More from my past 5 years......

The day we got to Kuwait... waiting in Camp Virgina...( which was an amazing base) using the internet and the phones every day to talk to gabby in NJ before we started dating.... then finaly getting on the LCAC ( Landing Craft Air Cushioned... aka giant hovercraft) to get back to the ship and prepare for the ride home.... The look on the faces of some of the navy personal when they released that some of us did not make it back... something they were told might happen and that they did not accept till we got back....the way some of them sat there looking at us with blank faces and mouths wide not knowing what to say to us... or how to relate.... The chearing of whoever was on the mess decks as we came stomping through with all our gear heading for our living spaces....the silence as we passed through carrying the gear of those who did not make it back....

The day the ship took all of there awards out of one of there trophy cases in the mess hall and put up a very nice memorial for the fallen marines.

Other things i remember from my last deployment.....Two days after we got back to the ship.... Cleaning out Andrews rack and locker.... digging through the equipment room to find the rest of his personal effects and brining them topside to prepare for inventory and shipping back to the states.



The days that we started on-loading everything getting ready to go home.... the other ships sending over the personal effects of the dead the and wounded....

crazy sorts of shit you remember while board at work and it is 23:37 (11:37pm) the day before your birthday

No big plans just going to sleep as i will be getting off work around 3 or 4 am then go back to work at 4pm and be happy that this year i am actually in America for my birthday. As a recap and a continuation of my last blog... this is Looking Back... My time in the military.. Birthday Edition.

19th.... birthday in mechanics training it fell on a weekend and was not that bad. I went camping with somebody who was a close friend when I was in training.

20th.... was on my first trip to Iraq and the insurgents even sent me gifts for that birthday a rocket and mortar attack.. We all woke up in the room ( 6 people per room... it was about as big as a shoe box with the bunks and all our gear.) and then just feel right back asleep i laid there and laughed sining happy birthday to my self and counting the rounds as they hit the ground and exploded.... watching the windows rattle... the sand and dust fall out of the cracks and crevices....i heard of birthday punches but that was just ridiculous.... i even counted 21 explosions... so i guess they gave me 20 for age and one to grow on.... walking around base after to see if they hit anything... that night they sent more gifts another 19.... was intresting we were sitting outside smoking some dry old but good cuban cigars and you just hear a whissle over head and down the street a bright white lite... then to the left and right and all around looking off the roof. Was on hell of an interesting fire works show when the attack helicopters finally got airborne and flew right over us stopped right above the ridge behind us.... Looked like a solid stream of light coming from the cannon ( for reference only every 5th round lights up and they shoot 20mm Armour Piercing Depleted Uranium Rounds.) on the front.... the loud WOOOSH as the rockets fired out of the pods.... the bright flash of light and loud BA BOOM as they impacted the ground.....us sitting there smoking and clapping and laughing..yelling at the attack choppers telling them " YEAH..FUCK'EM UP GET THOSE FUCKERS!".... finally going inside when they got to close.... found out next day that the incoming fire only flipped one vehicle nobody got hurt... My grand mother tried to mail me a cake it took a week and a half to get there.... by the time it did it was moldy mush but i do love the fact that she tried...

*21st... Desert Training in Yuma AZ at least i got to party for that birthday..... they took me to the local strip joint and we all had a good time till we got kicked out....the next day sucked lol doc had to give me to widebore IV's to rehydrate me.... he said he never seen somebody so drunk before....

*22nd.... Spent in the middle of the ocean off the coast of Australia on a ship... Thinking i should have bin home 2 months ago... that if we would have actually done just the two weeks of training in Kuwait like we were supposed to 11 people would still be alive and with there families at this moment... nobody even knew it was my birthday on the ship..... and i don't think i even cared that it was... they had cake in the mess hall for desert just cause that was the desert of the day i put 22 tooth picks in it to pretend they were candles....
tried to make some phone calls from one of the ships sat phones.....
Then went to hear the band play.... some of the ships crew brought there instruments with them and set up a small cover band ( they were really good) in the upper vehicular storage deck at night... lots of people used to go down there lissien to the music, smoke, relax, sweat your ass off at the same time... it was the place to be any night of the week on the ship on the way back.... the mood was more relaxed then in other places on the ship....Guy's got to joke around and flirt with the women... most the women( actually just about everybody ) wore pt gear.... some of the women wore there shorts a little higher and and one or two sizes smaller then regulations would like the same ones also usually wore a shirt one or two sizes smaller as well to make them self more attractive ( everybody was going crazy after Iraq... sure we just hit port but 4 days was not going to make up for going without sex for 7 months).... and another thing was...they put there hair down... in a figuratively and in literal sense of the word as well.... they took there hair out of the tight bun that they had to keep it in while they were in uniform and on duty.... they were allowed to because it was night time and technically they were off duty and in pt gear.... The guys did not mind them wearing tight clothing (it may be pt gear but.... wow as i said after 7 months it nice to have some eye candy and hey it not like we were being pigs they were just as guilty for showing off as we were for staring at them !) and them letting there hair down.... most of us were shocked to see that when out of uniform some of them actually were women.... some of the more uptight and higher ranking people did not like the fact they were dressing like that...

23rd... This year.... Got an amazing box of sweets and tea from ally and opened it with here over skype on the 6th because she has work tommrow and i won't be able to see her over the cam for my birthday to open the gift...... the rest is yet to be written but some how sounds like it will be better then some of the past ones and also worse then some of the past ones....

More to come from my past 5 years......

(* They were part of the same deployment.... the training was for that trip to iraq...)