Red Bull Rising

Operation Footlocker

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:00:00 +0000

A recurring theme on the Red Bull Rising blog is encouragement for citizen-soldiers, friends, and families to document and share their stories of deployment. Too few of our fellow citizens—including those we have elected to office—have directly experienced the sacrifices of service and war. Rather than being a nation at war, the saying goes, we are a nation at Wal-mart. We have left the fighting to our soldiers. Attention must be paid.

The movie "Memorial Day," available on DVD and Blu-ray starting May 29, tells the story of a 13-year-old Minnesota boy who challenges his veteran grandfather to tell the stories contained in an old footlocker.

According to "Memorial Day" press materials released this week, the film was inspired by the experience co-executive producer Jeff Traxler, a veteran and historical reenactor. Traxler once discovered a military footlocker in an abandoned house, which caused him to contemplate the stories inside that must have been locked away for years—and would never be told. From the same document:

"Talking about the war can be an emotional journey filled with memories that are both joyful and difficult," said Tara Staver, a neuropsychologist who specializes in the assessment and treatment of active-duty soldiers. "But the value of sharing our stories—our experiences—not only for veterans, but for us all, creates a meaningful connection with others and allows us to live in the present while understanding how to learn from and honor the past."

Coincidentally, I've written about packing my own footlocker. After I retired, Household-6 told me I needed to reduce my 20-years of Army baggage down to a more manageable size.

Here's a small challenge for this Memorial Day weekend: Find your footlockers. Open them up. Take one object and 15 minutes. And tell your story.

For past Red Bull Rising blog-posts regarding ways to document and share stories, click here, here, and here.

For some other ways to remember citizen-soldiers, click here.

First Days and Worst Fears

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Mon, 21 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

In 2010, while preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, my biggest dread was missing the first day of kindergarten. I worried about what it would be like to leave my young children for a year. I was worried more about how they might change, rather than how I might change.

A recent Minnesota Public Radio story about post-deployment parenting quoted Kevin Ross, 31, about how he hardly recognized one of his daughters when he returned from an 18-month deployment to Iraq in 2009. At the time, Ross was a member of 682nd Engineer Battalion, Wilmar, Minn.:

"The night I got home I remember we are standing in that final formation in the armory," he says, "and I looked out and I saw a little girl sitting on the floor crying. As I got closer I hugged my wife and realized that that was my child."

That sounded a little like my own worst fear.

The strange thing about worst fears is that they seem so different in retrospect.

The way things worked out, I didn't deploy. I didn't have to miss kindergarten, although, ironically, my Army job at the time eventually kept me away from the Lena's official first day of school.

Turns out, however, the first day of school was just another day. By the time kindergarten rolled around, Lena had already spent a summer in a school-based "camp" program. Drop-off at the school building was just another day at the office. A non-event.

The last day of the 2011-2012 school year was last Friday, so, for us, today was the first day of summer. On the school rolls, Lena is now counted as a second-grader. Rain is preparing for kindergarten. Both kids went off to school "camp" this morning.

Rain is more of an introvert than his sister. While dropping him off this morning, he skirted the perimeter of a large room of kids and adults playing tabletop games, promptly found a set of toy tools, and set to building something by himself. I hardly got a good-bye out of him. He was wearing a hard hat when I left him, ready to get to work.

I wasn't expecting it to be so easy. Or so hard.

Walking outside to my car, I suddenly felt like I'd been smacked by a ball peen hammer, right between the eyes. That hasn't happened for a long time. Still, it made me remember everything that's happened in the past couple of years. And also to appreciate that I've been around to see most of it happen.

Time passes. Fears change.

And kids grow up, no matter what.

'A Sergeant in Motion Outranks an Officer Who's Not'

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

More than once or twice, I've mentioned my admiration for the work of Howard Tayler, the writer and artist of "Schlock Mercenary." Every day (for free?!), with tongue in cheek and plasma guns set on ominous hum, Tayler explores strange new worlds, intricate plots, and military-themed humor. In the past, I've likened it to a combination of "Hammer's Slammers," "Starship Troopers," and "Red Dwarf."

The title character, the fun-loving and Ovalkwik-consuming Sgt. Schlock, is a little harder to describe. The closest 21st century analogue I've found is a claymation character from a toilet commercial on Japanese TV. Let's ... not go there.

I thought I'd again mention "Schlock Mercenary" on the pages of Red Bull Rising today, if for no other reasons than these:

Tayler recently reiterated his Mercenary Maxim No. 2—"a sergeant in motion outranks a lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on"—in glorious Sunday multi-panel comic form. (See inset for excerpt.) In that particular strip, Tayler even suggested this corollary: "If you have to ask whether you're having a Maxim No. 2 moment, then, yes, you're having a Maxim No. 2 moment."

I'm obviously a sucker for epigrams and maxims. Remember Sherpatude No. 26? "Humor is a combat-multiplier. Except when it isn't." I rotate a set of 12 Mercenary Maxims—a digital bonus from the Schlock Mercenary 2012 wall calendar (now on sale at reduced price!)—as pictures on my computer desktop. (For the record, May is "Close air-support and friendly fire should be easier to tell apart.")

It affords me another opportunity to once again publish a picture of Tayler (above), who gamely posed for an Army buddy of mine at Gen Con 2011. Some people go to Disney World when they come home from an Afghan deployment. Others put on their riding leathers and go out on the road. My friends? They go to gaming conventions. Forget combat! Roll for saving throw!

In addition to enjoying Tayler's art and writing, I continue to learn from his creative approaches to marketing and media empire-building. Recently, in celebration of his upcoming eighth Schlock book (available for pre-orders today!), he challenged readers to Tweet, Like, and Blog about Schlock Mercenary. Do you see what he did there?

"That tingling? That means it's working!"

Check out "Schlock Mercenary" today!

A Jump Straight into the BAF

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Mother's Day 2012 fell on Sunday, May 13. In 2011, May 13 was a Friday. It was also the day I launched into Afghanistan as an embedded civilian reporter. In doing a little personal archeology this weekend, I came upon this never-before-posted Red Bull Rising blog entry. I thought I'd share it now. File it under "Where Were We One Year Ago ..."

MAY 13, 2011—Having cashed in some 95,000 of my wife's airline miles, it cost me $63 U.S. to get to Dubai.

Further opening the family wallet, it cost another $1,000 for a one-way flight straight into Bagram Airfield. A jump into the "BAF."

In my research into civilian routes to Afghanistan, I'd talked to a couple of Midwestern journalists who'd also recently made the Afghan trek. An Ohio TV crew reported they'd almost been escorted off the plane in Dubai, with officials citing their allegedly illegal possession of body armor and helmets. A U.S. State Department rep on the scene had advised not to fight it.

A newspaper reporter buddy had his protective equipment "confiscated" at an Afghan police checkpoint outside of Kabul International Airport (K.I.A.). One of the hard-and-fast rules for embedded media is: You need your body armor and magic helmet to board any military aircraft or ground vehicle. Lucky for my buddy, he was on his way out of the country—transferring from military to civilian transportation, rather than the other way around. Still, it was a sticky-fingered situation. "Not allowed," he was told with the wag of a policeman's finger, as that same policeman began to take the reporter's stockholder-funded gear. The police offered this compromise: "I give back to you when you come back to Afghanistan."

Yeah ... right. Or maybe I can by it back by watching the Taliban Home Shopping Network?

I regard travel like I do baseball—I've never really been a very strong fan of either, but it seems somewhat un-American to say so. For me, however, both activities seem full of questionably prepared foods, unthinkable latrines, uncomfortable seating arrangements, and arcane languages. Plus, I get the sneaking suspicion that the guys with the money make up their own rules. You want me to pay my hard-earned money to subsidize all that?! I think I'll stay home and have a beer. I can make my own nachos.

To extend the sports metaphor a little: In planning my Afghan travel, I've got the problem of transporting $2,500 of personally purchased equipment to my next away game. In fact, it's my own Big Show. My Kelvar stuff is heavy, but still breakable. And it's illegal in a growing number of countries. I buy the wrong ticket, make the wrong move, go through the wrong airport, and it's a potential show-stopper.

When Uncle Sam is your travel agent, everything is easy. You are told what to pack, when to show up, and to wait for the next flight. You are escorted and eased through customs. Nobody steals your stuff. When you go free-agent, however, you get the bum's rush. "Hurry up and wait" turns into "you can't do that here."

Consider this cautionary language from the U.S. State Department:

All US personnel - to avoid violation of Emirati laws by the intentional or accidental transport of any arms or items considered as law enforcement equipment or military gear. UAE airport personnel will x-ray all baggage - checked or carry-on - and cargo shipments, including household goods, both incoming and outgoing. UAE authorities will confiscate any weapons, weapon parts, ammunition, body armor, handcuffs, sensitive electronics, cryptographic devices, and/or other military/police equipment transported to or through a civilian airport. Persons found to be carrying such items will be arrested and face strict criminal penalties, including imprisonment and large monetary fines. One such incident involved one bullet, found in the bag of a traveler who had unknowingly left the item in his bag. [Emphasis added.] This individual was detained by the police and now faces a possible jail sentence and large monetary fine. In other similar incidents, U.S. defense contractors transiting the U.A.E. with weapons were arrested and are now serving jail sentences of several months.

Do I have anything to declare? Why, yes, that I'll do anything to avoid traveling through your country, thank you.

Safety is another factor, although one with ever fewer clear solutions. One of my favorite passages regarding travel to Kabul comes from Lonely Planet:

Flying into Kabul has always been a bit of an adventure. In the 1980s and ’90s, approaching planes had to steeply corkscrew when approaching the airport as an antimissile defence, while as recently as 2006, new arrivals were greeted by the sight of the ‘Ariana Graveyard’, a twisted and shattered junkpile of destroyed airliners. The same year also finally saw the installation of a radar system at the airport.

Poor maintenance has been a worry for Ariana flights, and the UN and many embassies ban their staff from flying with the airline, which has also been barred from EU airspace. Much of the fleet are second-hand planes from Indian Airlines, but these are slowly being replaced. Kam Air uses newer planes and is generally regarded as being better run, but it has Afghanistan’s one recent fatal crash to its name: a flight between Herat and Kabul crashed in February 2005 with the loss of 104 lives. Snowy conditions were blamed.

I'll take "Travel Insights I Won't Tell My Wife for $200," please, Alex?

If you're flying a charter, you can often make up your own rules. One of my more surreal deployment memories? While returning from a deployment to Egypt in 2004, I field-stripped my M-16 rifle so that I could stuff it under my airline seat. The smaller parts went into an air-sickness bag. Waterproofing bonus!

Back when I worked at the Better Magazine Factory, my fellow workaday editors and I would roll our eyes at our snooty editors-in-chief, who were rumoredly too posh to carry-on or check-in their own luggage. Such high-roller-bag behavior might fly at Condé-Nasty New York, but here in River City, Iowa? Allegedly, they'd overnight-express their goods to their next night's destinations.

