My trip to BAF

Published Blog

2009-12-18T08:25:00.002-05:00

For those of you who are interested, I have published this blog to a PDF file. If you would like a copy, please email me with your request.

Thanks!

Mark.

Final Post

2009-09-23T11:38:00.003-04:00

This will be the final post in this blog.

I'd like to start with a word of thanks. Many of you have thanked me both for my service and for this blog - but I assure you, the encouragement, thoughts and prayers I received from my family, friends, co-workers and many anonymous people and organizations helped to make this a very positive experience. With all my sincerity, thank you all for your support!

If you would have told me I'd lose about 40 lbs and weigh a mere 202 by the time this was over, I would have doubted that seriously. Nobody has called me "skinny" since high school - and I've heard that a few times since I've been back. I'm not sure I like it :-)

This journey started back in Jul, 2008 when I first found out our unit would be mobilized. Even before that, I had de-iced Pam with the thought that I would likely be spending time directly supporting the current war before my retirement. Much planning and thought went into this deployment. I knew it would be important to stay in touch with people and I started this blog in Jan even before I officially went on orders. I’m still on orders and my demobilization date will be 21 Oct 2009. I’ll be back to work at SITA on 1 Oct. I work for a GREAT company.

There were a few surprises along the way – especially the effect of this blog. I did it for family and friends and never expected that is would help a few others out along the way.

For the last 5 months in Afghanistan, we saw no rain. Since I’ve been back in ATL, the rain hasn’t stopped and I’ve not seen the sunshine! It’s a nice change really. Pam mentioned it’s depressing – and I kind of like it. Perspective – it’s different for all of us. I’ve learned to appreciate people’s perspective a lot more.

My homecoming was simply fantastic. I was greeted at the airport by my lovely wife, my children, all my grandchildren and some very special friends. It was a spectacular moment in time. Shelley (my daughter in law) made shirts that said “We support our Chief” and all the grandkids had them on – even Maddie had one on. See the pics here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/WelcomeBack

David, Janice and Joe Brown, David and Kim Warren, Colleen, Ashley and Maddie were all “friends” that came to greet me at the airport – and for no better reason than they love me – these people are more than “friends” – I think of them as family.

Every day since I have been home has been an adventure. Marcus took care of Big Red while I was gone and not only was it nice and clean, it had a new stereo that sounds great! Jeff and Heidi had RIBS on Sunday for me and we watched FOOTBALL! Pam and I celebrated our missed anniversary with dinner at Chops last night and there are still many things I am looking forward too – like lighting the smoking lamp with Dad, hunting with Marcus, fishing with Al and so much more.

It was great to be back with my church family on Sunday – Bob was there – a prayer warrior for this entire tour – a veteran himself who I know diligently prayed for me daily. I also know many others have been praying for me and the team – this is something I will never forget.

I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity! That’s really the way I see it. It was an opportunity to serve – and I made the most of it. I did my best and I’m very proud of what we did as a team. The separation wasn’t easy for any of us, but knowing that we all did our part to answer our nations call is a very rewarding feeling. I would like to thank each and every member of the team for your contributions to the mission. I would especially like to thank Col Lehman for his leadership and guidance through the entire tour.

I ask just one thing of you. Please never forget the military men and women who are currently engaged in the war on terrorism - and the many who have made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for you and for me. Paul Leslie (senior pastor at McDonough Christian Church) mentioned me in prayer on Sunday, but also noted we lost a church family member on 16 Sep – SFC Shawn McCloskey who was also serving in Afghanistan. Please pray for them and their families. I feel lucky to have served with honor and I am glad God saw fit to return me to my family. Apparently He is not finished with me yet.

I look forward to the next challenge – whatever that may be.

Mark

Home at last

2009-09-16T09:36:00.001-04:00

I'm home.

Mark (from my mobile)

Early start to last leg

2009-09-15T03:17:00.001-04:00

It's 0315 - and I'm very excited to start this last part of my journey home. With any luck, I'll see my family and friends in a few hours!

Mark.

Back in the USA!

2009-09-14T21:25:00.002-04:00

It sure feels good to be back in the "real" world!!!

We landed @ BWI (Baltimore/Washington International) about 1730L - about 90 minutes ahead of schedule for a change!!!

The airport was pretty quiet - many individuals came up to us and said "Thank you for you service!" - very nice!!!

We all got checked into the Sheraton which I can't think of a better way to describe the rooms than what the CC said "These rooms are nicer than my first house!"

Very nice! Comfortable!!!

I'm extremely tired, I'm going to bed. I'll see MANY of you tomorrow. If I don't see you, please feel free to call me.

Mark.

Do we LOOK excited?

