out with this mission, YOU, the reader, has contributed DIRECTLY to the war effort by providing the donations for this Soccer Ball Drive.

The following pictures were taken by a Civil Affairs /VETCP team who were in Uganda for the entire month of January. During their assistance visit there, these folks treated something on the order of 30,000 head of cattle, and vaccinated countless goats, cats, dogs and even a few monkeys. Oh, and they also managed to give out a few soccer balls. The team went to over twenty different villages in northern Uganda, villages that are technically refugee camps left over from Uganda’s civil unrest of the early 80’s. In some areas, these camps hold as many 100,000 people.

The Kids from the Ugandan Village of Olwiyo with a couple of the VETCAP security guys.

The Kids with their new soccer ball and one of the Vets at the Ugandan Village of Abili. Often, it was necessary to give the ball to the village elder (standing next to the vet) to prevent a “ruckus”.

Guest blog

2008-02-15T21:47:00.003+03:00

Command, Family and Friends,

Though we have only completed just over half of our six month rotation it has been a very successful and fulfilling rotation. CW4 Webb our instructor pilot, SFC Whitfield, operations NCO, and myself arrived in Djibouti on September 6th in relief of the Arkansas flight detachment. The addition of the second aircraft soon after, has more than doubled the monthly flight hours previously flown, and provided redundancy for critical missions. We are now flying over 110 hours a month and we expect this average to increase. The trans-Atlantic C-26 crossing was accomplished when CW4 Hardy Hay, operations officer, CW3 Robert Negron, safety officer and CW2 Alton Chapman, pilot extraordinaire flew over 8,385 miles. We have now flown in almost every country in the Horn of Africa including: Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Yemen. We have also flown to Madagascar and Rwanda in support of the expanding HOA mission. You will note most of our flights are conducted in civilian clothes; this is Foreign Clearance guide and U.S. Embassy requirement for most of Africa.

We are continually amazed at the immensity and grandeur of Africa, the richness of its peoples and the changing beauty of the land. We have many opportunities to interact with the African people on our missions and throughout our travels. CW2 Alton Chapman and CW4 Jeff Webb both have had very generous friends and church groups that have sent them soccer balls and other equipment which we have had the pleasure of distributing to some very sincere and grateful people.

I am impressed with the leadership of HOA and how they conduct the mission. There is always a sincerity of purpose. They care for soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Their demonstration of care for the US tax dollar and Africans is evident in all they do. They believe in their mission statement and seek every day to make Africa a better place for Africans and the world. I truly believe that they are “Helping African’s Help African’s.”

The HOA mission is a lasting presence. They are helping to build schools, roads, water wells and help create infrastructure. I see enthusiasm and a true commitment and dedication from these soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines down range making all of this happen. This is a very rewarding mission. Additional information on the horn of Africa mission (HOA) can be found on the following website: www.hoa.centcom.mil.

Our unit will redeploy by the end of March, we look forward to our return to our friends and families. Thanks you for your continued support.

CW5 John Ely
GAARNG, AV
Detachment 9 OSA, Commanding

Sorry for Delay

2008-02-15T21:44:00.001+03:00

Folks,
We have been flying so much that it has been hard to find time to let you know what is going on. We are scheduled to come home sometime in March. The exact timeframe keeps changing, so once we know for sure I will let you know.

Thank you for your continued support.

A few more of Gulu

2008-01-14T21:49:00.000+03:00

This is a view of the houses in Gulu. These particular homes were located right next to the runway across the street from the airfield. In addition to all the kids that came out to greet us, the place was just bustling with activity, with lots of people moving up and down the road to and from the market. You would see the local women coming back from shopping balancing these impossible loads up on their heads. I guess that is what you do in Uganda when you don't have the luxury of SUV's and a cart. I am hoping that on our return trip to Gulu I will be able to get some pictures of the kids playing with their new soccer balls that you all donated.

More Pictures of the kids in Gulu

2008-01-14T21:40:00.000+03:00

As promised, here are the pictures of the kids at Gulu, Uganda. They were really having a great time, smiling and laughing and just being kids. This of course proves my theory that kids in general can tune out the reality of their everyday situation and just concentrate…..on having fun. What a concept, the world woud be a better place if adults could learn to do that more often. Especially politicians and third world dictators.

Here I am handing out sodas. May their parents please forgive me! Although, my guess is that these little guys do not need to be told to “Put up the ^%$# video games and go play outside!”

Gulu Pictures

2008-01-08T20:57:00.003+03:00

Above: Village at Gulu Above: The Kids at Gulu hamming it up!

These photos were taken at Gulu, and are of the village just across from the air strip.

I have more pictures, but I am having trouble uploading them. More to follow.

The Sunset View over the Mozambique Channel

2008-01-06T11:59:00.000+03:00

I snapped this picture while at 23,000 feet on our way to Madacascar. Looks like I am getting the hang of this picture taking thing!

Gulu and Entebbe Uganda

2008-01-04T19:41:00.000+03:00

Earlier in December, Hardy and I had a three day trip down to Uganda. It was a fascinating trip, as we got to stay in a hotel right next to Lake Victoria, which is the second largest lake in all of Africa, and is also the head waters for the mighty Nile River.

Our first stop on this trip was airport at Entebbe. Entebbe, if you remember your history, was the location of the famous Israeli raid to free a hijacked airliner from terrorists working for the Ugandan dictator at the time, Idi Amin. This raid took place in the summer of 1977-and was remarkable for the speed and accuracy with which the Israeli commandos accomplished their mission. The commandos flew non-stop from Israel in C-130’s and executed an assault on the airfield that resulted in none of the hostages at the airfield being killed. The Israeli’s managed to kill all the terrorists (always a good thing in my book) while they themselves sustained only one casualty, the man who lead the raid. Sadly, (and in true to their cowardly nature) the terrorists murdered the only hostage that was not at the airport at the time. This man was in a Ugandan Hospital and Idi Amin ordered him killed after the success of the raid.

The old control tower is still there, and you can still see the bullet holes left by the Israeli heavy weapons during the assault. The Ugandans have erected a plaque there to honor those killed in the raid, and to condemn the rule of Idi Amin.

Later in the same trip, we got to play the part of true African Bush Pilots. We had to drop some passengers to a remote airfield to the north of Entebbe called Gulu. It’s a nice, long runway, and it’s even paved (although the surface is somewhat questionable) but it’s truly out in the bush. No runway lights, no instrument approaches, no control tower. The airfield information said to beware of animals on the runway. So when we made approach into Gulu, we left the gear up and did a low level pass over the runway at about 300 feet above ground level. We didn’t see any animals, but we sure did scare the heck out of a local who was riding down the runway on a moped for some reason. As it turns out, this fellow was just doing his job ensuring that the runway was clear of animals for our arrival. We sure got his attention with the low pass though.

Gulu is what I always imagined that the African Bush would look like. It is a lush green place, located on a high flat plain, surrounded by tall grass and trees. To the east of the runway, right outside the fence was a thatched hut village. Upon landing we got a very friendly welcome from the folks there, and had a lot of fun passing sodas to the kids just outside the fence line. They congregated quickly after our arrival, hamming it up for the camera and generally having a great time just like kids anywhere else. I am guessing that they probably had not ever seen a Metroliner before.

All of this kind of makes our ‘hanging chads’ look silly, doesn’t it?

2008-01-04T19:36:00.000+03:00

Hey folks….I do not know if this has garnered much attention back home, but I wanted to let you all know about the current situation ongoing in Kenya as you are reading this. Kenya is currently experiencing some pretty bad violence associated with their presidential election. As of this writing, (according to the AP) approximately 135 people have been killed in post election fighting between rival supporters of the two candidates. The cause of the initial violence was the disputed victory of the incumbent president. Apparently he had been trailing in all the Election Day polls, but when the official results were declared, he had retaken the lead, and the government declared him the winner. However, the opposition refused to accept this outcome, and declared their candidate the winner.

I have been told the actual policy differences between the two politicians is quite minor, but there supporters are split down ethnic and tribal lines. Tribal and ethnic affiliations play a large role in African affairs, and it is difficult for me as a westerner to understand why this election has sparked so much unrest.

At any event I feel for Kenya…especially the innocent victims of the clashing tribes. Kenya is a fantastic nation, and a strong ally of the United States. They have probably the fastest growing economy in Africa, with a nation rich in natural resources and rich in human resources as well. Kenya is a spectacularly beautiful place-a vast hilly green land, with everything from tropical savannahs to desert in the north.