Still, while the Devil may wear Prada on the plane, however, she never wears Kevlar. I swallowed my Midwestern carry-it-myself pride, and mailed my body armor to a Bagram buddy via the U.S. Postal Service. I flew through Dubai, and flew a chartered 737 directly into Bagram. The name of the outfit--Middle East affiliate of "Diplomat Freight Services"--made me feel like I was about to cuddle up in a romantic cargo bay alongside some ambassador's in-bound stash of Johnnie Walker Blue.

The reality of it turned out to be far more pedestrian: A 737 full of contractors, ex-military, one Middle Western media guy, and other ne'er-do-wells. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My original itinerary was to fly American Airlines from Des Moines to Chicago, and Chicago to London; then British Airways from London to Dubai. Due to storms over Chicago, however, I was delayed getting out of Des Moines, and rerouted to Dallas-Fort Worth.

When I got to Texas, the next flight to Los Angeles had been cancelled. So I spent the night circling DFW in a tram, launched to Los Angeles in the morning, then made a Los Angeles connection to Dubai via Emirates Airlines. From Los Angeles, it was one excruciating no-hitter of a non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Dubai: Up the West Coast, over Canada and the Arctic Circle, down Eastern Europe. I think we even flew over Iran, but I may have been hallucinating by that point.

The in-flight entertainment on Emirates 218 was exceptional, however, with on-demand video served to each and every seat—even those of us in the nose-bleed section. Over the course of 16 hours or so, I watched a series of recent-vintage movies, including: the Coen Brothers' remake of "True Grit", the unnecessarily bromantic update of "The Green Hornet", and "The King's Speech"

Only in retrospect did I realize that each of these selections involved unexpected heroes: Rooster Cogburn, Britt Reid, and Lionel Logue. A lawman turned drunkard, a newspaper publisher turned "criminal," and a ne'er-do-well thespian turned speech therapist.  

For the rest of the trip, I thought myself in characteristically good company.

A White House War Story

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

This weekend is the 2012 Milblogging Conference. While I wasn't able to swing the trip to Washington, D.C. this year--Household-6 jokes that I'm still paying off last year's airline ticket to Afghanistan, plus a few thousand dollars' worth of ballistic sportswear--I wish those gathered there peace, love, and understanding. And, of course, the festive adult beverage of their choice.

There are a number of potentially interesting panel mil-blogging discussions scheduled for tomorrow, Sat., May 12, which will be live-streamed by the folks at You Served. Events include:

"The Military and the Media"
"Benefits: Promises Delivered, Delay, or Dismissed?"
"Q&A with Scott Waugh, producer and director of 'Act of Valor.'"
"Panel 3: Rise of Social Media in the Service Branches"
"The Pen and the Sword: MilBloggers Who Had An Impact"

For times and access to the video feed, click here.

A few of the usual suspects have already arrived in the District of Columbia, and are blogging, Tweeting, and Facebooking details of their travels. More than a few have placename-dropped the White House, although it's unclear whether its for business or pleasure.

Their mention of the White House reminded me of this personal war story from the media trenches:

Back in the late 1980s, I took a leave of absence from school and the Army to participate in a semester-long internship program funded by Sears Roebuck and Co. Because the program was designed for journalism and communications majors, each of us was assigned to work in a Congressional press office. Every week, we also attended various press conferences and other events, in order to get a feel for how each organization and agencies interacted with media.

On one such morning, we were standing outside the White House at a small booth and gate, waiting as the guard checked our names off a list to attend the daily press briefing. As we waited, reporters whose names and faces we knew shuffled by. I must've mentally gone into soldierly "hurry up and wait" mode, standing straight without locking knees, eyes straight ahead but taking it all in.

That's when David Broder walked by, flashing me his press pass. Other members of the press started doing the same.

During the de-brief, I mentioned the strange incident to the program's coordinator. "It was the military haircut and the black trench coat," he laughed. "They thought you were Secret Service!"

Like any good war story, however, someone's always got a better one:

Apparently, I wasn't the first Army cadet to have been accepted into the Sears Congressional Internship Program. The year before, the story goes, the Sears fellows were loitering at the U.S. Capitol, and the vice president is about to enter the building. Secret Service comes in, asks for tourists to clear a path. It's still a little crowded in one area. The agent in charge turns to the Sears intern with the high-and-tight haircut, and assumes he's also on the security detail: "Can you get these people to move back?"

The intern doesn't miss a beat, and immediately pivots to address the civilians: "Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have you move back to this line?"

Everything else goes as planned. The vice president arrives, blows through the hallway, and the security detail starts moving to follow behind him.

That's when the agent in charge did a head-count of his team.

He had one more agent than he started with.

The Things We Carry Still

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000

When I was in either high school or college, my kid brother and I were nosing around in a basement storage area of the Sherpa family home. In the dark, there were a few bags stuffed with Vietnam-era military gear, surplus left over from our father's time as a navigator on a U.S. Air Force cargo plane.

By the time of our basement explorations, Dad had left active duty, and was flying with the reserves. Unlike my brother Rain, I remember our family being in the active Air Force. I remember my shock when schoolyard playmates laughed at the way I said that just now: "My family is in the Air Force."

They laughed, didn't understand what I meant, said I couldn't possibly be in the Air Force.

I, in turn, didn't understand why they didn't get it. Didn't figure it out until I was an adult.

Now, a couple of decades and deployments later, I can better articulate the sentiment: One person wears the uniform, but the whole family serves.

Rain was born on a base in Florida, but probably was barely out of diapers when we left the Air Force. He didn't remember the flight suits and the black boots, the big cube bags and the poncho liners. Come to think of it, in the basement that day, I might've been foraging for those poncho liners. I might've already signed up with the Army by that point, to help pay for the back-half of college. Rain and I used to build tents out of the camouflage-patterned, quilted nylon blankets. When I joined the Army, I'd wanted to take them to the field.

Eventually, when I found them, Dad told me I'd have to get my own. The tactical blankets had gotten him through Vietnam, he said, and he wasn't about to give them up.

That day in the basement, we also found a couple of presentation cases containing medals and citations. Rain didn't know about these. I'd found them once before. There's a Distinguished Flying Cross (D.F.C.) in one of them—an award recognizing "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight"—and a narrative about how, as a young man, my father used his sextant to monitor the damaged tail of the C-130 Hercules in which he was a crew member. The tail had been hit by lightning.

To this day, I have yet to ask my father about that medal. Or that moment in the air, when he might not have come home.

I remember not wanting to know for certain. While the just-the-facts citation made it all sound almost routine, Dad might've been a hero. He might've also had a close call. At the time, I preferred to imagine the former possibility, and to ignore the latter. Young men are immortals, after all, and their fathers should be, too. As long as they can.

I should ask my father about that medal someday soon. I have my own footlocker now. My own war stories. My own military baggage.

*****

In keeping with director Sam Fischer's objective that the movie "Memorial Day"
become a catalyst for conversations between generations, social media efforts regarding the film's upcoming release have often posed the question: "What's in your footlocker?"

The movie centers on a conversation between a 13-year-old boy and his grandfather, about the latter's World War II experiences. In the publicity trailer, the grandfather narrates:

I kept things from the war. And then I kept them from my family. Myself, too, I guess. Some people call them 'souvenirs.' ... I don't know. To me, a souvenir is a foul ball at a baseball game. These are fragments of memory ... shrapnel.

In combat, you start to question what's real and what's not. You take things along the way. Because if those things were there, then ... you were there. And it really happened.

I didn't loot. And I didn't steal. I collected things that would help me remember. What I didn't count on was: They don't let you forget.

****

In a recent essay that appeared on Doonesbury's "The Sandbox," Iraq war veteran and author Colby Buzzell talks of finding stacks of slides his Vietnam-veteran father had taken while on foot patrol. His father was still alive, and they walked through some of the images together:

The dusty photo projector we were ready to give to Goodwill miraculously fired right up, so we decided to take a break from packing and go through the photographs. Beaming onto our living room wall were these beautiful shots of the Vietnam countryside, and shots taken from my father’s point of view while on foot patrols. He narrated the slides for me and as he saw different guys in his platoon, a warm smile would come to his face as he recalled old friends that he hasn’t laid eyes on in decades. We came to a shot of four or so young soldiers casually smiling, proudly standing around a bunch of captured weapons that, my father said, they discovered while searching a village.

His smile slowly disappeared. He remained silent for a second or two as he just furrowed his brows and studied the photo. Then he told me that all of the guys we were looking at were killed two days later during an ambush.

After that, it was time get back to work and look at those slides some other time, which of course we never did. I’ll always wonder what else was there. I imagine my father and I are part of a tradition of soldiers who have gone to war, taken a series of photographs and returned home to file them away, never to be looked at again.

*****

Stars & Stripes has launched a campaign to collect stories of service inspired by physical objects. The newspaper plans to publish the stories to celebrate Memorial Day 2012:

After more than a decade at war, chances are someone you knew, perhaps someone you loved, has given their life in military service to this country. But they aren't gone, not entirely. You have memories to call upon to bring them back to you, and you have physical objects that are a constant reminder of your fallen service member. Maybe a set of dog tags, an old T-shirt, a pickup truck or a tattoo.

To mark Memorial Day, Stars and Stripes wants to hear about your mementos and the people and stories that will forever be linked to them.

Click here to share your stories.

*****

The Omaha World-Herald is collecting stories and pictures of Nebraskans and Western Iowans who served in the Armed Forces during the Cold War, including the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Strategic Air Command, Germany, and elsewhere. Some of the narratives will be featured in a book, similar to one published on World War II, while others will appear in the newspaper and online.

Click here to share your stories.

You can also e-mail your memory and photo to: atwar.athome@owh.com

Or mail to: Dan Sullivan; "At War, At Home" blog; Omaha World-Herald Building 1314 Douglas St., Suite 700 Omaha, NE 68102-1811

Movie Review: 'Memorial Day'

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Tue, 01 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Less than 30 days remain until the release of "Memorial Day," a Minnesota-based feature film starring Jonathan Bennett, James Cromwell and his son John Cromwell.

Originally titled "Souvenirs" and filmed in 2010-2011 by a Minnesota-based production company, the movie alternates between the fictional stories of U.S. Army Lt. Bud Vogel, an 82nd Airborne Division "All-American" soldier fighting in World War II Holland, and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kyle Vogel, a Minnesota Army National Guard "Red Bull" soldier fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The narrative is driven by a front-porch conversation between grandson and grandfather that takes place on a summer day, after the 13-year-old boy finds a G.I. footlocker full of memorabilia.

In the "Memorial Day" publicity trailer, James Cromwell's character tells his grandson:

I didn't loot. And I didn't steal. I collected things that would help me remember. What I didn't count on was: They don't let you forget.You found the footlocker, Kyle, so ... I'll make a deal with you. Pick any three, and I'll tell you the story behind each one. God willing, you won't have to experience any of these things yourself. But if you do, you'll be ready.