2009-09-14T09:10:00.002-04:00

Here we are drinking a beer in Shannon Ireland. Almost back on US soil. Next stop, Baltimore! :-)

Mark

1 Leg down

2009-09-14T04:34:00.003-04:00

We have arrived in Germany! We landed a few minutes ago in Leipzig GE. The journey has started and we are all VERY excited!

Mark

Back on Track

2009-09-13T00:22:00.002-04:00

OK - as of this moment, we are back on track and everything looks good. Of course it looked good last time as well and one of the key clichés around the AOR - "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" - it means two things... 1. Take what you can get when you can get your hands on it - and 2. You don't have it UNTIL it's in your hand!

So to make a long story short, I'll be home when I get home. That's not sarcastic, just the way it is around here. And the better you can roll with the punches, the better for everyone else.

I'm still smiling and I look forward to coming home soon.

Mark

Slight Delay

2009-09-12T07:10:00.003-04:00

As luck would have it, we get to spend a little more time here than we originally thought. The good news is the beer is still cold and the weather is beautiful! I will send Pam all the details and she will communicate them as soon as they are available.

Not much going on today other than the bad news. It really is very nice here. We are all doing fine and just waiting for confirmation.

Mark

The short answer to why I am here

2009-09-11T10:56:00.003-04:00

In case any of you are still trying to figure out why I am here, the significance of this day might be able to help you. I will be home soon with my head held high knowing that I was a direct part of protecting you for the last 8 years - and the almost 20 before that.. Today we remember where we were on 9/11/2001 and remember all those innocent civilians who died and their families. Also all those who died and their loved ones making sure it hasn't happened again. Since 9/11, there has not been one single incident of terrorism on US soil and I believe that is a direct result of America taking the fight to the enemy and not letting them bring the fight to us.

I am an American Airman and I have answered my nations call.

God bless all of you and God Bless America as we all remember today the events of 2001 on this very day.

Mark.

Pete's Place

2009-09-11T00:41:00.008-04:00

I'm sitting in Pete's Place - a nice relaxing place in Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan. They have a bar that serves REAL beer from all over the world, pool tables, ping pong, lots of TV's and free high speed Internet! It's a real pleasure to be able to check my email and other websites in the normal time - just a few min! No hassles and no waiting! And - my iTouch is working well also! My room accommodations are well above my expectations - good thing they weren't this nice BEFORE we went into Bagram - I would have been in complete shock! :-)

It's FRIDAY - and as many of you know - I love Friday's! This one is particularly nice because it will be my LAST Friday in the AOR - hopefully, and most likely, forever.

I'm very relaxed and just waiting now for confirmation of our flight out of here.

Soon I will make my last post to this blog and this chapter in my life will be complete. I want to thank you all for everything that was done to support me, my family and the entire team here for the last 8+ months since going on orders back in JAN. Through CST in FEB and 6 months at Bagram, I have really appreciated all the cards, letters, packages, etc - but again, most importantly, your prayers.

We are very fortunate that nobody was seriously injured during our time and nobody got into any major trouble. We accomplished a significant amount of work and as a team, we made a vast improvement to the enduring operations on Bagram. Our major accomplishments include a new Blackwater tank farm which initiated operations the day we left BAF! This alone will reduce the amount of trucks entering and leaving the installation by some 500 vehicles daily and the result is a huge increase in force protection and reduced traffic flow.

We also completed major construction in several buildings including a redesigned HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system in the main communication facility for Afghanistan! The folks there had added several new servers and the HVAC system was under sized and not nearly adequate enough accommodate the new equipment. There was a serious risk of overheating and the entire network was in jeopardy - meaning communications (both secured and unsecured) would have been affected. Our team performed emergency modifications to the existing system allowing a sufficient amount a time to design and install a new system that is now cooling the facility to a chilly 65 degrees - even during the peak temperatures we experienced this summer of more than 115 degrees Fahrenheit!

There were several other major projects and countless minor projects not including the maintenance "favors" we did to improve the many different facilities on Bagram. Our team improved the life, health and safety of coalition forces on BAF now and well into the future. I am VERY proud to have been part of this team and all their accomplishments.

The new team is lead by LtCol Parkinson and CMSgt Torres from Hickam AFB in HI. They were very appreciative of all the work our team did to try and ensure a smooth turnover of projects, equipment, and living quarters. I wish them the very best and I hope their tour will exceed all their expectations. I pray for the team and leadership that they are all safe and are able to execute God's plan and all return home to their families when their mission is complete.

I am really excited to return home in the next few days and promise to keep you up to date on my locations as they change - provided I am able too (no communication issues). I don't expect any.

See you all soon!

Mark.

Manas

2009-09-10T09:03:00.004-04:00

We are out of the "war zone" Still the AOR, but no where near the same threat level.

