Having acquired my Associate of Arts in Arabic from the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, I faced a decision on what was next for me, educationally. Granted, I'm in the middle of an online History of the US 2 course, and have just started Philosophy 1, also online, but I was more concerned with what I would do degree-wise. My first possible choice was to simply not do anything to alter my projected degree. However, an Associate of Arts in General Studies wouldn't add a...
Push-up event: Prior test: 42 Goal: 52 This test: 55 Sit Up event: Prior test:69 Goal: 70 This test: 69 (whoops) 2-mile Run event: Prior test: 15:58 Fastest time ever: 15:34 Goal: 15:30 This test: 14:46 Yes, I'm bragging. That's an improvement of somewhere around 30 points on a 300 point scale. "Just passing" is no longer good enough for me. "Meeting the standard" isn't personally satisfactory any more. I'm better than that. I'd like to thank PO3 akulanka for s...
Lack of connectivity, articles missing, responses missing... A glitch that bumped us back a day, perhaps? test
In what position do you like to pray in? Is it necessary to be in any sort of specific position at all? A conversation: A: Do you feel you have to kneel to pray? M: It's not that I have to. It's that it helps me focus my prayers... keeps my mind on them. By kneeling, I feel like I'm really talking to a higher power. Why? How do you pray? A: Where ever and when ever... in the car, in bed, what ever. end I didn't explain it adequately. I've thought about it sin...
This is, what, my seventh? In nearly eight years? Initial ETS date. Stop-lossed. Un-stop-lossed. Reenlisted. Extended. Stop-lossed. Un-stop-lossed. Extended (today, to meet the SRR for SSG). That's eight different dates for when I would have gotten out of the Army. I'm already past three of them. I made promotion points for SSG for November 1st. I extended today to meet the Service Remaining Requirement (SRR) for the rank; I have to be in for a full year after I pin on, so ...
I had girded my mind for action, and had prepared myself to extend my time left in the Army so that I would meet the one year service remaining requirement for Staff Sergeant, as long as I was promoted in the next two months. I feel I will get the promotion 1DEC05, so I would add three months to my commitment to the Army. But I talked to the 1SG yesterday, and she suggested that they may not let me extend during an open reenlistment window. I may have to reenlist (minimum three years com...
We have had a large turnover at work in the past few months. Prior to this, there was a vested interest amongst my colleagues for the situation in Iraq. When was the vote? How many attacks were there? Who's in harm's way? And there were reasons for this, obvious to any who know who we are and what we do, but it seemed more than that. It seemed that we cared. Now, this past week, we had a train up session. There are a lot of new faces in the morning briefings (and not just from my "o...
I'm still working on my undergraduate work. I've sent away for my Associate Degree from the Defense Language Institute (and I should've months ago), and I expect it in the mail by the end of next month. I'm currently taking History II, am in the third week, but still stuck in the middle of the second weeks' work. Such is my online education. On top of that, I've signed up for another class to start two Mondays from now (at the beginning of my fifth week of History). I'd better be cau...
In fact, it may endanger my growing spirituality and faith. It certainly won't impress people that I'm trying to convince that I'm sincere. But he is f'n Metal, you know? And so is the shirt! Link
In fact, it may endanger my growing spirituality and faith. It certainly won't impress people that I'm trying to convince that I'm sincere. But he is f'n Metal, you know? And so is the shirt! Link
Philippians 4:6-9 Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things....
In my quest to add my Army Achievement Medal to my file to count for promotion points for November, I dealt with personnel both on the Battalion and Company levels. I'm talking about our clerks, here. At the Battalion, the "clerk" is the same rank as me, and has been here long enough that I recall (perhaps incorrectly) that he was a SPC when I was a SPC. (Could be more False Memory Syndrome, though.) Being a clerk is his primary MOS (job) in the Army. He should know his stuff. At th...
Related to: Link From an online conversation with a soldier who works for me. Context is that I chewed him and others out for mistakes they made today, but later told them that it wasn't nearly as serious as I had made it out, and that we were doing fine with the amount of experience we have. pseudosoldier says: You know I don't really hate you guys, that I've just been having a string of bad days with little sleep, and I'm heavy on the "tough love" during training... right? Hal...
From 2 Corinthians 6:14 - "Do not be mismated with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" (Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition) "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" (Memorial Edition, Holy Bible, Concordance) Based on Deuteronomy 22:10 and Leviticus 19:19, which seem to be straigh...
A quote: "It's not about making sense. It's about believing in something and letting that belief be real enough to change your life. It's about Faith. You don't fix Faith, River. It fixes you." I really needed that episode when I saw it.