Please keep Kenya in your prayers and thoughts as her people struggle to come to grips with this election. The people of Kenya have always treated us well, and I can only hope that those folks have managed to avoid the current trouble down there. On a positive note, I have heard from people in the know (sorry I cannot reveal more about who told me this) that despite the violence there is a sense among the people there that this will pass relatively quickly and things will return back to normal. One can only hope so.
All of this kind of makes our ‘hanging chads’ look silly, doesn’t it?

More Whale Shark Pictures!!!

2008-01-04T15:56:00.001+03:00

Kim and I on the boat ride out to see the Sharks!

Whale Shark Pictures

2008-01-04T15:46:00.000+03:00

Whale Shark getting ready for a snack!

WHALE SHARKS

2008-01-04T15:41:00.000+03:00

The late fall and early winter time mean one thing in the coastal waters of Djibouti: WHALE SHARK time. Every winter, these truly magnificent fish swim west bound up the bay in Djiboutian coastal waters (well, actually, I am told this is the time of year that they migrate all around the eastern coast of Africa…at least in the waters just to the north and south of the equator.) I must confess that I am ignorant as to exactly why they are migrating but they do. And in doing so, the swim relatively close to shore in the coastal waters around here, feeding on plankton as they go.
The fortunate thing for those of us out here in CJTF-HOA is that the good folks at MWR (Morale Welfare and Recreation) managed to lay on some charter boats to allow us the opportunity to swim with the Whale Sharks. So, naturally, there wasn’t any way I was going to pass up a chance to actually see these guys in the wild.
We had to depart Camp Lemonier early in the morning, So Rob, Kim and I caught the charter bus with the sunrise out to the docks in the Port Of Djibouti. Once there, we loaded up and were headed out along the coast for our big adventure. The Chartered boat was a large traditional Djiboutian fishing boat that had been converted for charter and dive operations, and we were joined by approximately 20 other folks from the camp.
The trip out was awesome….calm waters, slight cool breeze blowing and not a cloud in the sky. It took us about an hour and half to get to the initial point, where we anchored at got a chance to dive on a shallow reef while awaiting the arrival of the sharks. The reef was probably the most pristine I have seen since coming on this trip. I saw all sorts of fish, a moray eel, and blue spotted ray and a sea turtle. It was incredible.
We soon got the call that whale sharks had been spotted, so we loaded up in the boat and headed up the coast line to find them. About ten minutes later….one of the guides saw the tale tell signs of the tall dorsal fins protruding just above the water while the sharks swim slowly along, feeding. It was time to swim with the sharks.
We loaded up into smaller, faster boats with outboard motors and quickly took off after the sharks. While waiting for the boats to get to the sharks, we all put on our snorkeling gear, to be ready to jump overboard as quickly as possible. As soon as a guide would spot the sharks, the little boats would speed up ahead of them, cut the power to the motor and we would jump of the boat into the path of the sharks. (Yeah, I know, it sounds a bit strange to be jumping out of a perfectly good boat into the path of oncoming sharks…).
SPLASH! You would hit the water…wait for all the bubbles to clear, and then,…..looming out of the dark, deep blue color of the sea, this HUGE creature would be swimming right towards you. It was amazing-these animals are so big, and so beautiful, and they just don’t care that you are there. They are busy eating the plankton…and you just have to get out of the way.
The first shark I saw had to be at least 18 feet long. She was just swimming along, seeming effortless, with her big tail swinging gracefully back and forth. I quickly changed direction and began to swim parallel with her, less than a foot from pectoral fins and gills. I could see her looking at me with her eye…simply amazing. I had to really swim pretty quickly to keep up, even though this shark looked like she was just swimming along with no effort. Every now and then, she would find a dense pocket of plankton, and she would open her mouth wide, arch her back and filter a tremendous amount of sea water through her gills, getting a nice mouthful of the tiny creatures. One could think of this as a sort of whale shark floating buffet, I guess.
All in all it was a fantastic day. I love the water as it is, and having to opportunity to swim with these animals is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Rob and Kim had a blast as well….getting the same chance as I did to swim up close and personal with a whale shark.
It is times like these that make me thankful that I signed my name on the dotted line. Sometimes, the military opens up doors that would otherwise never been open to you…and it makes you realize that in the big scheme of things, this is a pretty good job!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T16:43:00.000+03:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!! I cannot believe that the busy holiday season has come and gone. I wanted to take a moment to wish everybody out there in blog land a long overdue MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR. I hope that everyone back home had a truly happy holiday season. I am hoping that somebody out there even got a white Christmas. Having a white Christmas is something that we don’t really have to worry about here in Djibouti. I think the daytime high on Christmas Day here was a chilly 88 degrees F. You might even say that we have been having a Djiboutian cold snap.

We have been busy flying all around the horn. Since I last updated you folks, we have had numerous missions –flying to places like Aden, Yemen, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Gulu and Entebbe Uganda, and back down to the Comoros. I even managed to get in an overnight in Madagascar. (And no, sorry to disappoint but there were no animated animals running around) It’s been busy-but that’s ok, we are doing what we came here to do. Not to mention the view from 20000 feet gets pretty spectacular.

Everyone in the office got lots of support from the folks back home. Packages, cards, and almost daily reminders from you all at home helped us keep our spirits up over the holiday season. Thank you all very much!

Soccer Ball Drive UPDATE:

2008-01-03T16:39:00.000+03:00

Hey folks, just a quick note to let you know the first shipment of soccer balls have been uploaded to the Civil Affairs. They are leaving here soon to do a mission downrange. I don’t want to disclose the where and when’s just yet, but it will be a remote location out in the ‘bush’ as we call it here in Africa. The CA team will be conducting a VETCAP as well as other missions. The CA folks have promised me pictures and possibly a guest blogging, so I will keep you posted.

Today Jeff and John departed for a mission with a fuel stop in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania. Jeff Webb’s church has put together a soccer drive as well, and they have collected approximately 200 balls. We loaded some of these balls, the shin guards you guys sent, and some pumps in the aircraft. Our Handler (a handler is somebody who takes care of filing our flight plans, coordinating for fuel, parking, customs, basically anything that we might need as a crew) at Dar is woman named Susan. She is on the cutting edge of women in business in Africa- She has a remarkable story. She was born in Tanzania, but educated in the US. She gained experience as an aircraft maintainer for Comair. (Comair is ASA’s sister Delta Connection Carrier, based in Cincinnati Ohio.) She worked on numerous airframes for a number of years before returning to Tanzania to found her business, Tanzanite Jet. Now her company provides Handling Services for every major air port in Tanzania. This is a remarkable accomplishment for anyone, let alone a woman starting a business in a male dominant society located in Africa that is approximately fifty per cent Muslim. She is going to take Jeff’s soccer balls to a local orphanage there in Dar to be distributed to the children. Again she promised pictures so I will keep you all posted.

School Construction

2007-12-17T04:07:00.000+03:00

School Construction Assessment with the Sea Bees in Comoros. The two civilians are from the State Department.

Faces of the the Soccer Ball Drive

2007-12-17T04:01:00.000+03:00

Children of Djibouti

Chaplain’s Assistant at School dedication, shaking hands with the future grads

Outside the Wire

2007-12-17T03:55:00.000+03:00

The Navy Chaplain having story time with the kids.

Well Dedication ceremony, Djibouti.

REALITY CHECK

2007-12-17T03:53:00.000+03:00

I have had more than a few comments on how this particular deployment resembles more a vacation or a documentary one might see on the Travel Channel. Ok. You got me with that one. I won’t spend one minute denying that we in the C26 Detachment have it pretty good here. Primarily any deployment where the locals aren’t shooting at you or detonating car bombs in your immediate vicinity, then one cannot complain. In fact, as much as I hate to admit it, the US Navy has put a tremendous effort in taking care of us. They have really done an outstanding job. Our job is easy…but not everybody has it as good as we do.

I cannot begin to describe the poverty I have seen here. It is a overwhelming, crushing type of poverty that robs people of the will to live. Lack of water, lack of basic infrastructure, lack of food, medicine…the list goes on and on. We live in a completely different world. In fact, we might as well be on another planet all together. There is untold violence here, such as the ethnic cleansing in Sudan, and diseases and parasites we in the West have never seen before. It is not a pretty picture. Outside the major cities there are no malls, drive through restruants, a general lack of paved roads, electricity, sewage service.

Yet, despite all the hardship the people here (particularly the Djiboutians) are friendly and maintain an upbeat attitude. It’s like that in many of the countries I have been too-they just keep working against overwhelming obstacles to get the same thing we want back in the U.S.-having a family, and the pursuit of happiness. It is a truly humbling thing to view the world through this perspective.