I am very tired, and I have at least a couple days here - I'll post a nice blog for you all tomorrow - I don't have anything better to do all day! :-)

Mark

God is GREAT, Beer is GOOD, and People are CRAZY!

(I'm especially enjoying the BEER part at the moment!)

What does not make me happy.

2009-09-09T06:57:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the short posts!

Robert has been keeping me pretty busy soaking up everything I have to throw at him out of the fire hose. There is a terrible quality (blurry) pic here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF1602

I was thinking the other day and I recently heard one of my favorite songs - "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood. I have always told Pam these lyrics even before Lee so eloquently put them into his song, "If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life, And I had to start again with just my children and my wife,..." More literally, I've always told Pam that you could take away everything I have and I would still be a happy guy. And today, I'm very happy to report that I can now say these words with even more certainty - because I was just thinking about what I have when I was packing up my stuff. For the last 6 months, I've had - well, basically nothing. The things I did have were intermittent Internet, my computer, some good food to eat, and a wooden box to lay my head (which I don't even have that anymore!). That's about it. And also, for the last 6 months, you can ask anyone here at BAF that I have met or who has seen me - and that's just about everyone - "What was Chief Schubert like?" They would probably answer with one word - Happy! I had a smile on my face the entire time and I still do now and I always will. I'll have an even BIGGER smile when I get to see all of YOU again!

Mark.

Tomorrow is another day

2009-09-08T12:35:00.000-04:00

But should be the last!

Mark.

Another Quickie

2009-09-07T22:17:00.002-04:00

Sorry...

Not much time in the day these days.

Busy again today, so no promises about the longer post - I do have some stuff to tell you.

Coming soon, I promise.

Mark.

Real Quick

2009-09-06T11:25:00.000-04:00

Still here - I'll post more tomorrow.

Mark.

Lucky to post

2009-09-05T12:42:00.001-04:00

Well, the Internet is back to it's weary self - I'll be lucky if this posts.

Just took my last shower in the Cadillac - I move to my new temporary home tomorrow - where there is NO Internet. I hope to meet our replacement team tomorrow night!

Mark.

What is it Man?

2009-09-04T13:03:00.003-04:00

짧은 타이머 = "Short Timer" in Korean.

I was also reminded I hadn't told you about that. Actually, I was wondering if anyone was going to ask because Doug was so quick to comment and get it right.

I always thought he knew Korean! He's a smart associate of mine. (Internet glitch... :-)

Mark.

Who's in the pics?

2009-09-04T10:31:00.004-04:00

My Mom and Dad reminded me that I was supposed to tell you who was in the pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF14 - The civilian guy is Secretary Donley - the Secretary of the Air Force! The 3 Star General is General Hostage - the new AFCENT Commander.

Mark.

Early Post

2009-09-04T06:46:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd post a little earlier than usual - even before I call my parents today. I went to the office this morning - worked for a little - cleaned the truck and my office - got all my ducks in a row and called it a day. Came back and cleaned the room, packed, and I also got my temp billeting assignment - so I'm ready to move out when the other team arrives.

The good news is my new room won't be far from a couple places that have "free" Internet. The bad news is there are a LOT of people who know this little secret and it is sometimes difficult to get on. I'll do my best to honor my promise of posting daily now till we are out of here.

So once again, I thank you all for your support! The cards, letters, packages, pictures, comments, etc were overwhelming. Just today, I received some pictures/letters from children who are led in a Sunday School class by a friend of Della Jackson. Many of you may not recognize that name, but the words written on the paper from the children were absolutely priceless. What is SO encouraging about that (to me) is the fact that there are patriotic American supporters who are not only supporting and praying for our military, but they are raising and educating children (young children) to know and understand that the freedom we have in America is not free and it doesn't hurt to say thank you to the men and women fighting for the American people now and into the future. This is what will REALLY secure the resolve of America people in the next generation and for generations to come! Amen!

This is not the first batch of cards/letters from children I have received - I have gotten many. It IS the first batch I received directed to me personally. That was very special. Thanks Della!

Mark.

EOT Day

2009-09-03T11:57:00.005-04:00

EOT stands for End of Tour! We had our final "party" and also received our EOT awards.

Pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF15

There are a few pics of the TOA (transfer of authority) ceremony just a few days ago - Task Force Warrior was replaced by TF Cyclone.

Back to the EOT celebration. It was really a pretty good feeling to know that I have been a part of this team and to remember all the accomplishments we did together - as a team. The CC even reiterated how well we performed AS a team considering we are one squadron from two different bases. This is a true tribute to the professionalism of everyone.