The film is itself a memory-provoking artifact, a device by which someone might unlock conversations with a family member or friend about their military experiences. In press materials, director Sam Fischer writes:

In the bigger picture, I want this film to enhance the very meaning of the Memorial Day holiday in America—so that in addition to being a day of remembering, it also becomes a day of sharing memories. Veterans from World War II to the present are rarely forthcoming in telling their stories. We need to ask—almost insist—that these brave men and women share their experiences, and then we need to do them the honor of sitting back and listening. [...]

I hope [the film] can serve as a conduit to opening footlockers around the world and releasing the amazing stories locked inside. As one Army major said about the movie: "I don’t know when I’m going to tell my kids about my combat experiences, but I’m going to start by showing them this film.”

The $4.2 million film was shot using often-regional actors and extras, locations, and equipment. Production quality is excellent, and performances are generally above-average. Occasional moments feel a little stiff, but the overall movie is propelled forward by a lot of heart. Were it to air on cable television, it would easily feel at home on either the Hallmark or History channels.

There are a few scenes involving bloodshed, but the action is kept tight and small. (The Internet Movie Database lists the movie as Rated "R" for some war violence.) Media-savvy junior-high and high-school students should have no problem digesting the scenes, and moving on to consider the larger moral questions embedded in the story. Without spoiling the narrative, here are a few starter questions for the classroom or the front porch:

How did the grandfather's experiences in WWII Holland compare/contrast with those of his grandson Kyle?

How do you think 13-year-old Kyle's conversation with his grandfather affected his own decision to enlist?

How did his grandfather's stories inform Kyle's actions or opinions as a citizen-soldier?

History buffs will find little to complain about. The helmet patch sported in 2005-2007 Iraq by the Minnesotans and Iowans of 1st Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division are nowhere to be seen on screen, but Red Bull enthusiasts will still thrill to see many actors wearing a bull patch on each sleeve—the so-called "steak sandwich" or "double-bull." Plus, there's at least one classically bullish line of dialogue: "Talk like a Red Bull, yo."

So, pull up a footlocker. Pre-order "Memorial Day" via Amazon as a DVD and Blu-ray. It ships not later than May 29. According to the film's Facebook page, you may also be able to find it via AAFES, Barnes & Noble, Netflix, and Walmart.

Most of all, start talking about the movie. Like a Red Bull. Yo.

*****

For more Red Bull Rising background and links regarding "Memorial Day," click here.

Disclosure: The Red Bull Rising blog received a copy of this film for review.

Re: Classification of Mil-blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:30:00 +0000

Milblogging.com's one-of-a-kind index of military-themed blogs categorizes content by each U.S. branch of military service, as well as the labels of spouse, parent, reporter, supporter, and veteran.

With an eye toward generating a constructive conversation about how to inspire others to document and share their military experiences online, perhaps it might be useful to consider by content, rather than by author's experience, uniform, or vocation. This isn't intended to replace or redefine Milblogging.com's labels, but to offer a different way to look at blogs and other forms of online communication.

As an additional benefit, this exercise might encourage would-be communicators to consider forms and formats outside of "traditional" blogs, including: social media outlets such as Facebook pages, microblogging tools such as Twitter, or visual-media channels such as Flickr or YouTube.

Recently brainstormed with other bloggers and Facebook friends, here's a list of types of military-themed content that writers and artists might explore through online media:

spiritual / inspirational

family / spouse

parent

memorial

first-person narrative

support-the-troops project or organization

veterans organization

healthcare advice / experience

financial advice / experience

education / employment advice / experience

political activism / advocacy (To paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy: If you start a sentence with phrases such as "Congress should ..." or "You should vote for ...", you may already be an activist.)

news aggregator

news analysis

war-story / oral history aggregator

policy analysis / military strategy and tactics analysis

humor / satire / cartoon

historical (unit or family) / genealogical

official military unit, office, school, or branch of service

Stolen Valor watchdog

combat multipliers / enablers / capacity-builders (Examples: U.S. Department of State; U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civilians and contractors; private contractors, Non-Governmental Organization workers.)

What are we missing? What other suggestions do you have?

Mil-blogging Tips and Tactics, Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

This is second part of a two-part series on suggested Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (T.T.P.) for writers of military-themed blogs. For Part I, click here.

Make blogging a habit. Put yourself and your readers on a schedule, and stick to it. Keep writing. Even when you don't feel particularly inspired. Bonus tip: Before you publish a blog publicly, write it privately for at least 30 days. That gives you time to get into a rhythm, find a voice, and experiment with different visual designs and add-ons/widgets.

Some people even decide to keep their blogs accessible only to friends and family. A mil-blog doesn't have to be public.

Before every trigger-pull ... breathe. Use an off-line editor such as MarsEdit. Set your blog-posts to publish at a specific time, hours or days after they're written. That gives you some time to discover typos, or to think of better ways to say what you mean. Sherpatude No. 18 ("Your trigger finger is your safety ...") applies to the "send"/"publish" key as well.

Put social media in its place. Establish a Facebook page for your blog. Connect your blog to Facebook via an application such as Networked Blogs. The application will automatically re-post blog entries to Facebook. Given evolving readership trends, you may find you have more readers and comments on Facebook than you do on the blog itself. "Write once, publish many."

That said, remember that social media only feels like work. It's not actually producing anything. The blog's the thing, not making snarky comments or posting funny pictures. Set a timer for yourself, then get back to the blog.

Don't pay for your blog-hosting service. I use Google's Blogger, also known as Blogspot. Other friends use Word Press. Both are free.

Do pay for your own domain/URL. Some governmental computer networks automatically block web-addresses that include words such as "blogspot" and "wordpress." You can't blog to the military masses if your site is blocked on governmental computers. You can buy a domain for something like $5 to $25 annually.

Give someone else the keys, just in case. If you're going downrange, the unthinkable can and does happen. Plan for injuries and outages. Give someone back home log-in/password access to your blog, in case it needs to be shut down, permanently or temporarily. Besides, given the way the Internet interconnects via some parts of the world, you might also have to use this person to unlock your accounts. The blog-service police tend to regard multiple log-ins from Afghanistan, Germany, and India on any given day as an attack, rather than as a poor blogger downrange attempting to administer his/her blog comments.

Recognize that experiences vary. Just because the Army is one way for you, doesn't mean that it's that way for everyone in the Army. Times change, procedures evolve, situations are fluid. Every experience, including your own, is "Army of One, sample of one." Anecdotes do not equal analysis. Feelings aren't facts. See also Sherpatude No. 3: "Never speak with complete authority regarding that which you lack direct knowledge, observation, and/or suppressive fires."

Words matter, but pictures help. A photo or other illustration will increase the number of readers to a given post. Beware of copyright infringements, however. Always use your own photography, or images that are shared via a collective commons license.

Register your blog. Register and claim your blog at Milblogging.com. It's a good way for new readers to find and follow you, as well as to find and follow other bloggers.

Keep it short. For optimal readability, most blog-posts should be no more than approximately 500 words in length. If you've gone on too long on a given post, consider breaking it into parts.

Finally, don't worry about summation. When a given post feels finished, end it.

Mil-blogging Tips and Tactics, Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

As mentioned in a previous Red Bull Rising blog-post, a couple of readers asked for Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (T.T.P.) on "How to Write a Mil-blog."

With the usual "lessons-learned"-style caveats about my being both an Army of One and a Sample of One, what follows is a quick run toward some helpful hints. More caveats: Your results may vary. Void where prohibited. Take what you need, leave the rest.

Here goes, in no particular order:

Choose your own adventurous identity."On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog." As a journalist, I've been trained to avoid citing anonymous sources and to view the use of pseudonyms suspiciously. That said, I realize that loved ones—especially kids—don't always like to appear in print. There's also the question of your co-workers and fellow soldiers: Regardless of whether you live in on a FOB or in a foxhole, you also have to train, fight, win, sleep, and eat with the guys and gals next to you.

Because of all that, for purposes of safety and sanity, you may wish to mask people's identities. You may also wish to mask your own, because Uncle Sam is occasionally a little bi-polar when it comes to blogging. The same guy who made you a lean, mean killing machine is also the one who issued you a Reflective Safety Belt.

Personally, I started writing under a pseudonym because, while preparing to deploy in 2009, I was confused and confounded by Army rules and regulations regarding use of social media. Keep in mind, IT WAS PART OF MY ARMY JOB to advise my command and fellow staffers regarding uses/risks of social media. I was an internal communicator (and blogger) by day, and a mil-blogger by night. Although that sounds a little like a mission brief that starts off with "Assault Team Fox will secure Objective Henhouse,"creating the "Sherpa" allowed me to established a bright line between on-duty and after-duty.

With all my various identities and log-ins, by the way, my buddy Archer started calling me a "4th Level Sock Puppet."

So, I'm a fan of pseudonyms. Years after the fact, the "Sherpa" persona continues to be useful. Sherpa is neither a commissioned nor warrant nor enlisted soldier. Who he is depends on where he is and who you are. Sherpa is neither trigger-puller, Fobbit, nor stay-at-home Jody. Sherpa can play stupid when necessary, and be a smart@$$ when he wants to. The real guy wearing the mask can't always do that.

Besides, Sherpa and I know different people. We tend to lead separate lives.

State the mission. Before you even write your first blog-post, write an approximately 25-word statement describing the purpose and scope of your blog. Complete this sentence: "The purpose of this blog is to ..." Don't worry: Nothing is written in stone on the Internet, and you can always change it later. Don't know where to start? Read on ...

Triangulate your position. Name three of your life's passions. Write them on piece of paper. You can even draw circles around them, like a Venn diagram. Look where they intersect. That's your target. Start your writing there. (Example: When I started Red Bull Rising, I knew I was passionate about my family, citizen-soldiers, and the 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division.)

As long as any given post connects to some or all of your three passions, you'll keep a tight topical shot-group.

Never write anything you wouldn't say to someone face-to-face. I learned a variation of this in journalism school: "Never write anything you wouldn't want to see on the front page of The New York Times." Either way, it distills to this: Never write anything you wouldn't want to explain or defend. That goes for e-mail messages, news articles, love letters, Facebook hacks, and blog posts.

Pick your fights wisely. The old summer-camp-and-dorm-room rule applies: Never talk religion or politics, they just stand in the way of a good time or mutual understanding. You have your opinions. Let other people have theirs. Let's talk about what matters, mil-bloggers. Let's talk about the troops.

Be open to all. Blogging is a journey, not a destination. You meet a lot of people along the way. Take wisdom and advice, wherever you find it. That grandmother in Kentucky knows more than you do about bloggers and blogging, as well as what's happening overseas. So does that Army doctor's wife, who turns out to be a freelance writer who shares an interest in educating youth about writing. So does that mischievous Medieval Sheila who sends pink musk-sticks in care packages to our troops downrange.