You folks out there in Blog land actually reading this should know of the efforts of the other personnel on here at CJTF-HOA. These folks are here doing the real work. This is truly a combined effort here, with military personnel as diverse as combat engineers, civil affairs teams, The Sea Bee’s (the US Navy’s combat engineers…although, don’t tell them they are in the Navy. They consider themselves to be their own entity, and let me tell you…they are some of the hardest working people I have ever met) Combat Camera (and Air Force media unit) Military Vets, Doctors and the Chaplin Corp. We also have some US Army Infantry units from Guam and some Marine Infantry working with the Task Force. (These folks not only provide us with force protection and security, but they also train with the forces of the nations we are working with here in Africa). All of these soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen are actually out in the ‘bush’ as we call it-working hand in hand with local populations. It is tough, hard work that is rarely if ever mentioned in the mass media. While these folks are not chasing down terrorists, what they are doing is a vital relevant mission.

Most of these service people spend very limited time here in Camp Lemonier. The vast majority of their time is spent outside the wire, enduring the same harsh conditions as the locals (no hotel rooms for them…most of them live in tents or locally aqquired housing) eating MRE’s if they are lucky. They have little or no access to the luxuries we take for granted here at Camp Lemonier. But, despite the conditions, I rarely if ever hear them complain.

The missions are almost too numerous to mention. Some of the major ones include drilling wells, building schools and infrastructure projects, medical missions and vet missions call MEDCAPS or VETCAPS (performing simple medical procedures on people and animals that you and I take for granted but are almost unheard of here in Africa). It is hard, thankless work. But, to a man (or woman) they all LOVE the mission they are doing. Many of these people tell me it is quite rewarding to be hands on involved in helping the people from the host nations attain a better life. It is an amazing display of the American Spirit….and it is an important tool in the fight against extremism. You should all be very proud of what the military is doing here. Watching these young service people at work here really does put a dent in the media portrayal of the youth of America as wholly lost and stuck on watching MTV all the time.

It is my intent to document more of this, and get some more of the gritty stuff so you all can see a little better picture of reality here on the ground in Africa instead of documenting all the different hotel overnights of we C26 Guys.

Soccer Ball Drive Update

2007-12-17T03:41:00.000+03:00

Well folks, A quick update on the Soccer Ball drive: Two days ago(on the 12th of December ) we received our first two boxes of soccer balls from you folks back home. We received one box from Super Stacey and another from Janet Abbazzia. So that gives us a total of 18 balls received so far. So we are well on the way to the start of a great Soccer Ball Drive!

A quick admin note: The Navy has informed me of an address change. Our new address is:

CW2 Alton G Chapman

C26 DET
FPO, AE 09363-9998

It goes into effect in approximately sixty days, so you should be good if you use the old address until then. However, I think that using the new address will be fine. After 60 days you will have to use the new address. Thanks for all your support! It is going to be a great drive!

Another Djibouti Poem by the Stump (AKA Mr. Hovis)

2007-12-14T18:33:00.000+03:00

So what the hell, I think its swell, that you're full of Christmas Cheer.
But you're there in Djibouti, doing your duty, and I know you'd rather be here.

The guys in Iraq are given no slack, and the same can be said of you.
You can still go jog or work on your blog, and still be serving too.

No matter the task, they have only to ask, and the Guard will be ready to go.
Your lives on the line, for your country and mine, ready to fight any foe.

Our Christmas, I fear, will lose some of its cheer, knowing that you won't be at the table,We're proud of you all, for standing so tall, you've been ready, willing, and able.

So MERRY CHRISTMAS to you, THANKS for all that you do,
Don't cut those bad guys no slack. Have fun in Djibouti; you're doing your duty,
Be careful! We want you all back!

Twas the Night Before Christmas - Djibouti Style

2007-12-11T04:37:00.000+03:00

Twas the night before Christmas - Santa wanted to hide,
He had just taken and failed his yearly check-ride.
The examiner said, trying not to sound sappy,
Your takeoff was fine, but your landing was crappy.

“The children!” said Santa, “will have nothing to savor,
What's the chance, just this once, of getting a waiver?”
“No way!” Said the FAA-man; you must make other plans,
To deliver your toys to all of the lands.

While down in Djibouti, all snug in their beds,
With visions of home going round in their heads,
Was a unit from Georgia of the Army National Guard,
No mission too small, No mission too hard.

While Santa was thinking, this is a heck of a fix,
When he suddenly thought of the C26
I'll bet that this unit is looking for action,
And I with their help, I'll get satisfaction.

Santa reached for the hot line, and his eyes got all steely,
And he said to himself, I'll just call John Ely.
There are children all over from Djibouti to Fargo,
Looking to you guys to carry my cargo.

Then Chief John told the group, we will do what we can,
To deliver their toys to kids all over the land.
Then Jeff told Hardy, I'm feeling down cast,
Cause to cover the world, we can't fly that fast.

Then Kimberly said, don't be an old Grinch,
I'll tweak up the engine with elf dust and this wrench.
You can depend on me to do my duty,
I'll have this thing ready to fly from Djibouti.

Big Al and Dupree got their maps in a pile,
And both of them said, "This might take a while"
Then Al had a thought that was very pleasant,
I have a GPS I was giving as a present.

We will do what we can, and do our darn best,
We will start in Djibouti and then deliver the rest
Al said, “I will run, swim or fly
Whatever it takes, I will give it a TRI

They pushed up the throttle, and started their roll,
It looked like the guys had it under control.
The plane started airborne and away it flew,
With a plane full of toys and St. Nicolas too.

While Santa, in back was checking his list,
Thank God for the Guard, no child will be missed.
Then I heard him exclaim as they flew out of sight,
“Merry Christmas from Djibouti…Ya'll have a good night!”

Keep Those Soccer Balls Coming!

2007-12-05T22:24:00.000+03:00

Friends,

The outpouring of support has been great! The Soccer Ball Drive has gotten off to a very successful start. We have received support from the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Region 2, the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Atlanta Chapter, the folks at Heery International, Foster & Company, Barton Malow, Albany Brick Co. and so many more - thank you! We have also been collecting toothbrush kits, individual toothbrushes and toothpaste as well as sunglasses as requested by the Chaplain.

If you don't mind, if you are sending soccer balls, please let Stacey know - she is keeping a log of how many are coming our way. Thank you Anna for sending some pumps and needles! Those are great and necessary and we will probably need more. Sports Authority online will ship directly to Djibouti and have balls for as little as $8.00. The address to send to is:

CW2 Alton G. Chapman

C-26 CJTF-HOA

APO AE 09363

Many Thanks to everyone! Happy Holidays!

And you thought I was Suffering...Let the Good Times Roll (But not really!)

2007-11-28T21:16:00.000+03:00

Camp Life & Our Veterans (Better late than NEVER!)

2007-11-28T21:09:00.001+03:00

I have a had a few requests for the nature of Camp Life over here, ( and a few other thoughts) so here goes:

Camp Lemonier is actually pretty impressive, considering that the whole place was constructed on an old, deteriorated French base. For a remote area outside the main city-things are pretty good for us. The runway at the airfield is first rate, and its over 10,000 feet long, and the surface rivals any runway you would find in the states. It isn’t as well lit as runways in the States, but all in all not bad. (It makes flying in here at night one of those “black hole” approaches that the pilots out there will be familiar with).

The Camp itself is pretty nice, we get decent food and we have a few luxury items to keep us entertained on our off days. There is a gym, a little movie theater, and a coffee shop. They even have a little NEX (Navy Exchange). The gym is good enough that I have no excuse in not being in tip-top condition for the St. Anthony’s Triathlon when I get home. (well, that and Stacey has been riding her cute rear end off, so I better keep at it, or she might drop me on the bike like a bad habit).

We actually stay pretty busy, and most weeks both aircraft are flying all over the horn. On our off days we try and catch up on admin duties, go to the gym, and keep ourselves entertained. We usually get up around 630 or so (some later than others!) hot breakfast and go the office…which is actually a tent with wooden floors. There we do mission planning, admin stuff or whatever. Poor John and Hardy get to go to a lot of official meetings-the Navy apparently loves meetings as much as the Army does.

Most nights we watch movies or surf the internet, and occasionally hit the Cantina for our officially sanctioned three (3 only!) beers. So all in all, life is good. Other than being over here in the first place I have no complaints at all. I just miss Stacey and everybody at home.
Having said that, please, keep in your thoughts and prayers those soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors who are actually in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places. These kids are the true heros…they are making an enormous sacrifice, one that you cannot possibly imagine unless you have actually been in that situation. Talk to any Viet Nam veteran, and you will get a sense of what I am talking about.