As a team, we did some great things - NONE of which were possible without the individual accomplishments of each individual on that team! And today was the day to recognized the individual performers for all their hard work, dedication, and commitment. I've also been hearing MANY great stories from Airmen who have completed personal goals - passed a CDC (Career Development Course)/PME (Professional Military Education) test, completed a CCAF (Community College of the Air Force) degree, been recognized by their church, many helped with Operation Care, CJTH (Craig Joint Theater Hospital) or participated in a BAF sports league, professional group (Top3 etc) - the list goes on and on. Many lost weight, are now maybe in the best condition of their life, read a book, or maybe some other personal challenges were met. Many were promoted and still several others reenlisted. Remember - all of this in the AOR - a combat zone! And don't forget we executed millions of dollars in countless construction projects - on and off BAF!

These are all GREAT things. Also - in doing all of that, nobody on our entire team got seriously hurt or in any major trouble!

Thanks to all of the Airmen on this team! It's been a true honor to serve with you and I certainly look forward to your continued success!

Chief

Short jokes

2009-09-02T12:16:00.005-04:00

We are so short now we are doing pull ups with staples! All of us are so short we can't even trip! I got a few more, but I won't bore you.

I promise to post everyday now from my computer (God willing and Internet allows) till we leave. Then, once I get my TMobile card back in my Blackjack, I should be able to post from my cell while we travel and I'll make a few posts from some interesting places - again, assuming there are no technology glitches.

Don't miss tomorrows post - we are having our EOT party and this will include the awards presentations. Should be some good photo opportunities!

So, with any luck - you can call ME in a couple of weeks on my cell. I'll be taking a break and visiting my family for a couple weeks. I am very anxious to see all of you and just to be able to "talk" about "normal" stuff again. I'll probably offer the most obscure perspective for a while - :-). I might even bark a few orders for you! :-)

Some people say this deployment has changed them - me? well, I think I have changed a little also - 6 months here will do that to folks. In perspective, you all have probably changed a little too - maybe "grown" is a much better way to say that for me - in a very good way. I've learned a lot, read a lot, prayed a lot, and I've expanded my understanding of several very different cultures - one unlike any other I have seen before - and I've seen quite a few. I also feel very good about my time here. I'm not going to walk away and think I could have done more. Yes, nothing here was perfect, but I believe I did the very best I could. I can tell you I sure TRIED hard every single day. I thought about this motto from the very first day I was here - "Don't count the days, make the days count!" That really stuck with me and I promised myself when I first heard that saying - that is what I was going to do. And - I feel very good about that. If you want to know WHY I wanted to do that, well it's because I believe in my heart God has a plan for all of us - and I sincerely believe He sent me here for a reason - and I certainly didn't want to let Him down. I wanted to do my best every day for Him.

I cannot express how much writing this blog has meant to me also. It gave me strength (seriously) to know so many of you reading love me and are praying diligently for me and the entire team. I assure you I read and appreciated every single comment. I also appreciate the many of you who took time to write cards, letters, and send thoughtful packages packed with love. Thank you all so very much.

I miss you all - it's not over yet and you know me - I'll stay committed to this till the very end when I get a big hug and a kiss from my wife - that's when I'll know this is over.

Then, I'll take just a few days to give thanks and praise, recoup my thoughts, and start the next chapter in my life - I'm sure it will include ALL of you!

Mark.

Couple more pics

2009-08-29T08:22:00.002-04:00

See if you recognize any of the folks in these pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF14

I'll explain in a subsequent post - but it would be interesting if you did know who any of these people are.

The leading pictures are from the BHut project out at the new BTIF. We didn't build them all, but we are doing all the electrical and HVAC in them (making them nice and cool/hot and adding outlets and lights). Lot's of good work going on there!

Mark.

Long Break

2009-08-28T04:30:00.002-04:00

Wow - it's been a long time since I posted a blog! (I"m sure that's what some of you are saying too!) :-)

Well - I bet you think I've been extremely busy! Honestly, not so much. Busy yes, - extremely (like when we first got here) - no. I have consumed much of my time reading a book - "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Bible". Now, before you draw any conclusions, I'll just say this - it's a very good read for ANYONE regardless of how much you think you already know about the bible. Several people asked me where I got the book - and honestly, I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure it was Nana (Emily) - Janice, I'm sure, will confirm.

We had our final Commander's call yesterday - the next time we all get together will be for our "End of Tour" party next week. That means less than 1 week of "work" to go - then some time to make sure we have things together for the next team and transition out! Whew!

For those who are wondering, no - you will not find out directly from this blog when I'll be coming home. You will get vague hints - sorry, that's the best I can do. I will, however, be sure to let Pam know all the info I know - which at this very moment, is about what I told you. It will be several more days before I know anything further. So don't start calling Pam just yet :-)

Can you sense a little excitement in my tone? Well - I'll tell you - I am very excited - on the inside. It's important not to get TOO excited and forget where we are. Staying focused is extremely important and a theme I will practice till we have "Wheels Up" out of here.