Personal note: I would not be the blogger I am today without a lot of help from Kentucky Woman, Kanani Fong, Mari Paxford, Jeff Courter, Ben Tupper, David Stanford at Doonesbury's "The Sandbox," Tom Ricks, Carl Prine, and Doctrine Man!!

Remember Sherpatude No. 24.

*****

One of my next pointers is to keep blog-posts short. And, when you can't do that, to cut them into parts. That leads me to this statement:

To be continued in the next Red Bull Rising blog-post ...

New Mil-blogs for Your Consideration

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Thanks, everyone, for your words and votes of support for the Red Bull Rising blog last week. The blog was named as a finalist in the "Reporter" category of the 2012 Milbloggies. Voting is now closed, and the ballot box is sealed until the 2012 Milblog Conference in Arlington, Va, May 11-12.

While it's a lot of fun rustling and wrangling for votes, the real value of the annual "People's Choice"-style contest is the opportunity it provides to discover (and re-discover) different voices and blogs.

Tracer-fire always points both ways, of course, and the nomination of Red Bull Rising blog generated a few queries from new friends. A couple have even asked for Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (T.T.P.) on how to get started blogging themselves. I'll look forward to using that as a writing prompt for a post later this week.

In the meantime, here are a few blogs I've recently discovered through the Milbloggies and other venues:

"The Horseshoe Formation." Written by a deployed and anonymous "U.S. Army Captain without a Formation."

"Fear and Loathing in the Infantry." Written by another anonymous junior Army officer (?) downrange.

"With a Bible in My Ruck." New York National Guard soldier Jonathan Raab's blog has been relatively quiet since his arrival in Kuwait. This may be due to difficulties in coming to an agreement with his command regarding his writing. Or it may have to do with his contracting mononucleosis, as indicated at his girlfriend's new blog. Either way, check out his April 22, 2012 "Daily Beast" essay regarding how soldiers downrange perceive service in Kuwait vs. service in Afghanistan.

"The Duffel Blog." A satirical faux-news blog similar in tone to the The Onion, this tongue-in-cheeky site has quickly proven to be a free-fire zone of above-average barracks humor. They leave no boundary unbreeched, no button unpushed. In an April 23, 2012 item titled "National Guard unit takes wrong turn ...", for example, the site even reported that 1st Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (1-34th BCT) recently re-invaded Iraq!

2012 Milbloggies: Vote for Red Bull Rising!

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:30:00 +0000

The Red Bull Rising blog is a finalist under the "Reporter" category of Sixth Annual Milbloggies awards, conducted by Milblogging.com. In the "People's Choice"-style contest, readers vote for their favorite military-themed blogs.

Categories range from Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard blogs, to those written by military parents, spouses, supporters, and veterans. Voting starts Tues., April 17 and ends Fri., April 20.

To vote for the Red Bull Rising blog in the 2012 Milbloggies' "Reporter" category, click here.

To follow the Red Bull Rising blog on Facebook, click here.

In 2011, the Red Bull Rising blog was a finalist in the "Veteran" category. That year, nominations occurred slightly before the blog's writer embedded as civilian media with the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) in Eastern Afghanistan.

"The Milbloggies competition always seems to be fierce, friendly, and fiercely friendly," says Charlie Sherpa, the pseudonymous writer of Red Bull Rising. "It's no-Bull to say that it's an honor just to have Red Bull Rising appear alongside some real mil-blogging mainstays."

Sherpa noted there was no category specifically addressing his experiences as a "recovering journalist, Army veteran, self-appointed unit historian, and court jester."

According to the Red Bull Rising website, the missions of the blog are:

To explain in plain language the roles, responsibilities, and routines of the U.S. citizen-soldier, with particular focus on the U.S. 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division.

To illuminate ways in which citizen-soldiers past and present--as well as their families--can be remembered, supported, and celebrated.

"I keep a pretty tight shot group on content, and aim to provide a mix of news, humor, and first-person lessons that communicate the citizen-soldier experience," says Sherpa. "The journey has been an enlightening one for me: starting in 2009, starting out with pre-deployment and mobilization training, to actions on the ground and life downrange, to homecoming topics such as family reintegration, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (P.T.S.D.), remembering the fallen, and civilian unemployment."

Exploring the 2-34th BCT "Red Bull" story has illuminated experiences universally shared by citizen-soldiers and their families, Sherpa says, including those of:

Vermont's 86th BCT, deployed to Eastern Afghanistan, 2009-2010.

Oklahoma's 45th BCT "Thunderbird", deployed to Eastern Afghanistan, 2011-2012.

Minnesota's 1-34th BCT "Red Bull", deployed to Iraq 2005-2007; Iraq/Kuwait 2011-2012.

Ohio's 37th BCT "Buckeye," currently deployed to Northern Afghanistan.

Winners will be announced at the 2012 Milblog Conference in Alexandria, Va., May 11-12. The Milbloggies contest is sponsored by USAA.

Nominees in other categories include some "usual suspects" from the Red Bull Rising blog roll, including:

U.S. Army: "Afghan Blue III," written by a U.S. National Guard soldier with Ohio's 37th BCT, currently in Northern Afghanistan on his third overseas deployment.

U.S. Marine: "Castra Praetoria" written by the recently promoted "America's Sergeant Major." Vote for him or the zombies win.

U.S. Military Parent: "My Yellow Ribbon," written by a proud Red Bull parent who is also a previous winner in that category.

U.S. Military Spouse: "The Kitchen Dispatch."

U.S. Military Supporter: "Assoluta Tranquillita."

For a list of all finalists and categories, click here.

To vote in all categories, click here. Polls close Fri., April 20, at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT. Voting is limited to one per IP address.

For more rules and Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.) about the 2012 Milbloggies, click here.

Everyday Memorials for Fallen Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Merle Hay Road in Des Moines, Iowa, is a busy north-south road that links a decades-old retail and commercial district to Camp Dodge, the largest military installation in the state.

In addition to strip malls, shops, and restaurants, there is notably an Earl May Nursery and Garden Center located on Merle Hay Road. The business has multiple Des Moines locations, but only one that invites this locally popular alliteration: "The Earl May on Merle Hay."

In these parts, that passes for practically poetic.

The street is notably named after the first U.S. soldier from Iowa—and perhaps the first American soldiers—killed in World War I. Merle David Hay, 24, was one of three U.S. 1st Infantry Division soldiers killed in trench warfare near Bathelémont-lès-Bauzemont, France, Nov. 2-3, 1917.

The best memorials gently jolt us out of our routines and distractions, and remind us of those now missing from our daily lives. I have to admit, however, that I drive on Merle Hay Road nearly every day, but that the experience rarely causes me to reflect upon World War I. I'm in too much of a hurry. Other people are, too.

There must be a better way.

In another life and job, I write about architecture, construction, and community planning. Personally and professionally, I love exploring the ways that we invest meaning in places and things. Whenever I travel to our nation's capital, I make a point of visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. When I find myself on the grounds of Camp Dodge, I try to stop by the 34th Division Memorial, a small monolith that commemorates the Red Bull soldiers of World War II. In today's media hustle and 24-hour traffic, however, stone walls do not always an ideal memorial make. It's a question of mental space as much as it is physical real estate.

How do you make an everyday memorial, one that busy people will find meaningful and not morbid? One that's accessible, without risk of becoming commonplace? How does one person make a difference, helping to keep alive the memory of a friend, buddy, or family member?

Naming places and things, after all, takes some amount of collective time, effort, and money—people working together as towns, neighborhoods, or non-profit groups. That said, streets, schools, buildings, parks, and trails are all good venues for commemorating individual soldiers, units, or even veterans in general. Personally, I'd much rather see the names of public spaces evoke themes of duty and service, rather than have them sold to the highest bidder.

And, as mentioned in previous Red Bull Rising posts, towns and groups can also commemorate fallen soldiers with street banners and billboards.

So, where does that leave the rest of us, acting as individuals?

One of my old Army buddies makes a practice of posting via social media the names, ages, and of those soldiers who were killed during his unit's deployment to Iraq. Another ensures his unit's Facebook page commemorates the anniversary dates of those killed.

And I've taken to subscribing (by "liking") the Facebook pages of entities such as Iowa Remembers Inc., which regularly commemorates those Iowans who have been killed in service to their country. Here's a typical entry: "Remembering an Iowa Hero ... Army Sgt. Brent Maher, 31, Honey Creek, Iowa - 4/11/11. He is not forgotten."

That's short, sweet, to the point. It's almost "name, rank, and serial number," except for the little touches, like dates and hometowns. And "he is not forgotten" gets me everytime.

Here are some other ways that people can help commemorate their friends, family, co-workers, and others killed in service to their country:

Organize or participate in a memorial motorcycle ride or bicycle ride.

Wear a photo button or commemorative bracelet naming a fallen soldiers. Or, if the soldier is an immediate family member, wear a gold star lapel pin. When people ask about what you're wearing, be prepared with a short answer or story about your soldier.

Organize or participate in a memorial run or walk.

Place an automotive window decal on your personal vehicle, identifying a fallen soldier.

Post a Facebook cover photo depicting a fallen soldier.

Post a Facebook status, photo, or other social media update with the soldier's name and date of death.

The best memorials aren't designed to make people feel bad or guilty, but to remember and celebrate a life. What other 21st century ways have you seen to commemorate fallen soldiers, friends, and family? What can you do to help keep their memories alive?

Examples of Facebook cover photos courtesy of Chelsey Bliss (for Spc. Donald Nichols) and Amanda Justice (for Staff Sgt. James Justice).

Signs of Our Times

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Like an old tactical radio, Sherpa's personal Facebook net has crackled to life recently, with traffic regarding 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT), Iowa Army National Guard soldiers killed in Eastern Afghanistan last year. Anniversary stories make for lazy journalism, but they're also easy emotional handholds—especially for those of us either back home or left behind, who are struggling with What It All Meant.

"All gave some, but some gave all." With all the clutter and din of daily life, that's sometimes a little too easy to forget. I don't know about you, but I appreciate the occasional emotional radio-check. Helps maintain one's perspective, and priorities.

Three of the four 2-34th BCT fatalities in Afghanistan occurred in April 2011. It was a cruel month:

Spc. Brent M. Maher, 31, of Honey Creek, Iowa. Killed in IED attack, April 11, 2011, Paktiya Province. Member of 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1-168th Inf.).

Spc. Donald L. Nichols, 21, of Shell Rock, Iowa. Killed in IED attack, April 13, 2011, Laghman Province. Member of 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment (1-133rd Inf.).

Staff Sgt. James A. Justice, 32, of Grimes, Iowa. Killed by small-arms fire, April 23, 2011, Kapisa Province. Member of 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment (1-113th Cav.).

Operation Never Forgotten, a non-profit organization based in Saline, Mich., promotes patriotic messages that encourage others to celebrate and remember military personnel and their families. Through its "Billboards for Heroes" program, the organization helps memorialize fallen soldiers through the production and placement of digital public-service advertisements.

The larger-than-life pictures portray the soldiers not only as military men and women, but as parents, partners, and members of a community.