Speaking of which, although I am a little late for this (Veteran’s Day) please take time out to thank any and all Viet Nam vets you might come across…they did a remarkable job in the face of a world and a nation that treated them with derision and disdain. They didn’t get the support that we are getting today. We all owe them tremendous thank yous. I firmly believe that their sacrifice was instrumental in eventually winning the Cold War.

To the Soldiers Before Us and After Us....

Thanksgiving Photos at the DFAC

2007-11-26T19:03:00.001+03:00

In the Wise Words of Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna take it!

2007-11-26T17:39:00.000+03:00

After months (well, a few years, actually) of listening to and enduring the opinions of politicians, editorial writers, news pundits, bloggers, and various and sundry other people express their opinions about the war, I have decided to express MY thoughts for a change. I guess I have earned the right to do so, given the fact I have actually been to some of the places all these so called experts are talking about.

I assume that I will be expressing my views to people that are largely sympathetic to my point of view. So, if you are offended by politically incorrect sentiments, now is your chance to tune this blog out (at least for the day). First off, this is my opinion, and does NOT reflect any official position of the US Army, DOD, or CJTF-HOA. So here we go…..

As all of you might have guessed, I am a supporter of our missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa. I truly believe that our cause is a noble and just one, and that this current war represents the biggest struggle our nation has faced since World War II and the Cold War. I have grown sick and tired of politicians on both sides of the aisle bending and twisting the facts of the current world situation to support whatever agenda that they might be pushing. Then of course every somewhat successful actor, reality show star, sports figure or other self appointed expert parrots the arguments they overheard from other equally obtuse anti war pundits. I have a few words of advice for them: SHUT UP. No, really. Please, just SHUT UP. We have heard all the inane, pointless, “America is bad and imperialist…they are only terrorists because of us” argument a thousand times over. I have some advice for you: before you run off at the mouth because you think that your opposition to this war makes you some how super intellectual or makes you feel less guilty about being an American, do a little research (unbiased, please) about the roots of this war before you start talking or writing your opinions.

I have a bit of unsettling news for you politicians out there: This war, will continue on regardless of which group of politicians manages to get their hands on power this upcoming election. And guess what: WE ARE IN IRAQ, SO THE DEBATE ABOUT HOW WE GOT THERE IS COMPLETELY IDIOTIC AND A WASTE OF TIME. The only thing that matters at this point is pulling together and winning this war. Quit sayings it’s unwinnable because you have NO idea what you are talking about. It is such an easy thing to critique this war with a slick, prepared, press release from your PR advisor from the safety of a cushy office in Washington DC as opposed to actually talking with the soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors who are actually downrange. Just because this war is no easy thing isn’t any reason to give up and leave those who support us in Iraq and Afghanistan to whims and mercy of the radical islamists. Make no mistake, our enemy in this war is willing to strap bombs on their women and children to kill us…they make no distinction between civilian and military targets, and THEY WILL NOT STOP if we withdraw from Iraq and go home. This is not a problem we can negotiate away. Our only option is to defeat the enemy. Period.

I also have strong words for our so called “unbiased media” : I don’t CARE what your opinion is, or if you hate the war and your own country. The whole idea of being a reporter is to completely COVER the story without the interference of the lens that is your opinion. At least take the time to actually research things before you put them into print. All I ask is to report both sides of a story, or at least turn a critical eye toward the press releases of the enemy. You know, the terrorists are pretty good at using you media types as a mouth piece for their propaganda. I suppose that reporting facts, even if they don’t support your particular point of view, is something that modern journalists don’t want to be bothered with. I find it ironic that now that the surge is going full swing and the military’s offensive against the terrorists seems to be making gain, all we get to read about is the daily body count, the contractor scandal, the expense of the war, anything but the tactical success on the battlefield. Why is that, I wonder?

To quote General Sanchez, former Commander in Iraq:

"For some it seems that as long as you get a front-page story, there is little or no regard for the collateral damage that will be caused. Personal reputations sometimes have no value. They report with total impunity, and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct. Given the near instantaneous ability to report actions on the ground, the responsibility to accurately and truthfully report takes on an unprecedented importance. The speculative and often uninformed initial reporting that characterizes our media appears to be rapidly becoming the standard of the industry.

"Once reported, your assessments become conventional wisdom and nearly impossible to change. Your unwillingness to accurately and prominently correct your mistakes and your agenda-driven biases sometimes contributes to this corrosive environment. All these challenges combined create a media environment that does a tremendous disservice to America, in some instances. Over the course of this war, tactically insignificant events have become strategic defeats for our country because of the tremendous power and impact of the media -- and by extension, you individually, the journalists.

"My assessment is that your profession, to some extent, has strayed from these worthy ethical standards and has allowed external agendas to manipulate what the American public sees on TV, what they read in our newspapers, and what they see and read on the Web. For some of you, just like some of our politicians, the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit your own preconceived notions, biases, or agendas."

We have got to understand that despite what we have been told over the past twenty years or so by the politically correct media, that the US, and indeed Western Civilization, is, in fact, worth defending. I know this because I have seen it firsthand. True, we do in fact have problems in the West. But we got a lot right- and I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the United States and our western allies represent a much brighter future than the alternative presented by radical Islam.

HappyThanksgiving from Djibouti

2007-11-22T13:58:00.000+03:00

Hello everybody! I just wanted to take a few moments to wish all of you a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Thank you all for your support! Since I cannot be with all of you on this special day, I hope that you all realize how much I miss you and I am thinking of you all everyday. I am truly a lucky man to have the life that I have, and could not do what I do with out the support of my wife, Stacey, (hi Honey!) and my family. I have so much to be thankful for, it would be hard to find the words to express it in a truly heartfelt way with out my words coming out like a bad hallmark card.
Have a Happy, blessed Thanksgiving, everyone of you.

Cheers to you all!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-20T18:05:00.001+03:00

http://www.cpmsglife.org/tg/2006tdm1.html

Big Al's Soccer Drive For The Kids

2007-11-19T21:43:00.000+03:00

Hey everyone! Sorry to dissapoint, it's just Stacey here.

First, I know Al thanked you guys for reaching out to him and sending him mail, but I also wanted to say THANK YOU for being so kind and keeping his spirits high over there. Between his good friends - and my wonderful friends, he has been getting a lot of mail and packages. I joke that he is probably the most popular kid at camp!

So, I mentioned to some of you that Al was going to talk to the Chaplain about sending soccer balls to him for the kids. According to Al, the kids there love soccer, but very few of them have a decent ball to play with. So, he wanted to do something nice. The soccer balls will provide a spark in an environment filled with poverty and deprivation. It's a small act that will bring great joy to many of the kids as they get the opportunity to be "kids." This will mean alot in their continuing effort of creating more friends than enemies over there.

Marie Battaglioli and her friends and colleagues at Foster & Company sent the first soccer ball. They sent it fully inflated and it arrived with no problem. I have went online to see if there were directions for the best way to send them but I couldn't find anything concrete either way. I saw one site said to just mail them (this was for an Iraq Soccer Ball Drive) and then another said to send them deflated - we should also include a few pumps. I will continue to investigate this - if you know anymore than I do, please email me or post to the comments section at the bottom of this particular blog.

Additionaly, the Chaplain said that cheap sunglasses and travel kits of toothbrushes and toothpaste were also big hits!

So...do you want to make a little kid's eyes light up like it's Christmas morning even though the child knows nothing of Christmas? This is not really an effort to get these to them by Christmas but to still give them the joyous feeling that Christmas brings to so many children here in the United States.

Okay, so with that said....if you want to participate in "Big Al's Soccer Drive" - email me at schapman@heery.com. I can provide you the address, if you don't already have it or we can work together to get them shipped out. Check out the YOU TUBE to the left: Soccer African Style.

Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Stacey (and Al!)

REVISED TO ADD:

If you send soccer balls deflated, you can send several in a FLAT RATE box and save some money! All items mailed will need a customs form. AND Stephanie has taught me that mailing from the post office is cheaper than mailing from a UPS Store.

The Gigantic Bats of Comoros

2007-11-13T20:53:00.000+03:00

Our latest mission sent us out over the Ocean once again, this time out to the Island Nation of Comoros. Comoros is a small Island chain of the coast of Southern Kenya and Tanzania. It is located just to the east of Madagascar and is a former French Colony. The Islands are all volcanic, and are quite isolated. It is a majority Muslim nation, and CJTF-HOA is performing humanitarian assistance there in the form of Navy Sea Bee’s (think combat engineers for the Navy and Marines…very hard working people) and Civil Affairs teams. The Sea Bee’s are building wells and helping with school construction and the Civil Affairs teams are working with the local people. The State Department has USAID people here as well.