For those still praying for me, thank you SO much. I feel that your prayers are what keeps a smile on my face every single day. Pam tells me "You have a bad day only twice a year!" - I think I used one up on this trip, so I'm still good and I got one in the bank.

Mark.

More Pics Up

2009-08-24T09:50:00.005-04:00

For those who haven't noticed yet, there are some more pics posted here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF12. I had the pleasure to witness three Airmen reenlist in the AOR last week. There have been a couple others do it also. It's pretty special to do ANYTHING in the AOR, but reenlisting, getting promoted etc - well, it's all good stuff.

You can see some pics of the handy structures work the guys did at "The Rock" fitness center - this is the main AF gym. They put some mirrors in so people can see how big (or in my case) how skinny there are getting.

Then we have the reenlistment photos out on the flight line with a static F15E display - very cool - and the graffiti is something I guess the pilots like to do when they are not flying.

Then just today on my walk home, I noticed the view is coming back into focus - not so much dirt flying around - it looked really nice so I snapped a few photos. These are only a glimpse of what it really looks like - the camera can only capture so much.

I'm fine - still smiling. More people are starting to smile more - I wonder why?

Looking forward to the next couple weeks!

Mark.

A special day

2009-08-21T11:42:00.002-04:00

Today was a great day for many reasons - and no, it wasn't even RIB day!

Today is my parents 40th anniversary! Pam and I celebrated 27 just 1 week ago! We are catching up! :-)

I got to Skype with them for more than 30 minutes! During our conversation, of course I mentioned a Happy Anniversary to them and my Dad was impressed I thought about it on this day with the many other things I have on my mind. All I could think of at the time to say was this is a very special thing - how could I forget?

It made me think that sometimes we DO forget things. I'm not perfect and I forget things too - we all do. I try hard to remember things like birthdays, anniversaries, and a few other significant events for folks - even the men and women I'm deployed with - I have all their birthdays and I make it a point to wish them Happy Birthday.

I thought about this a lot this afternoon and I came to conclude this one simple thing. If you forget about love, you might as well forget about everything else. I think I remember these events for people because they remind me of love - somebody's love - God's love!

And that's what is so important. Don't be too busy that you forget about love!

Mark

Election Day!

2009-08-19T12:06:00.002-04:00

I bet a LOT of you wished it was in the US! I'm not talking about a US election, I'm talking about the second democratic presidential election in Afghanistan tomorrow. Should be very interesting the next several days. If' you are praying for me and the team - give us a double dose for tomorrow! This should be the most "interesting" time since we've been here.

I can tell you one thing, I'm glad MY time is almost done. Things are certainly going to change around here - in many different ways - especially the weather. Yes - it's been HOT and windy - but I'd MUCH rather have that than cold, muddy, rain/snow - and throw the wind into that mix and you have much worse conditions to work in than we have had. How ironic is it that the teams from GA and MA (no strangers to cold weather) spent a majority of their rotation in the heat and the team from HI (no stranger to nice weather) will spend their time in the cold/snow!

The other thing we've come to enjoy here is our own little space in these BHut's. It wouldn't surprise me if all that changes also. For the time being, we've secured a direct swap with the HI team. I just hope they are able to maintain this "luxury".

Lots of things around here are changing fast - including the time we have left. Yup, things are starting to shift rapidly now to focus on the transition. I just hope the Airmen remain professional, positive, and postured to make the HI team successful. We don't need to be selfish right now and just think about getting out of here. That will come - but it's important to finish strong and do this the right way. I can tell you that WE had it very good here when we arrived due to the diligence of the previous team. They set us up with billeting, worked with us to make sure projects continued, and left us a lot of work. The last part is pretty easy - there really is no shortage of work. There is always something to do. I really want to do the same (or even better) for the next team.

So - if your looking for something specific to pray about, try this. Pray that I stay a strong and alert. Pray the Taliban miss if they decided to act. Pray that God will show me the best way to lead everyone home safely and give me the strength to finish strong for the team coming in. For the team, pray the leaders stay focused on the mission and that everyone will be safe and come home to their families.

There you have it - short and sweet. That should cover the basics. There are many details to worry about, but the good news is we are a strong team together and I have no doubt whatever happens will be God's will and we will be able to get through this together.

Thank you all for all your prayers already and the many more to come.

The reason I wrote this was because I know many of you ARE already praying for me and the team. If your curious how I'm doing, well - really, I'm fine. I'm still smiling and I have a positive attitude. I'm proud of what we have done here as a team and I'm very glad to know there is a strong, competent team coming to replace us. I know my family is OK - they miss me, true, I miss them, but they are all strong people too. All of you have been extremely supportive and I hope you know how much that has really meant to me. From packages to prayers, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Mark

Better than I deserve

2009-08-15T12:37:00.002-04:00

That's how I am -

I'm still here and thanking God everyday.

