JRTC Completed

JRTC for the 1BCT is done.

JRTC is Joint Readiness Training Center, and it is located at Ft. Polk, LA. And 1BCT is my brigade.

We headed down toward the beginning of January and spent most of the month training and pretending that we were in Afghanistan.

The training was excellent. Although it was tough to be away from our families, we gained quite a bit by serving with one another in this type of an environment, and by working with trainers who had recently served in Afghanistan themselves.

As a brigade we were spread out across a large area. In my case, we stayed in large tents or metal frame buildings on cots. Our latrines were outdoor port-a-potties and our showers were down the road a ways. In this picture you can see a white tent down the road. The showers were 3 buildings down from that.

We had the opportunity to train in a variety of environments, including different personnel, role players, and interpreters.

One great benefit was to be able to work with Soldiers in a totally different scenario. This included chapel services. We had four while we were there and I was able to preach for two of them. It is encouraging to be able to share with one another while we are all in a situation that pushes us all to be our best.

I know that my unit did very well in the training and came home with a new focus on our upcoming training. I would appreciate your prayers as we prepare ourselves and our families for our pending deployment.

Simple Surprises

It always makes me smile when I consider the idea of waiting on God's timing, and how short my memory tends to be.

It is easy for us to shake our heads at the ancient Israelites and wonder how they could so quickly forget about God's provision. Yet we tend to do the same thing in our own way.

In my case, I have to try to remind myself to not get caught up in my own schedule.

As Americans we have the habit of putting together our own plan and then getting upset when it does not get executed the way that we planned. We get frustrated when all of the lights are red, when the lines are long, and when we get delayed for whatever reason. What we forget is that sometimes those delays save us from unforeseen difficulties. We also may never know about what we avoided or gained because of those distractions.

I just had an opportunity to actually see God's hand in delays.

Our family recently completed a trip along the East coast. Yes, in the winter.

We drove (not in this order) through Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey. This was because, as a family, we have now visited 48 of the 50 states. We plan to get the last two (New Mexico and Alaska) within the next couple years.

On the trip we decided that we would like to catch a Christmas Eve service in Washington DC and then visit Walter Reed hospital and drop off some Christmas cards to the Soldiers there. Well, we hit some delays and did not arrive in time to find a Christmas Eve service or visit Walter Reed that night. We were disappointed, but decided that we would go ahead and visit the hospital on Christmas day.

When we arrived Christmas morning we found greeters at the door. We started to ask if they could direct us to the chaplain's office, but they asked if we were looking for the DFAC (dining facility). They gave us the directions to the chapel and we were on our way. As we went we noticed a good amount of staff dressed in their dress blues.

When we arrived at the chapel we discovered that a Christmas morning service had just begun. So we were able to attend a Christmas service instead of a Christmas Eve program. It was a small crowd, but very nice and encouraging.

Afterward, we asked the chaplain about our cards being delivered since we knew that we would not be allowed not do it ourselves. He excitedly said that he would make sure that they were given out to the recovering Soldiers and we stepped out the door.

It was about lunchtime and we had to decide what to do for food before we continued down the road. Figuring that there may not be much open on Christmas day, we decided to see if the DFAC was open.

As we headed down the hall we began to hear a brass band playing. Upon entering the facility we were greeting by a host with a tray of hors d'oeuvres. We soon discovered that the hospital staff was hosting an extravagant Christmas lunch with most everyone in dress blues, and menu choices such as pecan-encrusted tilapia, prime-rib, and stuffed chicken breast. We were amazed.

The food was wonderful and we felt so thankful that we decided that we wanted to personally thank those responsible. As I thanked one of the civilians and asked who was the coordinator of the event, a NCO came over and nonchalantly mentioned that the vice president was there. I asked if this was the vice president of the hospital and he smiled and said, no, the Vice President of the United States. Sure enough, as though on cue, Vice President Biden and his wife walked into the room and took up positions to help serve food.

To make a long story short, I gathered up the family and we introduced ourselves to the Vice President, shook his hand, and I took a quick picture.

It still makes me smile to think of how much we would have missed if we had held to our plan instead of resting in God's timing.

In the end we even got to eat lunch right next to the chaplain and assistant who's service we had just enjoyed.

Truly an amazing day.

Fellow Soldiers Deploying

Merry Christmas!

I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season.

The announcement was just made today that some of our fellow Screaming Eagles will be deploying shortly after us. Here is the announcement from Bloomberg:

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon today announced the deployment of 6,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan, the second wave in President Barack Obama’s planned surge of 30,000 troops.

The units include 3,400 troops from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky that will deploy in June 2010 and 2,600 personnel from various unspecified support units that will arrive in Afghanistan starting in late March, the Pentagon said.

The Pentagon announced the first wave of deployments on Dec. 7 -- 16,000 troops, including 1,500 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina who are arriving this month.

--I have some friends in the 2BCT so please be praying for their preparation.

--We are getting set to travel to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Ft. Polk, LA to really focus our training and preparation for Afghanistan. However, before that we are enjoying some block leave to enjoy the holidays with family and friends--weather permitting. ;-)