The mission in Comoros goes to the very heart of what our mission is over here. The mission, contrary to what you might think after reading my blog is not so we C26 guys can just fly around Africa. Our mission is to show that the US is NOT the nation that is shown in extremist Islamic propaganda, or what the people of the nations here in Africa learn about us from Hollywood. We are here to help-which prevents groups from Al-Qaeda and other such nut jobs from gaining toeholds in nations that have so far avoided embracing radical Islam. For what it is worth, I think the mission is worthwhile and is working. I will try to a better job of covering what our sister services are doing here. These folks deserve a lot of recognition for what they are doing.
Comoros has had some issues in the past-this tiny Island nation has had something on the order of 27 coups since gaining its Independence from the French. Needless to say, this instability hasn’t helped out in the ole progress part.

This is a cash only Island, and when we landed at the Airport in Maroni, a small army of people came out of the wood work with various papers and forms for us to fill out so we could be charged appropriately. This took place before we could even get the passengers off loaded. Several women clad in the traditional hijab (with an Island twist though…the garb here was full of color, as opposed to the plain black or other drab colors in other Islamic nations) came up to me looking to collect money for an organization known as (and no, I am not making this up) The Agency For Safe and Secure Navigation in Africa and Madagascar. I think we would up paying over 700 bucks for various charges ranging in navigation fees, airport fees, taxes, and the ever mysterious airway fix usage fee.

After we filled out our paperwork, we headed out across the Island to our Hotel. It was about a 45 minute ride over the ridge to the other side of the island. We learned that out hotel was fortunate enough to have a back-up generator and its own water system, since both utilities are subject to frequent interruption. During dinner, the power did go out….but luckily the hotel’s generator did its job.

Thank You for Your Continued Support.

2007-11-12T01:43:00.000+03:00

I was sitting around Camp Lemonier today and thought that before I get too much further along in this blog, I need to take a few minutes and express my sincere thanks to all of you who actually read this blog, and more importantly, all of you that have taken the time to write me, post comments or otherwise support me during this deployment. I cannot articulate with adequate words how great it is to know that you folks take time out of your lives to think of me and my fellow servicemen (and women!) over here at CJTF-HOA. (Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa).

People are constantly thanking me for my service, but you all should know that I am…indeed all of us, are very thankful for the support. Without your support we would not be able to do this mission, or indeed any mission in this war on terror. It just is not possible without your prayers, support, letters and thoughts.

So without further ado (and in no particular order) a huge, heartfelt thanks goes out to the following people:

Stacey Chapman, Steve and Vicky Hovis, my Mom, my Dad, Laura Chapman (Surf’s Up Sis), Pete, Kim and Trent Waldrop, Jeff and Joanna Lether, Angie and Beth, Kim Cameron, Diane Taylor, Janet and Matt, Barb, Sharon Ealy (now Whitfield), Gina G., Diane Dial and Family, Frank and Kathy Conrad, Stephanie and Glenn,(all the guys love their cards Stephanie!) Hansel, Pepper, and Earl, Kevin and Krista Reilly, Janis Francis, Rhonda Kemp (and all her kids at school), Anna and Brent, Greg, Renae and Jake, all my Tri friends at Get Fit Atlanta, (Thanks Dana!), Lynette and Sam Rickman, Todd Ballew, and Q100 for the Write a Soldier Campaign (for Thanksgiving).

In the unfortunate event that I missed someone, please forgive my oversight. You all are great, and I cannot thank you enough. Every one of you gives me innumerable reasons to do this job, and the mission that we do IS NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE SUPPORT LOVE AND PRAYERS OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AND GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Until next time....

Kilimanjaro II

2007-11-03T05:11:00.000+03:00

These two pictures are of Mt. Kilimanjaro as we passed by on departure at 20,000 FT.

Kilimanjaro Pictures As Promised

2007-11-03T05:09:00.001+03:00

Top three pictures are actually in Mombassa Kenya. Mombassa is located on the east coast (Indian Ocean) side of Kenya. Bottom photo is of Kilimanjaro during the approach to Kili Airfield.

Containerized Living Units - CLU Going Forward

2007-11-03T05:06:00.000+03:00

Here are my living quarters (called CLU's, Containerized Living Units) at Camp Lemonier: Not bad, considering we could be in Tents:

Mombassa Kenya, Kilimanjaro

2007-11-02T15:08:00.000+03:00

We fly all over the Horn of Africa: Here are some pictures from a recent trip to Mombassa Kenya and Tanzania. Mombassa is on the coast of Kenya on the Indian Ocean. We stayed in a really nice hotel with a safari style theme. We even had monkeys wandering around our porch. Unfortunately, I didnt get any pictures of the monkeys. Those little guys can be fast. While in Tanzania, we over nighted at an airfield near Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania. Tanzania is one of the nations in Africa that is doing fairly well. The roads are good, and the infastructure is good shape. Dar es Salaam,the capitol city (Meaning the place of Heaven in Arabic) is a modern place with a thriving economy. The Tanzanians are about 30% muslim and speak a mixture of english, and swahili. Despite the tribal history of this nation, Tanzania has for the most part put her tribal past behind and managed to forge a progressive modern nation. Also, there is no apparent tension between the muslim population and the other religous groups.

Pictures coming soon....

Camp Life at JABOOTI JABOOTI

2007-11-02T15:05:00.000+03:00

These are of Rob and I, and our office. Note the GA State Flag hanging on the wall.

Sharm el Sheik, Egypt

2007-11-02T15:03:00.000+03:00

Technical Difficulties....But up and running now!

2007-11-02T14:56:00.000+03:00

02 November 2007

Ok, sorry about the delay in updating the Blog. I have had a few technical difficulties and have been a little busy. So I thought I would add some pictures to give you all a feel for how life is here at Camp Lemonier and finish up the trip over. The mission here is keeping us busy, with the Navy getting alot of utilization out of both airplanes, they are keeping is pretty busy.

We are flying all over the Horn of Africa, which is good as it keeps us busy. It is starting to cool off a bit here. When we first arrived in Camp Lemonier the high temps during the day would routinely hit the 110 mark. It was hot, dry and dusty. The temperature is moderating a bit, with daytime highs now around the 100 degree mark.

Troon Scotland

2007-10-18T17:03:00.000+03:00

Our stay in Scotland was fantastic. The afternoon of our arrival, the clouds broke and we had perfect weather for our overnight there. From what I understand that the weather here is picky, so we were lucky to catch this great country under sunny skies.
We flew into the airport at Prestwick and the controllers sound so PROPER over the radio. They are somewhat hard to understand and the ICAO phraseology takes a little getting used to, but all in all it’s pretty much the same as flying in the US. Filing flight plans, however, is an entirely different thing……
We stayed in the Scottish town of Troon, which is world famous to all the golfers out there. Troon is great…it’s exactly what you think of when you think of a small town on the coast of Scotland. The town itself is very neat, with small grey building and cottages with narrow streets filled with traffic round-abouts. Being the UK they drive on the left side of the road, so you have to keep telling yourself “left left left” while you are driving. It takes some getting used to.
We had a great time sightseeing. We went to Castle Cullean (pronounced Ki-ll-ean) which dates back to the 12th century. It has been transformed over time into a manor house that is pretty spectacular. We investigated the country side and explored the ruins of a castle dating to the Dark Ages. And, of course, we hit up the local pubs. Pubs in the UK are nothing like the loud, smoke-filled places in the US. People from the town gather in the pubs to catch up, socialize and watch football (soccer) and rugby. Its great- you can actually talk and carry on a conversation. Not to mention that the beer is fantastic-the Guinness tastes so much better here than in the states for some reason.

2007-10-13T20:41:00.000+03:00

After our expensive overnight stay in Iceland, we woke up to a completely cloud free and wind free morning. It was freezing cold but the sky was a brilliant blue that framed the rising sun perfectly. At breakfast it was shaping up for a great flight across the rest of the Atlantic and on to Scotland.
We loaded up the ole Metroliner and got gassed up for the flight. The ramp by the FBO in Reykjavik is a pretty neat place, with all sorts of cool airplanes making the crossing between Europe, the United States and Canada. This morning the ramp was crowded with Challenger Jets and several light general aviation planes. The most interesting aircraft was a brand new Piaggio twin turbo prop airplane….it is an interesting sight because this particular aircraft is designed in a pusher configuration, with the props facing aft and mounted on the top of the wing. It’s a pretty futuristic design. I believe that this airplane is catching on in the states.
We were soon on our way, after a smooth take off we headed off to the east again…finally on our way to Europe. While climbing out we got a spectacular view of Iceland’s volcanic landscape….it was quite a sight. I caught glimpses of several geysers and old volcanoes, some of which were covered in glaciers. I can now understand why people would want to come here for vacation.
Unfortunately, while enroute to Prestwick, we caught up with the weather and the clouds again, obscuring our view of the ocean. It was shaping up to be a dull day when the said farewell the Iceland controllers and soon after were talking to the friendly people at Prestwick control. It was great to hear controllers speaking English again…even if it was in an accent that I usually associate with Monty Python. As we began our approach into Prestwick…the clouds began to break up and we got a great view of the lush green Scottish countryside.