Starting Mon., April 9, some 14 Des Moines, Iowa metro area billboards owned by Clear Channel Outdoor have borne the image of Staff Sgt. James "Juice" Justice and his daughter Caydence, along with the caption "My Dad, Your Fallen Hero." In one, he wears a fleece cap bearing the logo of his beloved University of Iowa Hawkeyes. The graphics rotate with other advertisements for colleges and cellphones, staying on screen for approximately 10 seconds each time they appear.

In an April 6 television news report, his wife, Amanda Justice, told WHO-TV/Channel 13 that she hopes the billboards remind people of the sacrifices borne by few, as well as the losses we collectively share:

Even if it makes someone think for five seconds while they're driving get to work [...] Or if it brings tears to your eyes [...] I hope it makes people remember and feel something, and just take a second to think about what someone is willing to give up for them [...] I just don't want any of them to be forgotten.

According to Families of Iowa's Fallen, the Des Moines locations of billboards honoring Staff Sgt. Justice include:

S.W. 9th St, 500 ft. north of Morgan St., east side of street
Fleur Dr., 10 ft. north of Porter Ave., east side of street
Keo Way, 100 ft. west of 12th St, north side of street
Fleur Dr., 700 ft. north of Bell Ave., west side of street
Fleur Dr., 200 ft. south of McKinley, east side of street
University Ave., 100 ft. E/O East 27th Ct, south side of street
Merle Hay Rd., ES 270 ft. N/O Douglas, east side of street
Interstate-80/35, one-half mile east of East 14th St, south side of street

At least one of 14 fatalities suffered in 2011-2012 by 45th BCT ("Thunderbird") has also been memorialized through the Billboards for Heroes program. In July 2011, the Oklahoma National Guard unit replaced Iowa's 2-34th BCT in Eastern Afghanistan, and returned home earlier this month.

Omaha Paper Follows-up Red Bull Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Three Iowa and two Nebraska citizen-soldiers were profiled in anniversary stories that appeared in the Omaha World-Herald, Sun., April 1, 2012. The soldiers were part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) deployment to Eastern Afghanistan, from August 2010 to July 2011. Omaha World-Herald reporter Joe Morton and photographer Alyssa Schukar embedded with the units, first at Fort Irwin, Calif. in fall 2010, and again in Afghanistan, spring 2011.

The soldiers' stories are a compelling mix of text, photo, and not-to-be-missed video coverage. They include:

Alexis Trucke: "I'd like to deploy again, someday"
Jeremiah Afuh: Finding a job is "like everything else. You have to fight for it."
John Kerschner: "I believe in our freedoms, and I believe in taking personal responsibility for them"
William Gomez: "My dream has always been to become a soldier"
John Matheson: "Say something nice about my wife. ... She's a hero in my book"

According to an April 3 report, Schukar's Afghan photo work won awards in two different large-newspaper categories in the 2012 Great Plains Associated Press (A.P.) News and Photo Contest. Forty member North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska newspapers in three circulation categories competed:

In Feature photos, a first-place photo depicting a young Afghan boy amidst a sea of women wearing blue burkas, awaiting a wintertime humanitarian delivery of flour, sugar, cooking oil, and tea by Nebraksa's 1st Squadron, 134th Cavalry Regiment (1-334th Cav.).

In the Spot News category, a third-place photo depicting an Iowa cavalry trooper smoking a cigarette after a firefight with insurgents in Parwan Province. The caption reads: "With the blood of an insurgent fighter on his hand, Spc. Brandon Dykun smokes a cigarette shortly after engaging in contact with two insurgents in a dry ravine near the village of Walli Kalay on April 7, 2011." Dykun was deployed with Iowa National Guard's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment (1-113th Cav.) Both the Nebraska and Iowa cavalry units were part of 2-34th BCT deployment to Eastern Afghanistan, from August 2010 to July 2011. Approximately 3,000 citizen-soldiers participated in the deployment.

Schukar's work has been previously mentioned on the Red Bull Rising blog here. In a "Viewfinder" blog entry that serves as a companion to the World-Herald's most recent coverage, she describes her own motivations in revisiting the Red Bull soldiers:

Some of the best feedback we received from our time spent as embedded journalists with the Nebraska and Iowa soldiers there came from simple portraits of soldiers with quick question-and-answer interviews, which we posted almost daily to our At War, At Home page.

I found that family members were eager to hear any news of their deployed loved ones, and soldiers were quick to take the opportunity to talk about why they joined the National Guard and who was waiting for them back home.

The time changed me in surprisingly positive ways. I wanted to see the soldiers again, to learn how Afghanistan affected them and what their lives were like now.

In the past few months, I revisited five of the 60 soldiers whose portraits I took while I was embedded. Talking with them was very rewarding. We spoke of our shared experiences in Afghanistan and adjustments to life back in Nebraska and Iowa.

Scenes from a Service-Dog Graduation

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

It's a sultry spring Friday afternoon outside the Gold Star Museum on Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa. The sun is out, the wind feels soft, and you can smell the earth. Even the military-grade grass on the adjacent parade field is beginning to turn green. To every thing, there is a season.

Inside, there is happy chaos. A hundred little crises have come together in an event that seems part high-school graduation open house, part family reunion, part end-of-season sports team banquet. The mood is upbeat and bittersweet, and there's often not a dry eye or nose in the room. A few funny stories, an emotional music video, and plenty of puppies. Labrador Retriever puppies, both black and tan.

Nobody plays "Pomp and Circumstance" (or should that be "Paws and Circumstance"?), but, later, there will be marble cake. And a barbecue. Because nothing good happens in Iowa without grilling a sacrifice.

More than 50 people have turned out to celebrate the next steps forward for nine Midwestern veterans and their new canine partners. The dogs are psychiatric service and mobility animals, trained by Paws & Effect to perform physical tasks that mitigate conditions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (P.T.S.D.) and limited ranges of movement. They are trained to respond to their handlers' flashbacks or nightmares, for example, or to retrieve objects that are out of reach.

While the animals no doubt also provide an emotional or therapeutic benefit—in covering these kinds of stories, news reporters typically cite here the calming effects of pet ownership—they are not pets. Neither are they "companion," "emotional support," or "stress-relief" animals. They are working dogs, heading out into a working world.

Since 2006, the Des Moines, Iowa-based non-profit organization has trained therapy and service animals for Midwestern veterans and others, and educated and advocated regarding laws requiring service-animal access to public spaces. The organization is often augmented by trainers from Canine Craze, West Des Moines.

In the past two weeks, the veterans have met their service dogs for the first time. They've lived, eaten, slept, played, and worked with their partners, developing emotional bonds and basic understandings.

Think of it as Boot Camp, but with paws. After graduation, everything else is on-the-job training. And annual refresher courses.

As with military training, classroom presentations are followed by field exercises. The veterans, now dog-handlers, learn to navigate venues such as shopping malls, movie theaters, restaurants, and airport security checkpoints. When traveling by air, the dogs are trained to lay down in the underseat luggage area. The veterans practice the maneuver on a passenger aircraft parked at the Des Moines International Airport.

During the placement course, Paws & Effect temporarily bases its operations out of the Dodge House, a small, single-story facility across the street from the museum—and right next to the house inhabited by Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, the adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard.

Named after the same Civil War general from which the Camp Dodge takes its name, the single-story Dodge House is often rented for social and other events. It features a kitchen, a sunroom, and a expansive front porch. After classroom discussions there, the veterans train with their dogs until both are tired, then sneak an occasional cat nap. After dinner, they watch movies and play training "games." The veterans cheekily rechristen the building the "Dog House."

The March 30 graduation is the first and last time that many recipients will see the families who helped raise their animals as puppies. Puppy-raisers include both civilian and military foster families, who volunteer to help dog-trainers from Paws & Effect socialize, work, and train animals at home and in public. (Under Iowa law, service-dogs-in-training are afforded the same rights as other service animals.)

The puppy-raiser relationship lasts approximately 18 months, during which time the non-profit carefully monitors the health, training, and personality of each animal. Paws & Effect pays for food, medicine, equipment, and other expenses. One dog can cost the organization up to $25,000 in supplies, care, and training.

At the same time, Paws & Effect identifies prospective recipients through channels such as the Iowa National Guard and the Community-Based Warrior Transition Unit (C.B.W.T.U.) at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., an installation located on the Mississippi River along the "east coast" of Iowa.

While there have been other dogs placed individually, Friday marks the first formal placement course and graduation for Paws & Effect. Three more litters are already in the works for placement in late-2012 and early-2013. One is named after military land navigation terms, such as "Pace," "Ridge," and "Hilltop". The other is named after radio-friendly phonetic alphabet characters, such as "Charlie," "Oscar," and "Victor". (Nicole Shumate, director and dog-trainer-in-chief for Paws & Effect, reserves the "Alfa"-dog label for herself.)

The 2012 class notably includes "Ryder" and "Archer," two of the "Red Bull" litter named last year in honor of the 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division. Others still in training include "Havoc," "Avancéz" (who goes by "Van"), and "Sabre."

The 2012 graduating Paws & Effect service dogs and their human partners are:

Anthem and Joe
Archer and Troy
Hero and Dustin
Honor and Wade
Liberty and Casey
Merit and Mitch
Roo and the Iowa National Guard. (Roo will be a "facility dog," used for hospital visits to wounded warriors, Soldier Readiness Processing, behavioral health assessments, and other missions.)
Ryder and Bill
Valor and Dean

The puppy-raisers have prepared "legacy" books—collections of letters, photos, memorabilia documenting their puppies' early lives. As groups of puppy-raisers, veterans, and dogs are recognized with applause, trainers and others tell stories about each match or pairing:

"It was clear that Anthem was going to be Joe's dog from the start," says Paws & Effect director Nicole. "I just wish Tammy had told me that Anthem liked carrots for rewards. And not just any carrots, mind you: They had to be coins. And they had to have ridges."

****

"I felt like I was writing a dating-service ad for my dog," says puppy-raiser Travis, about starting to write a note for Hero's legacy book: "'My dog is the best-looking and smartest dog.'" He ended up writing five pages.

****

"My dog is just the right balance of challenge and complement," says one recipient. Another says, "I got my smile back."

****

A number of the veterans observe the placement course was the first they'd slept soundly in a long time. Another veteran reports that, twice in one night, his dog had woken him from a nightmare by licking his face.

****

Nicole notes that one veteran had neglected to tell her that he might have a leg amputated in coming months. She and the puppy-raiser gave the dog a 6-day crash course in mobility-assistance skills, such as how to retrieve objects. "At one point, I was getting hourly updates: 'The dog is picking up keys ...' 'The dog is picking up frozen peas ...'" Apparently, the training took, she says, because the veteran later wondered why "the dog will not stop handing me things!"

****

Family members also offer words of wisdom, thanks, and humor. "During class, I was the one who asked one day about what happens when my husband and I start getting a little ... 'active,'" one spouse shares, to friendly laughter. "Would the dog think I was hurting him? The group decided I should ask you, the puppy-raisers, about that." As she makes eye contact with the couple who raised her husband's new service dog, the room breaks into giggles. Not to worry, the couple responds: The dog is fully trained.