I miss you all.

Mark.

Mark's new friend

2009-08-11T11:49:00.003-04:00

I posted a couple more pics of the "Super BHut" and the crew - obviously I caught the crew during a break. I say obviously because you can see the work and craftsmanship that has been accomplished on this Super BHut in just a very short time. These structures guys are awesome!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF12

There are two pics of my friend Avnee - I have no idea how to spell his name - but that is the way it's pronounced. He works at the TMP vehicle maintenance yard - I walk by it every day on my way home - usually he's there and we talk for a few minutes. He also made me a spare key for my new truck and offered to wash it for me any time I wish! He's a great guy - very helpful, and kind. He's from Kosovo and will be leaving in a couple days for R&R - but he thinks he will be back before I leave. Let's hope so. I wanted to get a couple pics just in case.

Did I mention it was 110 in the shade today? (117 in the sun)

Mark.

The Spartan Sponsor

2009-08-08T10:47:00.003-04:00

My brother in law, Scott Bielat coaches a little league team in CO - The Bear Creek Spartans. His son Jacob is on the team. Before I left, Scott had a banner made and he added the USAF as a sponsor in honor of yours truly. My father in law, Larry Bielat, bought some of our unit coins we had made and gave them to Scott - enough for his entire team and coaches. It just so happened they had a big game to play on the 4th of July and the day before that game, he chose to give the boys these coins. There is a great video of it here (and on the website).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo-xTqJKBtI

Now I have to tell you - I'm not one to cry about anything - but this video was so heartwarming, I don't think anyone could watch it without some emotion. Just to know how much we (the military) are doing to keep you from having to worry about whether or not the plane you get on will be blown up, or if the building you are in will collapse because some terrorist decided to blow it up - etc... We live in a country where some take these things for granted - but not Scott and his coaches. Not only that, it just so touching that he explained it so easily to his boys - and just how important it is that we have the greatest military in the world looking out for you every single day. It is a hard assignment, but we do it because we love our country - and we carry on the fight so many have fought so hard for before us. It's not perfect, but it is a nice place to live - and the freedom we all enjoy is certainly not free.

Didn't mean to rant and rave, just wanted you all to know that I am very proud to be able to answer my nations call and to be doing my part to make sure my family, and yours, rest peacefully every night behind the security of the many great men and women in the US military.

I'm very proud of my brother in law. Not for thinking about me, but for teaching his boys to never forget that the reason we have liberty and freedom for all is because there are men and women out there willing to die to protect it.

It's not easy to explain that to kids, but when God blesses you with the ability to coach, you do the very best you can and make it LOOK easy.

Thanks Scott!

Mark

Couple neat things

2009-08-08T09:35:00.004-04:00

I have a few good stories to tell you -

First, in line with the latest series of pictures in BAF12 is MSgt Bobby Vongphakdy - he is our primary EA guy and was tasked with the very difficult mission to survey the downed F15 crash site a few weeks ago. Recently General Kwast presented the team coins for his appreciation for their efforts.

Next I received the 9 ball from my brother Al - an avid pool player if you couldn't guess. I won't go into his favorite game either - but suffice it to say it was a great idea - he sent me 1 ball a month with some very nice care packages (you might remember the ITouch story - if not, I still think ti's worth the read) - and I'm very thankful to have been here long enough to have received - the 9 ball.

Here is a picture of all the balls sitting on my new desk.

And we also have some pictures of the HVAC guys who worked day and night (literally) to install the air conditioners you see in the pictures. I can't tell you exactly why this was such an important job, but the Army thought it was and presented all the guys who worked on the project - and also Cpt Jaw - an Army Achievement Medal.

I think I got some pretty good shots.

They you have it ... I have another special story to tell you, but it's so special, it gets its own title. Coming up next.

Mark.

Another week in the books

2009-08-06T10:27:00.004-04:00

Yet another week has passed and we had Commanders Call this evening. It was the first briefing where we opened the door for out processing actions and information! The 1st Sgt briefed the plan to exit billeting, the CC talked about team building and SMSgt Berrier delivered a "Finish Strong" message. I also gave a short brief about how professional the Airmen have been with integrating the beddown folks.

I'll be busy tomorrow taking care of some required paperwork for the entire team - plus I have a meeting with contracting and I plan to give a couple Major's a tour of the BTIF later in the afternoon.

It's been very busy the past couple of days, so I'm glad this week is over!