Iceland

2007-10-12T13:25:00.000+03:00

Iceland is cool. It’s a big volcanic island with ice and snow in some parts. It is also the land of sucking money rapidly from tourists and transient flight crews.
We arrived in Iceland, finally getting out ahead of the slow moving weather. The approach was somewhat bumpy, but nearly as much as Greenland. We were in the clear on final.
The first thing we noticed was the cold, of course. It was freezing, and with the wind blowing it seemed even colder. We were glad to be here, on our way though. We quickly unloaded and headed for the hotel, which fortunately was within walking distance of the FBO.
It was a nice, modern hotel with a very much a Scandinavian flavor to it. There were all sorts of European tourists floating about…leaving no doubt in our mind that we had finally arrived in Europe.
Reykjavik is a very modern clean place. No trash or bill boards or anything. After we quickly checked in to our hotel, we caught a cab downtown for dinner. We wound up at a little pub in downtown Reykjavik. It had a sports bar kind of flavor to it…and the place was pretty deserted except for a few die hard locals watching soccer on the flat screen tv’s. Apparently, nobody goes out in Iceland except very late at night on the weekends. However….I spent 40 bucks on two beers, a chicken sandwhich(think frozen chicken patty) and fries. They served the fries with mayo. Very chic in Europe apparently.Any way, we eventually went back to the hotel to get ready for a quick overnight and our flight to Scotland.

Leaving For Greenland...

2007-10-08T15:13:00.000+03:00

Today we finally departed Goose Bay for the start of our Journey across the Atlantic. It’s cold and overcast here at the airfield in Goose Bay. The wind has died down some, and at least it is not raining. We are following a low pressure system across the North Atlantic towards Reykjavik Iceland where we are expecting to overnight. Unfortunately, it looks as if we will be in the soup all day today…so no view of the ocean or of the Greenland’s ice cap.
We found out the other night after we returned to Otis AFB for maintenance that the airfield here had a gale with winds gusting up to 55 or 60 knots. There are trees down everywhere and some of the buildings have roof damage. I guess that we were lucky to get out of here when we did.
We entered the clouds after our departure at Goose Bay at about 2500 feet…and pretty well stayed either in them or just above them all the way to Narsasuek, Greenland. For the most part once we were airborne, the ride was pretty smooth but the view was disappointing to say the least.
The approach and landing into Narsasuek Greenland was, what we refer to as a white-knuckler. Rob and Hardy had to execute an instrument let down through the clouds into and airfield surrounded on three sides by high terrain…..and up a fjord. As soon as we started our decent for the arrival things got interesting. The wind was causing pretty good jolts and bumps on the way down and when we finally broke out of the clouds (at about 1500 feet) the real fun began. The wind had now picked up, and a cold rain was falling…all in winds that were now topping 45-50 knots across the ground. Turbulence is fine when you are at 25,000 feet, but on short final as we were winging over the ice burgs in the fjord-not so much fun. But Rob and Hardy did a great job flying and soon we were on the ground.
Narsasuek is remote as they come. It was about 3 degrees C outside and raining a cold, hard rain sideways. The poor refuel guys came out dressed like Nanook of the frozen north (which, given where we were, made perfect sense). We ran into this French guy in the FBO there that seemed really glad to have somebody to talk to. This poor chap had been there for 4 months and was getting ready to leave on vacation. We could tell from talking with him that time passes VERY SLOWLY here. Rob and Hardy posted our unit sticker in Base Ops so we can prove that we actually were there.
After a quick stop (we now know why the heck nobody lives in Greenland-its cold, wet, and grey) to refuel, we snapped a couple of pictures and were on our way to Iceland. The take off was as about as hairy as the landing….circling in the clouds to avoid terrain as we climbed up and out. We stayed in the clouds almost all the way to Iceland.

Goose Bay Redux

2007-10-05T17:58:00.001+03:00

We have arrived back into Goose Bay. Except for a few minor problems, the airplane seems to be behaving itself and we arrived back in Goose Bay Labrador this afternoon. The weather was perfect for flying as we took off from Otis AFB. We had unrestricted visibility and no clouds. In fact we got a spectacular aerial view of Cape Cod and most of New England as we turned northward towards Goose Bay. It was sad saying Good Bye to the USA but it was also a great feeling to FINALLY be on our way across the Atlantic.
After an a pretty good flight (well, mostly good, we did have one small maintenance hiccup) we dipped below a small over cast layer at about 4000 feet to fly a spectacular approach landing to the East at Goose Bay Airport. We flew in over the same river that we had seen the waterfall on several days before-and it was just as spectacular from the air as it was from the ground.
We had our overnight at the Hotel North, which is a great hotel located right outside the airfield gate. I have to say, the rooms are nice and the food at the restaurant is excellent.
While we are on the subject, I would like to say a few things about the people and town of Goose Bay. Everyone that we met there was extremely friendly and helpful. It’s nice to see a small town largely unspoiled by the modern hustle and bustle.
I would like to offer special thanks to the nice folks at Woodward Aviation, the local FBO that took care of us while we were broken. They have superior service and made things a lot easier on us.
All in all, it looks like a great place to live-great wide open spaces, plenty of things to outdoors if you don’t mind the cold.
We had uneventful overnight. One thing though-on our way to dinner, it started raining. Hard-this wasn’t too great because we all had left our wet weather gear back in the airplane. Shortly after that it began sleeting. This would be Mother Nature’s way of telling us it’s time to get on with this business of crossing the ocean before we caught up by the winter. I don’t know if it’s possible to mount skis on a Metro liner or not.

More to come....

Back to Cape Cod

2007-09-22T00:57:00.000+03:00

When I last updated you folks out there, I was telling the tale of being broken down in Goose Bay Canada. I will update you all on our further adventures in Goose Bay in just a moment. At the present however, I regretfully have to inform all four of my loyal readers of our current location.
No, we have not continued on to Greenland and Iceland. Not by a long shot. In a twist of fate, I find myself in the Starbucks in FALMOUTH MASS., once again, updating my blog.
That’s right folks….we have returned to Otis Air Force Base in Cape Cod.
Two days ago, our parts finally cleared Canadian Customs in Montreal and finally arrived in Goose Bay. Mike, our hard working mechanic, spent that afternoon installing the parts and tweaking the aircraft. Unfortunately for him as well as us, the part that the contractor sent was bad. But Mike, being the good maintainer he is, tried swapping components around and doing a little spark chasing in attempt to get things going. He was successful….the problem seemed to be fixed, since he and Hardy ran up the airplane and checked that all systems were a go. We were ready to buy Mike a bottle of Crown Royal.
Or so we thought. The airplane apparently had other ideas. The next morning (Sept. 20th) we rode out to the Goose Bay airport and made preparations to depart. Sure enough, when we started her up, the problem reappeared. Nothing we could do from the cockpit or anything that Mike could do would fix the problem. So we shut down, and went into the FBO (Fixed Base Operator…kind of like an upscale Truck Stop for pilots) to decide what to do. Rather than staying in Goose Bay, we decided out best course of action was to one time fly the ole bucket of bolts back to Otis AFB. The weather was good there, and there is a C26 maintenance base there. So we quickly got ready to depart and flew back to Otis AFB.
This was a good thing, because the weather was rapidly deteriorating in Goose Bay. As with a lot of Northern Locations, the weather here can turn on a dime. So we got out in the nick of time, because it would not be prudent to be flying around in the clouds with the type of malfunction that we had.
I promised an update on the further adventures in Goose Bay. We had time to have a few- On Tuesday of this past week, after we discovered that our parts were still in customs, we decided to take the Trans-Labrador highway out of town to a place we had heard about: Muskrat Falls. The Trans Labrador Highway runs from Goose Bay down to Montreal. It’s a very rural road….about 15 miles south of town the road becomes gravel and sand…and stays that way most of the way to Montreal. (It is a 35 hour drive to Montreal). Anyway, we took this road out to Muskrat Falls. You really get the sense that you are far removed from civilization, as there are no telephone wires, no streetlights, and no signs….just mile after mile of unpaved road over rolling hills. It is stunningly beautiful. We made our way down a steep trail of off the road down about a mile or so through the trees until we came to the river. It was nothing short of spectacular. The river was about a mile or so wide, and flowed over a fairly step set of falls. It wasn’t very high, maybe 30 feet or so but what a sight. It was at this point we started seeing fresh Bear tracks…and what I am convinced was wolf tracks. I suppose at this point you could say we had officially entered the food chain. After that we went back to Goose Bay for more pizza and Beer at the El Greco. I believe that Pauly is going to engrave our names on the table.