After the laughter, as promised, there is cake. And barbecue.

"To everything, there is a season."

It is springtime in Iowa.

You don't need to be a dog to smell the possibilities.

Photos courtesy of Paws & Effect.

Coming Soon: A 'Red Bull' Feature Film!

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000

"Memorial Day," a Minnesota-based feature film starring Jonathan Bennett, James Cromwell and his son John Cromwell will be released to video on Memorial Day 2012. It is available for pre-order through Amazon as DVD and Blu-ray, and ships May 29.

Originally titled "Souvenirs" and filmed in 2010-2011 by a Minnesota-based production company, the movie alternates between the fictional stories of U.S. Army Lt. Bud Vogel, an 82nd Airborne Division "All-American" soldier fighting in World War II Holland, and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kyle Vogel, a Minnesota Army National Guard "Red Bull" soldier fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The narrative is driven by a front-porch conversation between grandson and grandfather that takes place on a summer day, after the 13-year-old boy finds a G.I. footlocker full of memorabilia.

In the "Memorial Day" publicity trailer, James Cromwell's character tells his grandson:

I didn't loot. And I didn't steal. I collected things that would help me remember. What I didn't count on was: They don't let you forget.

You found the footlocker, Kyle, so ... I'll make a deal with you. Pick any three, and I'll tell you the story behind each one. God willing, you won't have to experience any of these things yourself. But if you do, you'll be ready.

The movie premiered to an audience of Minnesota National Guard personnel and families Sat., March 31, at Riverview Theater, Minneapolis. It was also simulcast to five overseas locations, where 23 citizen-soldiers who were background actors are currently deployed with the 1st Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (1-34th BCT). The unit of approximately 2,700 members is nearing the completion of a 2011 deployment to Iraq and Kuwait.

A total of 39 Red Bull citizen-soldiers—the equivalent of an Army platoon—were "extras" during filming of "Memorial Day." Still more Minnesota Air and Army National Guard personnel supported the movie's production with time, expertise, and equipment.

In World War I, the 34th Infantry Division (34th Inf. Div.) was first organized with U.S. National Guard troops from North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota. The unit was then nicknamed the "Sandstorm" Division, although the distinctive "Red Bull" shoulder-sleeve patch was created during this time. The patch, designed by 34th Inf. Div. soldier and Regionalist painter Marvin Cone, depicts a red bovine skull superimposed on a black water jug. The unit officially took on the "Red Bull" moniker during World War II. On modern battle dress uniforms, the patch variously appears in subdued colors of olive, tan, or sage.

In the "Memorial Day" film, the black-and-sage Army Combat Uniform "Red Bull" patch really pops off the silver screen. And any Red Bull soldier and buff—past, present, and this one included—is likely to thrill at the sight of so many "steak sandwiches" running around. There's even a line of dialogue that calls attention to the patch!

Coming soon: A Red Bull Rising blog review of "Memorial Day"!

Disclosure: The Red Bull Rising blog received a copy of this film for review.

*****

WHERE TO VIEW THE 'MEMORIAL DAY' MOVIE

The official movie website is here. There's a publicity trailer posted there.

There's also a blog written by screenwriter Marc Conklin here.

And a Facebook page here.

And Twitter here.

There will be limited screenings and festival showings leading up to the May 29 release date, including a spot at the 2012 G.I. Film Festival in Washington D.C. on May 19.

The film will also be shown as part of the 2012 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, April 21, at the St. Anthony Main theater. The three-week festival is billed as "a celebration of independent filmmaking from around the globe will include some 250 documentary, narrative, and short films from more than 60 countries," including those made in Minnesota. Click here for festival details.

The film will be shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Sat., April 28 at 3:45 p.m., Triangle Square 6, Costa Mesa, Calif. Click here for festival details.

Or, as previously mentioned, pre-order the movie through Amazon as DVD and Blu-ray. The discs ship May 29—the day after Memorial Day.

*****

FOR MORE ON THE MAKING OF 'MEMORIAL DAY'

"Filmmakers turn Minnesota into a war zone," Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Jan. 19, 2011

"‘Souvenirs’ almost a wrap: Movie filming turns game preserve into WWII Holland," Mankato (Minn.) Free Press Oct. 3, 2010

"Minnesota's Red Bulls to be brought to screen in 'Souvenirs'" St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press via Minnesota Public Radio, July 26, 2010
July 26, 2010

"Movie featuring Minnesota National Guard films in Mankato," Minnesota National Guard news release date July 24, 2010

"Unlikely film-maker hopes to put the Valley on the big screen: ‘Souvenirs’ is a family drama with a military backdrop" Mankato (Minn.) Free Press, July 4, 2010

Some making-of videos of "Memorial Day" (then known as "Souvenirs") involving WWII re-enactors are available on YouTube here, here, and here.

Poetry Contest for Minnesota Mil-Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:00:00 +0000

The office of U.S. Sen. Al Franken, (D-Minn.), a former writer and performer on "Saturday Night Live," has announced a creative way to celebrate April as both Military Child Month and National Poetry Month.

(In addition to being the cruelest month, April 2012 may mark an early return of some of the 2,700 citizen-soldiers of the Minnesota's 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division. At least, that's what some news reports have begun to indicate.)

According to a press release, Franken is hosting a poetry contest on a theme of “My experiences as a Military Child.” Children of military families from Minnesota are encouraged to enter poems of not longer than 300 words. Deadline is April 16.

Entries should include the following information:

Name of entrant
Parent/guardian name
Postal address
Telephone number
Name of entrant's school
Age category (Kindergarten to 6th grade; 7th to 9th grade; or 10th through 12th grade)

The entries will be judged on relevance to theme, creativity, judges' impressions, fluency, structure, and technical excellence.

Ten winners in each category will receive an invitation to Franken’s St. Paul office to meet him, his wife Frannie, and special guest judges including:

Minnesota Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Larry Shellito
Minnesota Poet Laureate Joyce Sutphen
Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard, Maj. Gen. Rick Nash
Minnesota Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius
Minnesota author Kao Kalia Yang
Minnesota Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve

The top poems in each age category will be framed and displayed in Franken’s office in Saint Paul, Minn. and in Washington, D.C. Each winner will also receive an autographed book by Garrison Keillor, famed Minnesota author and host of the radio program “A Prairie Home Companion."

For more information, see the press release here. Submit entries to:

poetry@franken.senate.gov

or to:

Office of U.S. Sen. Al Franken
c/o ‘Poetry Contest’
60 Plato Blvd., Suite 220
Saint Paul, Minn. 55107

War Stories and Coffee Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I wore my Afghan media mufti earlier this week. The madness of deploying and not deploying to Afghanistan now over, I'm volunteering again as a board member in our homeowners association. Our suburban neighborhood was developed by Pioneer Hi-bred, a company with a proud Iowa history and connection to the land. Developers interspersed lots of green spaces among the houses and cul-de-sacs, and even designated a prairie restoration area.

One graduate school degree later, I now understand that the term "restoration" presumes that there was prairie there to begin with, and I'm not intellectually prepared to argue that we're turning back the clock in any way.

We city-folk in Iowa tend to think two things about our land:

Before European settlement, it used to be prairie. There may have been buffalo. And tall grasses.
Today, it's industrialized, planted out in corn, hogs, and soybeans. There is very little "nature" left in our patch of the Middle West.

Still, the prairie is a unique feature to our neighborhood, and gives us a sense of place and character that wouldn't otherwise be found in our otherwise cookie-cutter production homes. A few board members, volunteers, and contractors were going to walk the terrain this week. We'd recently hired a crew to conduct a prairie burn, and wanted to assess the results. We also wanted to plan our summer attack on weeds and invasives.

So I wore the same kit that I wore in Afghanistan. I've taken to calling it "mufti," after the British military custom of altering the uniform for off-duty wear. (Think "fez and slippers," because I know I do.)

Red Bull Rising blog readers may remember how I agonized about what not to wear during my 2011 embed with the Iowa National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT). As a citizen-soldier, Uncle Sam tells you exactly what to pack. When you're a civilian writer, however, Uncle Sam gets a little passive-aggressive: Don't wear camouflage patterns or military equipment. No weapons. Bring your own flak vest.

The Arabic word "mufti" originally meant "an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law." I enjoy the multiple layers of meaning. Makes me feel like bit of an infidel.

For the prairie walk, I wore my tan ACU-style trousers (cargo pockets!), my civilian Gore-Tex hiking boots, and a wicking T-shirt under a powder-blue long-sleeved travel shirt. The kind that you can hand-wash in a sink full of non-potable water, and afterward dry in about 60 minutes of Afghan sun. And my Iowa Cyclones ball cap, subdued brown instead of the usual cardinal-and-gold.

To paraphrase a favorite line from "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), however: "Before the prairie must come the coffee."

When I walk into the local Starbucks for a cup of the dark stuff, I'm greeted by the same National Guard officer who hired me on temporary duty back in summer 2010, after my wife and I learned three weeks before mobilization that I'd not be deploying with the rest of the 2-34th BCT. I'd worked with him previously, when he had been the brigade's executive officer. In 2010, he had been the state mobilization officer, and asked me to join an Iowa "white cell" team. Our mission was to help get the Red Bull to Camp Shelby, Miss., then to Fort Irwin, Calif. After that, we joked, the brigade would be "beyond our help."

In effect, this was the gentleman who started "Operation Bad Penny"—my continual visitation of Red Bull units through post-mobilization training and simulated combat.

A couple of weeks after hiring me for stateside duty, my new boss was himself called to deploy with the 2-34th BCT. He eventually commanded an Embedded Training Team (E.T.T.) in Panjshir Province, then part of the 2-34th BCT's "Area of Operation Red Bulls."

When he spots me in Starbucks this week, I'm pretty much wearing the same thing I wore when I got of the helicopter in Panjshir, minus the body armor. After we shake hands, he turns to his coffee shop colleague, and proceeds to tell the story of how his team had gotten the word that some civilian V.I.P. named Sherpa was in-bound. He hadn't made the "Bad Penny" connection that it was me, however, until I'd arrived in person at FOB Lion. It's a story I've heard him tell before, of course. I've even told it a few times myself.

It's like I say: "Big Army, small world."

The Boys Get More Toys

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:00:00 +0000

In a Holiday 2011 blog post, I noted that the manufacturer of Matchbox-brand toy cars had produced a design that mimicked the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected ("M-RAP") armored vehicles used by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. The "SWAT Truck" was available in either basic black and friendly Infantry blue. The black one had "SWAT" painted on its sides, while the blue one said "police." Although altered, the design strongly resembled Navistar International Corp.'s MaxxPro.