Not much else to talk about. The weather has been very hot and very windy this last week and that made for some tough working conditions. But the positive side of that is it's better than working in the freezing cold wind when you have freezing rain and wind to deal with - I certainly do not envy the team of folks coming in behind us for the winter!

I think the timing for our deployment was near perfect. We will be home for the major holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and we had relatively good working conditions. Yes, it was hot and windy - but like I said, it's better than the alternative!

All in all - we couldn't have picked a better time to do this if we had too.

I do miss all of you - thanks for reading and thanks again for all your prayers.

Mark.

CSM Coin

2009-08-04T10:18:00.002-04:00

Command Sergeant Major Capel (CJTF-82) presented some of our Airmen a CSM coin today for his appreciation for the effort rebuilding the only firing range on BAF. The range had not been used in a very long time because it was unsafe - and our team used a lot of sand and some heavy equipment to make it better. It was a great effort and CSM Capel was very appreciative - I got some good shots too!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF11#

There are three pics of the range construction at the beginning of this album and the coin presentation pics are at the end.

Also included in this album are the pictures from the Super BHut project that is moving right along! All the guys/gals from ALL teams are really working hard and it's nice to see them still so high on morale and finishing strong!

I had a very busy last couple of days - even today, but I left the office with a smile on my face and I said to the Lord, "Thank you for a GREAT day!" I did have a very good day - productive, and it was nice to get to hear CSM Capel talk so fondly of our team! He basically just reiterated what I already knew - we do have a great team and I am proud of all of them.

Mark.

Flying High!

2009-08-02T09:07:00.002-04:00

Airpower!

I got off Bagram today! I was treated to a Blackhawk ride with the Wing Staff to go visit Airman at on of the FOB's (Forward Operating Base). I have some great pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BlackhawkRide

It was definitely a great experience to be with the Army Airborne Rangers and to fly on a fully loaded Blackhawk. It was a very short trip, but I am very thankful I got to be part of it. The Command Chief went with us and so did Chief McCarty - pictured on the album cover. I'll be able to tell you more when I get home. Suffice it to say - it was a great trip and I'm honored to have been chosen to ride along with the 455th AEW Staff.

We had lunch with the Airmen and also got a few moments to speak with the senior leadership there. It was great to see that for the most part, even though they don't have the same amenities we have here at BAF, they were all motivated and in very good spirits. They gave us a tour of the compound (all walking - which tells you it's not that big) and we left literally right after lunch. I think I got some great pictures.

I can tell you this - if your going to move around the AOR - this is the way to do it! It beats riding in a C130 - that's for sure!

So this was really a great day for me. I had dinner (RIBS) with the 955 AES Superintendent and one of his staff to discuss business. I try to make every moment count. I even made sure I'd be back in enough time to post this blog - for you.. :-)

Mark.

Cold day in the Cadillac

2009-07-31T12:56:00.002-04:00

No matter what your perspective is - taking a cold shower after a long day out in the field just has to suck. Yes, be glad you have a shower cold or not (there are many who don't have this luxury), but that really is a bummer. There are three bays with showers and the middle one was straight cold water - I know because I went in there - the 1st bay was a little crowded (I have always used the 1st bay since I've been here). Shaving with cold water wasn't so bad - but I decided there was no way I was taking a cold shower - I'd wait if I had too.

After I finished shaving (3-4 minutes), I went around the corner to the first bay - still a little crowded, but I tested the water in the sink and it wasn't cold... by far, not HOT, but had a little warm to it. So I jumped in the first shower and I think I JUST made it. It was a quick one - certainly less than 3 minutes, but the little bit of heat was just about gone.

When I got out, you could hear they guys in the next bay - most of the time, guys don't talk to each other in the bathroom. All you heard was, Burrr, Sh*t that's cold, etc... It was amusing, but really I felt bad for them - mostly Army guys. Come to think of it, most of the guys in the 1st bay were AF guys. Hummm... :-)

I'm also disappointed I missed my weekly call with my parents today. It was really a very busy "off" day for me. Skipped breakfast to go in early - I was there @ 0630. Next thing I knew it was 1200 and I was late for lunch chow. So I walked very quickly to the DFAC and had lunch. Then, next thing you know, it's 1730!! I had wrote Dad and Mom and email to tell them I'd be late - hope they got it and everything is OK. Gee - that's funny - I even worry about them from time to time.

Seriously, I do spend a good bit of time in prayer. Mostly of thanks and praise. Thanks that I'm still here and able to carry out the mission - and praise for a really awesome God who will not give me more than I can handle!

Sometimes I wish He didn't trust me so much! :-)

Mark

짧은 타이머

2009-07-28T09:37:00.004-04:00

Now I bet you all are wondering what THAT title means! The answer comes next month. I'll give you one point if you can tell me the language and two points if you can tell me what it says! :-)

Had a great SKYPE night last night! Funny, seems everyone wants to talk on the same night! :-) I like it though - I talked with David, Al and Pam - and Marcus on MajicJack - which is working pretty good by the way.