18 September Goose Bay

2007-09-22T00:56:00.000+03:00

At any rate, yesterday we went to the El Greco Italian restaurant, run by local city councilman, Paul Tsibidis, or Pauly. Pauly is quite the character-he claims the best pizza in town, and I can tell you it is that and much more. In fact, it is probably some of the best pizza I have ever had. He is a big guy from Greece-near Sparta actually. He is a big, loud guy without a hair on his head. He has had four bypass surgeries and has live in Goose Bay for over thirty years. At any rate, after our tasty dinner, Pauly filled us in on the history of Goose Bay and took us around town. We signed Town Hall registry and rang the town bell.
Who knows, if we stick around long enough, maybe we can run for city council.
Tomorrow we are going to drive out to the town dump and see if we can see any bears. Pauly had suggested that would be the best way for us to see any bears that might be in the local area.
Rob, Hardy and I are convinced that Pauly is running from the Mob and hiding out in Goose Bay.

Stuck in Goose Bay

2007-09-15T17:08:00.000+03:00

Well here we go again. First let me apologize to all of you Tax payers out there who have been led to believe that we off on some great adventure, advancing the ideals of freedom and democracy.

At this point, our primary mission seems to be advancing the local economies of the locations we break down in by infusing vast sums of federal cash while awaiting parts to fix our airplane.

As most of you already know from reading Stacey's last update, our trusty aircraft has decided that it doesn't like Canada. Actually, I don't think it likes any of the places that we have been. Anyway, as we were on approach into Goose Bay-(we are actually in Goose Bay, Labrador as opposed to Gander.) It was supposed to be an overnight/fuel stop before crossing the pond. As fate would have it, it looks as if we are going to be here a while.

Our fate is in the hands of our trusty mechanic, Mike, and FEDEX. Well, also Canadian customs.

Poor Mike got shanghaied for this adventure when we were broke at Otis AFB in Falmouth Mass. His company is our maintenance contractor for the C26B. Unknown to him, his boss decided to send the mechanic we left Dobbins with onto Djibouti via commercial air. Mike shows up at the office last week to help us out fixing the airplane....and presto! He gets sent on his way with us. So now he is sharing in the fun of Goose Bay.

Where the $#%% is Goose Bay Labrador you ask? Well, its in the north eastern part of Canada just to the North of Newfoundland.

Anyway, not much happens here. More on that later.

We had a few adventures while stuck in Falmouth Mass. Its in the Heart of Cape Cod, somewhere I had never been before. The people were nice and the town had a real nice look to it...not to tourist like. The downtown area was full of shops, taverns and restaurants. We frequented the Roo Bar and the little Irish Pub next door.
I will say that I had a tough time with the New England accent at first. Eventually we got used to it and I think the local folks thought we were moving there. I never imagined on my journey to Africa in transiting all these exotic locales that my first series of overnights and sightseeing adventures would be right here in New England.

We did see Martha's Vineyard (and no, I didn't see the any of the Kennedy's or Martha Stewart)and all the the greater Falmouth Metropolitan area. This took all of half a day so we were forced to drive up Highway 28 to take a look at Plymouth Rock.

Ironically, in the birth place of our nation, just a short distance from Plymouth Rock....is an English Pub. So we all felt a little guilty sipping our Bass Ales near the original American home town.

But not too guilty. Beer, is after all Beer.

Actually, Hardy was contemplating opening a contracting business, I was planning on training for an Ironman and Rob was going to open a Puerto Rican restaurant. Our motto is rapidly becoming "Six months to get there and one day to get back"

Eventually, the parts came and off we went to Goose Bay. Finally!!!

Now we get to repeat the entire scenario, only this time in Canada. When we arrived in Goose Bay it was about 43 degrees outside and the wind was blowing at 27 knots gusting to 37 knots. Needless to say....I did not pack to many cold weather clothes....I mean we are going to Africa. Eventually.

In the meantime its just freezing. We are hoping that the parts for the airplane get here before the Canadian Winter. Otherwise, we may have to put in a supply request for long underwear, battery operated socks and sled dogs.

So far our time here in Goose Bay has been spent looking for Moose (we haven't seen any yet) and checking out the local area. It is absolutely beautiful here-just outside of town there is nothing but wide open bays, vast tracks of Canadian Boreal Forest and rolling hills. In season I bet this is a sportsman's mecca. We learned a little of the local history with a quick visit to the culture center. The people here are a mix of Inuit (think Eskimos), Innu, ( a mix of tribes from the traditional Indian peoples of North America)and the Metis, descendants of European settlers that intermarried with both tribes. Fishing is big here of course...but there isn't much Else here. Most people seem to make their living of the airport or several mines up North of here. The workers spend two weeks at a time in the mines and two weeks at home.

If it Ain't Broke....it Ain't Our Plane!

2007-09-09T03:02:00.000+03:00

So, again, it is I, Stacey. But seeing how Al has been tied up for a few days, I thought I would provide you an update to the countdown and the take-off to Djibouti. Honestly, it's been a bit of a tough week. Al was set to leave on Tuesday, September 4th. So, we say our goodbyes, hard enough, only to find out, the plane is not adequately able to fly properly (I’m saying it nicely here). He is informed that it will be Thursday now before they leave since they are waiting for parts to come in. I take advantage of this day and take the day off - only to get home from work Tuesday night not feeling well. I wake up Wednesday feeling worse....I would like for Al to have gotten off and remembering me looking lovely, but that was not to be. He went into to work until noon and I slept until noon....great! Here we have this last day - this reprieve - and I am stuffy, congested, watery-eyed and just icky. LOVELY! I pull myself together and we spend the day together. Thursday comes....we say our goodbyes again - so sad. I head into work and knew Al was headed out at 10am. He promised he would call prior to getting on the plane...10am comes and goes. No call. I wonder if he really left. But since I don't hear from him by 2pm I assume he is gone and just didn't have the time to make that call. 3pm....I get a call from him, "Hey! Guess where I'm calling from! Not New Finland! I am at home." So, I get home Thursday night to not just Al but also Dupree (AKA Rob, our extended house guest). Now they leave tomorrow, Friday, 9/7. Friday comes, we say our goodbyes....AGAIN...trust me, this isn't easy to keep doing and he is set to take off around 10am. Again, he promised to call right before leaving. This time at 10:30am, I get a call. They are boarding their aircraft - so he is really leaving this time. A little while later it hits me - I have a breakdown moment, but compose myself quickly - I'm at the office afterall. He is now headed to Rhode Island to fuel and then headed to New Finland before crossing the ocean. Being a little concerned with the previous condition of the aircraft I urge him to call me when he arrives at his final destination that day - but he says he will email me. After work, I head down to Peachtree City for my 2nd Triathlon and don’t hear from him. This morning - Saturday 9/18 after the tri (which I finished slower by 40 seconds than my 1st one, but the swim distance was further...so I am okay with that - plus I was sick much of the week - notice some justification here? Okay, not about me....) I get back to my car and see 2 missed calls from Dupree's cell phone....I immediately try to return the call to get voicemail - I leave a vm. Al's phone service was suspended before his departure. As I am driving home Al calls...from guess where? Rhode Island...yeah, when they arrived there last night, the plane broke - now they have it at a navy base up there being repaired. If they got it done by 3pm they would head up to Gander, otherwise, he would overnight in RI. He told me he would call to let me know if they were leaving - it is now 8:26pm and I assume they got things under control and are headed that way. Of course, who knows if the phone will ring later this evening.

His Commander’s wife called me tonight to check on me and he is already there - so she confirmed that they have email access and phone time just as they did in Kuwait. His trip to Djibouti is expected to take 10 days - now at least 11 - it will be curious to see how many days a 10 day trip will take with their plane..

And just to wrap things up - I am sitting here (still sick in and out of sleep much of the afternoon - the race didn't help) watching the DAWGS play....losing now, but I hope they pull it out. In the 4th and down by a touchdown, um now by 10 points. GO DAWGS!!