During a recent dismounted patrol of local toy stores, my 4-year-old son Rain and I noted the Matchbox design has been re-issued, as part of 2012's "MBX Airport" series. Bright fire-engine red, with "Guard Services" and a Grecian helm logo on the side panels, this armored vehicle just screams "relax, dear traveler, and leave the flying to us."

Here's a fun travel tip: If, while preparing to board your next flight to sunny Cancún or Honolulu, you see an MRAP parked next to your aircraft? You should probably consider taking the bus instead.

The back-of-the-card prose on the 2012 Matchbox SWAT truck is even more inscrutable than that of its black-and-blue brethren, which noted selling features such as a "fully armored exterior [that] will crush any obstacle that appears in its path! Time to restore the peace!"

Here's how the red-truck version reads:

Great adventures fly in and out of the Airport every hour! World travelers come and go by vans and taxis. Transporters load exotic high-performance cars for international events in far-off lands. Cargo carriers careen from runways to access roads and the Rescue Crew is always ready to spring into action!

Careening cargo? Exotic cars? What kind of airport is this?!

(Answer: In Rain's world, it's probably an airport that also hosts a swarm of Matchbox "Mission Helicopters," an 1985 design also re-issued in 2012, and painted out in digital (?!) jungle camouflage pattern. They look a little like AH-64 "Apache" helicopters, with shorter tails.)

In the real world, military leaders have reportedly begun speculating what to do with a rag-tag fleet of hard-to-maintain MRAP trucks, given that the latest wars are winding down.

As the Washington Post's Marjorie Censer noted in a March 7, 2012 article, the "MRAP [...] is something of a relic, bought specifically to protect soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan but far too bulky for a future characterized by drones, cyberwarfare, and intelligence and surveillance technology." The trucks each cost between $10,000 to $20,000 to maintain annually.

Plus, maintaining the many different kinds of MRAP trucks is a logistical headache. In a 2011 Defense Logistics Agency (D.L.A.) news article, the organization manages more than 40,000 line items [parts and supplies] for the MRAP and stocks about 25,000 of them, said John Dreska, DLA Land and Maritime MRAP program manager. Dreska heads a team of 120 government employees and contractors whose sole priority is to support repair-parts sustainment for more than 13,000 MRAPs fielded in Afghanistan and about 1,500 used for pre-deployment training in the United States."

Some MRAP trucks could find themselves repurposed by Iraqi or Afghan security forces, or by other allies. It's not unthinkable, however, that some surplus MRAP trucks might eventually show up in U.S. law enforcement, just like Tommy guns and black rifles previously migrated to civilian use.

Still, one wonders if there might be a line drawn in the stateside sand, especially when it comes to Airport rent-a-Spartans and shopping mall cops. Inshallah, even the Big City P.D. won't need to drive around in top-heavy trucks that are designed to take bomb blasts from below.

Note to the city council members everywhere: The citizens of Mayberry R.F.D. do not need to be protected and served by surveillance drones. Or MRAP trucks. Or Blue Thunder.

But, if you ask nicely, Rain will let you play with one of his.

*****

Click here for a YouTube video comparing and contrasting the 2011 Matchbox "SWAT Truck" designs, starting at the 45-second mark.

The Constant State-by-State of War

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:00:00 +0000

When I started the Red Bull Rising blog in late 2009, I was preparing to deploy as a member of the Iowa Army National Guard. My buddies and I kept a digital ear out for news of Vermont's 86th Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), the unit we planned to replace. We sifted and scanned Vermont newspaper and television reports, U.S. Army public affairs releases from Afghanistan, and posts from mil-bloggers and Facebookers.

The 1,500-member 86th BCT had originally deployed as the command-and-control headquarters for Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, a U.S. and coalition training mission that had been in place since 2003. (A quick review: In Army speak, the term "combined" means "U.S. plus allies." The term "joint" means one or more branches of the armed forces: Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard. A "task force" is an group of disparate units organized around a specific mission.)

The CJTF Phoenix mission was to advise and assist the Afghan National Security Forces (A.N.S.F.), including various forms of Afghan police and military units. It controlled 8- or 16-person Embedded Training Teams (E.T.T.). Coalition partners call their ETT personnel "Operational Mentor Liaison Teams" (OMLT, pronounced "omelette").

An additional irony? Such Foreign Internal Defense ("FID") training missions have traditionally been considered a core mission of U.S. Special Forces. The National Guard, on the other hand, often has to battle "second-string" stereotypes when encountering active-duty soldiers in the field. Even after more than 10 years of deployments, and transformation into an operational reserve.

That U.S. National Guard soldiers tend to have civilian-acquired work experiences and skills is often touted as an advantage in the advise-and-assist context. Citizen-soldiers who are law enforcement professionals back home can be used to mentor Afghan National Police, for example. Teachers and coaches, business owners and managers can be more familiar with non-military mentorship models. With the possible exception of the National Guard’s joint Agribusiness Development Teams (A.D.T.), however, in which citizen-soldiers and -airmen are deployed based upon their civilian-acquired agricultural skills, it’s hard to move such assumptions and assertions beyond the anecdotal.

In 2009, in the middle of a foreign country, a deployment, and a war, Vermont's 86th BCT reconfigured to a mission in which they would act as "battlespace owners" for the provinces of Parwan, Panjshir, and Bamiyan Provinces. Two more U.S. National Guard brigades—each approximately 3,000 personnel each—would follow. Rather than being sliced up into smaller companies and battalions, and assigned to support active-duty brigades, the National Guard brigades were kept relatively whole.

Iowa's 2nd BCT, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) deployed to Afghanistan from October 2010 to July 2011. It took over the mission in Parwan (where Bagram Airfield is located), Panjshir, and Laghman Provinces. One Red Bull battalion, the 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (1-168th Inf.) was attached to active-duty brigade in Paktiya Province. A 400-member Nebraska Army National Guard unit with historical ties to the Red Bull, the 1st Squadron, 134th Cavalry (1-134th Cav.), deployed alongside the 2-34th BCT. Based at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, the 1-134th Cav. deployed as mentors and trainers for Afghan National Police.

Oklahoma's 45th BCT ("Thunderbird") took over the Red Bull's mission in July 2012, maintaining responsibility for Laghman Province and other areas. After the Thunderbird took over, my Red Bull buddies and I again took to the Internet, this time watching for Oklahoma newspaper and television reports, U.S. Army public affairs releases, and posts from mil-bloggers and Facebookers. As of this week, nearly all of the Thunderbird units have returned home to Oklahoma. Rather than hand-off to another U.S. National Guard unit, in February the Thunderbird transferred authority to an active-duty unit.

Watching a war through the lens of brigade-sized deployments, state by state, is an accessible way to perceive the ebb and flow of the past 10 years. In the beginning, it was team after 16-person mentor team. Occasionally, a state would get tapped for the CJTF Phoenix mission—a brigade's worth of headquarters staff, plus yet more advise-and-assist teams. Then, for a grand and glorious moment, the states were asked to muster fully trained, fully resourced fighting brigades. Newspaper reporters wrote sentences like, "the largest deployment of Iowa troops since World War II."

Now, with American resolve, purpose, and troop numbers waning in Afghanistan, U.S. political and military leaders have taken to describing a "new" mission of advising and assisting Afghan forces, and withdrawing troops by 2014. Given that the advise-and-assist mission started in 2003 and never stopped, this latest language seems like rhetorical repackaging. Meet the new mission, same as the old mission.

During mobilization in 2011, Ohio's 37th BCT ("Buckeye")—was re-configured to fulfill an advise-and-assist mission in Northern Afghanistan. It arrived Afghanistan in February 2012.

The Red Bull Rising crystal ball is currently in for servicing and recalibration, but it seems as if the moment of brigade-sized deployments might be over. Perhaps National Guard units will be more likely to deploy piecemeal as companies and battalions, or as 16-person mentor-and-trainer teams. Even the National Guard-specific Agribusiness Development Teams (A.D.T.) may be winding down. In a recent ceremony in Paktya Province, for example, the outgoing Nebraska ADT transferred its responsibilities to the co-located Provincial Reconstruction Team (P.R.T.).

During the Association of the United States Army (A.U.S.A.) annual convention and trial-balloon festival last fall, there was much talk of assigning the advise-and-assist mission to the Reserve Component. (Other, contradictory balloons: Assign to the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve most or all of the heavy/armored and field artillery forces.) Proposals to create and train specific advise-and-assist capability, whether in the active- or reserve-components, seem to have stalled. The consensus seems to be that the military will continue to take such teams ad hoc and out of hide, rather than create specific organizations or structure. Every soldier wants to grow up to be Patton or Schwarzkopf; few aspire to be Lawrence of Arabia.

That's not to say that operational deployments are over, or that war isn't still a dangerous business. While 70 headquarters soldiers of the Indiana National Guard's 76th BCT ("Night Hawks") were engaged in send-off ceremonies to Afghanistan last January, the Hoosier state simultaneously learned of the loss of four Indiana combat engineers assigned to the 713th Engineer Company, Valaparaiso, Ind.

Sobering times.

War beats on.

*****

For additional insights into the history of the advise-and-assist mission, see Jeffrey Courter's "Afghan Journal" and Benjamin Tupper's "Greetings from Afghanistan" and "Dudes of War." Also, check out former U.S. Marine officer Jonathan Rue's "Build a House and Burn it Down," in which he reflects on his experiences training Iraqi soldiers. And Joseph Trevithick's insightful attempt on Tom Ricks' "Best Defense" blog to untangle the historically convoluted U.S./coalition command structures in Afghanistan.

The Ruck-March Down Memory Lane

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 23:00:00 +0000

In literature, the story goes, every narrative can be reduced to one of two prompts:

A hero goes on a journey.
A stranger comes to town.

Maybe deployment counts as both. In ancient Greek mythology, when the warrior-king Odysseus returns from years of war and struggle, only his dog Argos recognizes him. In other words: The hero goes on journey, but a stranger returns. That's two for the price of one.

Vietnam War veteran Charles A. Krohn recently wrote a guest-post at Tom Ricks' "Best Defense" blog. The post was titled "Some reflections on the Vietnam War after visiting where my battalion was cut off and surrounded near Hue during Tet." In returning to the battlefields of his youth, Krohn, who also wrote 2009's "The Lost Battalion of TET: Breakout of the 2/12 Cavalry at Hue," gained insights that potentially apply as much to Afghanistan and Iraq as to Vietnam. For example:

One thing's for sure: The nuances have changed completely. Not only are there no Americans on the roads, in the air or in the fields, doing what Americans do, the Vietnamese seem perfectly in control of their own destinies. Maybe they were then too, but we were too driven to notice. Accomplishing the mission was everything.

This makes me think about the American Way of War–maybe best expressed as "you move over, we're taking over." Despite our good intentions, sometimes I think our various invasions are unwise, unproductive, and indecisive. If we had provided material assistance, I suspect the South Vietnamese would have made a good showing of themselves without our fighting the fight for them or looking over their shoulder to make sure they were following our doctrine, rather than their indigenous impulses.