Thanks to all of our friends who came over to see Al off. It meant alot to both of us. I appreciate the calls this week from all my friends who checked on my well being. And thanks for the prayers that have been said for Al. You guys have been wonderful and we are truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

Hopefully, you'll have an update from Al soon!

And now, for something completely different....

2007-08-17T17:56:00.000+03:00

AN UPDATE POST!!!

For those out there who have been waiting for an update, here it is. Finally, I have gotten off of my procrastinating behind and sat down to give everybody an update. First off, a BIG thanks goes out to Stacey for taking the time in setting this Blog up and showing me the ins and outs of blogging.

As you all may know, the deployment is getting closer and closer. This means alot of stuff has to get done, both around the house and up at the unit. One of those inevitable facts of life in the military is that when it comes time to actually go forth and conduct your mission, you find out that the Army has alot of training that has to be completed so they can say with confidence that you are now trained and safe enough to go to war.
Hence, myself and my partner in many Army Adventures, CW4 Robert Negron, were informed that we were to go up to Groton Conn. to practice crashing an air craft in the ocean. This is what the Army refers to as "Overwater Survival Training". http://www.survivalsystemsinc.com/sea.htm

The training took about a week, and included academics about survival at sea, actual aircraft ditching incidents, and the scariest part of the whole training....how to egress a sinking aircraft. The gist of this is that they put you in this big blue thing that looks sort of like an aircraft fuselage complete with fully functional exits. After you get in and put the lap belts and shoulder harnesses on, they hoist the whole contraption up over a 14 foot deep pool. The instructor says "Ditching, ditching,ditching..." and then the whole thing lowers into the water....and usually flips upside down, all the while filling with water. In the mean time, you have to stay strapped in your seat, waiting for the thing to fill with water and the motion to stop. After what seems like an eternity, you reach out, find the exit, open it (or jettison it from the aircraft), place your hand on a good reference point outside the aircraft, release your lap belt shoulder harnesses, and pull your self hand by hand outside the aircraft. All while holding your breath and trying to figure which way is up. (Follow the bubbles....). We repeated this scenario over and over at least fifteen times. Too make things interesting,(as if we needed it) the instructors threw in various challenges....challenges like having your exit blocked, so now you have to work your way through the aircraft hand over hand until you get to your alternate exit...all while upside down and underwater. The next day, as an added bonus, we did it all over again-this time without the benefit of having light.

Needless to say, after two days of this, Rob and I had volumes of pool water in every sinus and had enough of being upside down and inside of a tube filling with water. All in all, for you fellow pilots out there, this was by far the best over water training I have ever had. The instructors at Survival Systems are very competent and greatly increased my confidence should the need to ditch (God Forbid) ever arise. Number one rule of Sea Survival: DON'T EVER DITCH. Also, if I ever do have to ditch, I want Rob there because for some reason, this guy never losses his sense of humor despite being drowned 30 times.

I will post some pictures of this adventure as soon as possible. In the meantime, everyone at the unit is busy getting everything in order as we get closer to heading out to Africa.

The Count Down is On...

2007-07-06T18:09:00.000+03:00

Okay, so it's not really Al here...it's his lovely wife, Stacey. I am setting this up for him so he can chronicle his wild adventure while visiting Djibouti, Africa. Does everyone know what the capital of Djibouti is? Well, the Capital of Djibouti is Djibouti. I get such a kick out of saying "Djibouti". For those of you not familiar with Djibouti - it is located in Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea on the east, Eritrea to the north, Ethiopia to the north and northwest and Somalia to the southeast. The country can be divided into three regions; the coastal plain and volcanic plateaus in the central and southern parts of the country and the mountain ranges in the north.Much of the country is vast wastelands with virtually no arable land. Yes, I knew all of this from my wonderful high school education - okay, those of you who know me, know this is not the case...I can tell you much more about Britney Spears and other useless information than I can about geography. In fact, I learned the capital of Djibouti from a commercial.

Also, the proper pronuciation of Djibouti is Jabooti...Jabooti, Jabooti, Jabooti. This is much more fun to spell as well.

Okay, so I stole this information from www.globalsecurity.org and it will tell you about the mission at hand.

Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA)

The CJTF-HOA mission is focused on detecting, disrupting, and ultimately defeating transnational terrorist groups operating in the region – denying safe havens, external support, and material assistance for terrorist activity. Additionally, CJTF-HOA will counter the re-emergence of transnational terrorism in the region through civil-military operations and support of non-governmental organization operations – enhancing the long-term stability of the region. Its area of responsibility includes the total airspace and land areas of Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Ethiopia in Africa, and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula.

CJTF-HOA is comprised of Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, civilians and partner nations. In addtion to Civil Affairs missions (drilling wells, medical care, renovation of schools and clinics, etc.), CJTF-HOA also conducts military-to-military training, which includes counterterrorism training.

The small country of Djibouti has become an important military hub in the Horn of Africa for the United States over the past several months. Djibouti has allowed the US to build a new command center, as thousands of US troops gather there for the war on terrorism.
In early-November it became clear that the US would send a detachment of Marines to Djibouti to establish Combined Joint Task Force, Horn of Africa. Elements of the 2nd Marine Division and II MEF embarked on board the USS Mount Whitney and began to transit to Djibouti in mid-November 2002.

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa passed through the Suez Canal Dec. 8 as they traveled toward northeast Africa. It took approximately 18 hours for the ship to travel through the Suez Canal, and as CJTF -HOA personnel and the ship's crew finished the transit, some of them reflected on their voyage up to this point.

On December 12, 2002, the headquarters for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa arrived on station to oversee operations in support of the global war on terrorism in the Horn of Africa region. Its mission is to detect, disrupt and defeat terrorists who pose an imminent threat to coalition partners in the region. It also works with host nations to deny the reemergence of terrorist cells and activities by supporting international agencies working to enhance long-term stability for the region.

For this operation, the US is defining the Horn of Africa region as the total airspace and land areas out to the high-water mark of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen.

The CJTF headquarters was initiated with about 400 members representing all U.S. armed services, civilian personnel, and coalition force representatives, all aboard the USS Mount Whitney, operating in the Gulf of Aden. The force also includes about 900 personnel at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, and a small number of liaison personnel working in other parts of the region.

Given organic assets and the capabilities of U.S. Central Command, CJTF-Horn of Africa has the capability and will act upon credible intelligence to attack, destroy and/or capture terrorists and support networks. Command representatives of CJTF-HOA visited all sovereign nations in the region, meeting heads of state in Djibouti, Yemen, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

While CJTF-HOA did deploy with a relatively small force, Major General Sattler, the then-commander of the task force, stated in January 2003 that if needed the ability to expand the forces used was available by requesting such forces through Central Command.
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) began moving all headquarters personnel and equipment from its flagship, USS Mount Whitney in the Gulf of Aden, into facilities at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti on May 6, 2003 in a move expected to take about one week, with completion of the move scheduled for mid-May.

The newly renovated 88-acre camp, a former French Foreign Legion post owned by the Djiboutian government, will now serve as CJTF-HOA's expeditionary headquarters. CJTF-HOA presence in Djibouti and the duration of operations across the region are tied to accomplishment of the counter-terrorism mission, not a fixed period of time.

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) Commander Maj. Gen. John F. Sattler turned over command to Brig. Gen. Mastin M. Robeson, United States Marine Corps, on May 24, 2003 in a ceremony at the CJTF-HOA headquarters in Djibouti.

The CJTF mission will remain focused on detecting, disrupting and defeating transnational terrorism in conjunction with coalition partners across the Horn of Africa.

Along with the arrival of the new commander and the move of the CJTF headquarters to Camp Lemonier, CJTF-HOA has added both personnel and capabilities to the operation in the past month in preparation for future counter-terrorism activities.

More than 300 forces arrived from the 478th Civil Affairs Battalion, Miami, Fla., 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. and Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-461, New River, N.C. in May 2003. As a result, the total CJTF-HOA contingent at Camp Lemonier then numbered more than 1,800, representing all branches of the U.S. armed services, coalition military members and civilian personnel.

As of August 2005, CJTF-HOA was composed of ~1,600 personnel. This included 275 employees of Kellogg, Brown and Root, who provided combat-service support to Camp Lemonier and 400 Soldiers — active-duty, Reserve and National Guard — who composed the bulk of the force.

From September 2003 through March 2005, CJTF-HOA had approximately 1,000 soldiers, many of them in highly specialized units. In addition, it had also renovated 33 schools, eight clinics and five hospitals; dug 11 wells; and conducted nearly 40 medical and veterinary visits.