Personally, I find Krohn's example as compelling as his words. (Click here for a bonus installment regarding his Vietnam travels.)

In person and in print, I've encountered occasional fellow travelers, veterans who have chosen to revisit the same ground on which they once fought, or the units with which they once served. Others may be family members. Or poets. Or bloggers. People who are attempting to make a personal connection to history.

Some of them—myself included—choose to visit active zones of conflict. Although we sometimes wear media badges, the most valuable results of such journeys are probably more personal "journal" than newspaper "journalistic." They tend to be written in first-person, not third-person. At their very best (and sometimes worst), they are mash-ups of pilgrimage, personal reflection, and privileged observation.

(Side note: If journalism is the "first rough-draft of history", I wonder how best to describe these more reflective endeavors. "Embedded journeys of self-discovery"? "Ruck-marches down memory lane"? "Armed navel-gazing expeditions"? Discuss.)

After all, one embed doesn't necessarily make you a war correspondent. Save that label for true heroes and crazies. I went to Afghanistan one time myself, and have no plans to go back. One online acquaintance of mine might call that being a "war groupie." The term is as funny as it is potentially accurate. However, I've started describing my own, Red-Bull-driven experience as war tourism. "I have seen war," I like to remind people, "but I have not seen battle." I no longer feel the need to run toward the sound of the guns. Combat is for kids. Tourism is for artful codgers like me, and the people who come after, at times and places at which festive adult beverages are, one would hope, available for purchase.

I've seen occasional travel-agent advertisements for "memorial tours," "valor tours," or "personal history tours" to places like Sicily and Saigon. Apparently, veterans and their families can load up by the busload, and take in both the night life and the battle sites. I've also seen political groups who have organized "peace tours" full of veterans seeking resolution or reconciliation. Same roads, different paths.

It's taken me a long time to realize that the soldier and the veteran face fundamentally different questions. Everybody knows why they deploy: You do it for your buddies. You do it for God and country. You do it because it's your job. You do it because you want to test yourself.

Few remain as certain, however, after the fact: War is irrational, chaotic, the wrong place to look for reason. Bad things happen to good people. Good things happen to bad people.

Everybody knows why they go, but few can say what it all meant, after it's over.

Krohn, by the way, served as public affairs advisor to the director of the infrastructure reconstruction program in Iraq, 2003-2004. In a comment made to the "Best Defense" guest-post I cited earlier, he notes:

The most flagrant thing I found was our failure to inform the Iraqis why we invaded their country, displaced their government and established an occupation authority. [...]

[F]or the first year we only broadcast our messages on a terrestrial TV system inherited from Saddam, although many/most Iraqis went to satellite reception as soon as Saddam lost control. They got their news from Al Jazzera. The message from AJ was that we invaded to steal their oil, demonstrate contempt for Islam, etc. The gist is that for a year we never really told the Iraqis why we were there or what we were doing.

So, tell me if you've heard this one before:

A government fails to tell its people exactly what's at stake overseas. The people are left to come up with their own answers.

"A hero goes on a journey." A stranger comes back.

And he spends the rest of his life trying to figure it all out.

It's a Small War, After All

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:00:00 +0000

The following piece of goofiness is inspired by a today's news that the Walt Disney Co. is looking to hire 1,000 military veterans. Apparently, the Mouse needs a few, good Combat Imagineers to update its theme park rides with a Global War on Terror flavor.

Here are some of the coming attractions we hope to see. Click-through to read about the original rides:

Mr. Toad's Wild MRAP Ride

The Three Cups of Mad Tea Party

The Hall of Commanders-in-Chief

NORAD Space Mountain

EPCOT-TOC: The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow's Tactical Operations Center

The Swiss Family Combat Outpost

Big Hindu Mountain logistics supply train

Casey Junior's Jingle Trucks

"If You Had Wings," sponsored by Lockheed Martin, manufacturers of the F-35

The Country Bear Loya Jirga Jamboree

Mickey's Soundsational Schock-and-Awe Parade

20,000 Leagues Under the AirSea Battle

Mike Fink's littoral combat ships

Tomorrowland Drones

The Carousel of Doctrine

It's a Small War

Book Review: 'National Guard 101'

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:30:00 +0000

There's an instruction manual for every job, weapon, and vehicle for those who enlist in the U.S. National Guard, but precious few published resources who marry into it. For the most part, everything has been passed down by word of mouth. It's all been tribal wisdom, gossip, and war stories. Until now.

Author Mary Corbett, a spouse with ties to the Minnesota and Georgia National Guards, has written "National Guard 101: A Handbook for Spouses". In 205 pages, Corbett cuts through acronyms and agencies, histories and traditions to deliver practical insights for National Guard families in a breezy, conversational manner.

"If your Soldier peruses this book, s/he may chuckle at my oversimplification in some areas," Corbett warns in her introduction. "That's fine because this book is for you. That's all a big fancy disclaimer that means consider this more of an essay than a research paper." [ix]

While she gets around to talking about brigades and big-wig party functions, Corbett aims squarely at the 150-person company level—the organizational building-block of the U.S. Army.

She briefly addresses Air National Guard concepts, because many social functions and stateside operations are neither "green" (ground/Army) nor "blue" (air/Air Guard) but "purple" (joint).

Families of new soldiers, as well as those of newly promoted non-commissioned officers and company-grade officers have the most to gain from Corbett's presentation. Even families who have weathered multiple deployments, however, may learn some useful tricks.

Corbett explains the basics with enough detail to be useful, but not intimidating. She applies liberal amounts of humor and word-play. (A field training exercise is "going to the woods." Annual Training is "going to camp.") Topics include:

A quick history of the U.S. National Guard, why it matters, and why it's NOT the "state militia."

How a National Guard soldier can be either part-time or full-time, on either state or federal duty, or work as a civilian federal technician.

What your soldier does in his/her military job, and how to describe it to civilians.

How to introduce yourself and find the right person when you walk into an armory.

Survival skills and strategies for military events. ("Do NOT let your soldier tell you want to wear.")

Best of all, she offers spouses practical tips on how to build support systems that will work during deployments. As with most things military, there's an acronym involved.

There are five kinds of people, Corbett writes:

Those who say they will help but really don't want to help ...

Those who offer help but put the ball back in your court ...

Those who offer help on their own terms ...

Those who will help you, but make you feel guilty about it ...

Those who are always there, ready and willing to help with anything.

Military spouses don't like to ask for help. No one does. But the ideal type of helpers who are "always there" are few and far-between.

Corbett's solution? Collect them all. Create a Personal Assistance League ("PAL")—a list of 10 or more people who are explicitly committed to helping out with small tasks, like babysitting, or leaf-raking, or cooking meals. She even recommends nominating a "mother hen" to help reach out to people, on the phone or in writing, asking for a concrete commitment.

In Army-speak, Corbett may have cracked the code on how to operationalize people's good-intentions. By establishing expectations and requirements up-front on a schedule, and sharing the load, everybody wins.

*****

One "Red Bull" connection of note: Corbett dedicates her book to the memory of U.S. Army First Lt. Nathan A. Nieber, 26, was killed in a 2002 boating accident while on stateside active-duty with the 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment (2-135 Inf. Reg.), 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard.

Disclosure: The Red Bull Rising blog received a review copy of this book.

Poetry as Diplomacy During a Hot War

noreply@blogger.com (Charlie Sherpa) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Christopher Merrill, a poet, essayist, and director of the University of Iowa's International Writing Program in Iowa City, Iowa, recently published an essay recounting his impressions of two cultural diplomacy missions he made to Eastern Afghanistan. In May 2011 and again in January 2012, Merrill travelled to the Afghan capital of Kabul, as well as the city of Jalalabad in Nangahar Province. While in Afghanistan, he travelled via U.S. military convoys, as well as contracted helicopters.

Merrill's essay, "Leaving Afghanistan," was published Feb. 20 by the U.K. literary magazine Granta. In a Feb. 28 interview on Iowa Public Radio's "River to River," Merrill told IPR's Ben Kieffer that his visits, funded by the U.S. State Department, were intended to win hearts and minds by finding common ground with Afghan partners. He participated in roundtable discussions, writing workshops, and even a televised mushaira—a traditional poetry reading. Said Merrill:

There were a lot of soldiers—National Guardsmen from Massachusetts--one of whom could be heard to be saying, "We're doing a mission for poetry"?! They probably thought this was a pretty outlandish idea. But the fact is [...] the colonel riding next to me in the M-RAP and is a long-time veteran in Afghanistan—he thought this kind of thing is exactly what we now need to be doing. Trying to find ways to connect with Afghans, in ways that are important to them. To Afghans, poetry is absolutely essential. They are known as great poets. They have rich poetic traditions everywhere I went—in Kabul, and Jalalabad—I was hearing about the poetry festivals. To have a chance to connect on a level that is important not only to me, but to them, was really pretty thrilling.

Later, Merrill put the mission into larger strategic context, explaining that efforts to build sustainable governmental, economic, and cultural institutions must take place at the same time soldiers are fighting insurgents.

[A]ll cultural diplomacy missions from the outside might look a little complicated. But in fact, that cultural diplomacy is the key to every country's effort to find common ground with other people. We only do missions to places of strategic interest, to places where we hope to make a difference. Think about the missions that these [soldiers] do every day. Some times they're taking a U.S.A.I.D. official out with his or her counterpart in a ministry. They're trying to develop a crop. They're trying to get a distribution for crops. They're trying to build courthouses. All of the different parts to rebuilding a society. Cultural diplomacy plays a part in the larger diplomatic effect.

Merrill described meeting in U.S. State Department-funded "Lincoln Learning Centers", which are library rooms and computer labs administered by the Afghan Ministry of Information. "In Afghanistan, you can't call them an American space, because they'll be a target for the Taliban," said Merrill. "So they're called a Lincoln Learning Center." Some Afghans word business suits to the cultural meetings. Others wore traditional garb, including a woman who wore the blue burqa familiar in the region.

The idea was to create a space in which we could talk freely and frankly about the things that mattered to us. And what we really wanted to talk about was poetry. The interesting thing to me was that this woman in the burqa began the conversation by talking about with the oppression of women in Afghan society. She ended by reciting a poem in Pashto that was translated for me, that ended with a three-fold curse: "May you fail all your exams, may you become a slave like me, may tears run down your face like mine." It left the room just silenced.

Merrill's interview took place in the days following riots in Afghanistan, incited by the accidental burning of Korans by U.S. personnel stationed at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. "There are an awful lot of people working very hard [in Afghanistan], but the odds are very long," Merrill said. Later in the interview, he observed:

It reminds us how absolutely fragile the situation is, how quickly things can go south with an act of blasphemy ... even if, as it seems likely, it was done accidentally. It seems like sparks applied to tinder that was already there. The grievances that Afghan people feel that their government is corrupt, there's no work, there's no heat in a lot of places, there's so few jobs ... And there's this large occupying force that may be working on their behalf. Still it seems very difficult to them. An incident like this happens, and all bets are off.