I had a pretty long day - got up at 0400 to be with the "Dirt Boys" to pour a concrete pad. I posted a couple pics in BAF11. By 0700, all the hard work was done! If you're wondering why we get up so early to pour concrete, it's because it's too hot during the day (113 today) and they can't seem to get the concrete where it belongs and finished before it sets up in the heat.

Also posted a couple new pics of a "Super BHut" the guys are building and it's going to be a two story BHut. Those Structures guys move pretty fast so I'll try to take a few more pics - but you probably won't recognize it as under construction - it will look like it's finished in a few days! These pics show what they did just the 1st DAY!

It's an interesting thing to me - if you want to know how much work we've done, I'll put it to you like this - and I've said this to many people here. It's very surprising to me to see the condition of this base considering that it's been here for 9+ years - and knowing how much it has changed in the 5 months we've been here! It's VERY surprising! After all the things we did with just our team - if we would have been here for the last 9 years, I promise you this would look like downtown Atlanta at the rate we are going! The war would probably be over because the Taliban would think they were in the wrong country!

With as fast as we can put up this "Super BHut", why are there tents anywhere around here? Yes, we ARE that good!

I like to brag on my guys - not because they need to hear it, but because they deserve it.

Mark (aka Chief)

Room Inspection

2009-07-27T09:59:00.004-04:00

We had our first real room inspection today - it was not like I expected. I really thought they would look for all kinds of things, but all they cared about was fire. They picked on smoke detectors (like the occupants are supposed to know or just run right out and buy some...). Really? If they want/need more smoke detectors, then put them in! Why have an inspection 9 years later? Heck - they didn't even TEST the smoke detectors we have in the rooms now! And have you see the wiring around the outside??? So what was the point? (I'm really not sure). They told me my coffee pot had to be on a non-combustible material.... HELLO??? The entire BHut is made of WOOD! He suggested glass! I laughed! So I just said, "OK - Whatever!" Oh - AND - he said it had to plug directly into the wall outlet! Yeah, OK. Do you know how long the cord is on a coffee pot? It's like 6 inches! Don't forget the FLOOR (along with everything else) is made of - uh, yeah - WOOD. Did I mention the outlet is only 18 inches off the floor! (lower than the outlets in your home). So just how the heck am I (or anyone else) supposed to have this coffee pot plugged directly into the wall and sitting on some non-combustible material!? Hence - my response, "OK - Whatever!"

Oh - and yeah, I did take out the trash and all that stuff - you guys all know I'm not a pig anyway and I keep my stuff organized and clean all the time anyway. But honestly, they seemed not to care about any of that.

Oh well - I just hope folks realize that our living conditions are really a treat and a whole lot better than a tent - which is where many others are living! I'm very thankful for my little wooden box!

Mark.

Pics UP

2009-07-23T13:16:00.002-04:00

I posted a few new pics - they are a mix, so I'll run through a couple.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF11

First are a couple pics of the projects - old and new - then we have the CC with his special Popcorn Birthday Cake. His bday is not till 5 Aug - but his Grandmother wanted to make SURE he didn't miss it! Neat - lots of interesting flavors. It was good though.

Then a couple more project pics - and finally a couple so you understand why the Internet and power go out all the time - no, I'm not making this stuff up.

Mark.

General Info

2009-07-21T11:35:00.004-04:00

Did I mention that I got to hang out with two Generals the other day? For 3 hours! It was great! We (the CC and I - and of course their complete entourage) took them around BAF to visit some high profile facilities and gave them a brief on some very interesting developments in our group. It was really a neat thing to spend so much time with them. Both great men and very easy to talk too - very smart, and keen - and very nice guys overall too.

Oh - you want to know who they were? General Buckler and General McMahon. Gen Buckler's is a "tire" guy like Col Lehman and was also in the reserve program for quite a while.

Still plugging along and trying to finish strong - that's the theme and it wouldn't be right to preach it if I wasn't going to practice it. I promised myself before I came here I would make every opportunity count and I actively LOOK for opportunities. I volunteer to help people every chance I get and I really am trying to make a difference here for the next guy that has to come here - and there will be many.

Mark.

Internet is back

2009-07-19T11:55:00.002-04:00

Well, kind of - at least I can do most things. I was just in a Skype call w/Pam for a solid 35 min - then - the call dropped and I could not get her back.

So - I'm happy for that 35 min! Also got a good call in with my brother Jim this afternoon! That was very nice also - no problems, I guess we talked for 20 min or so! Was great to see him! And - I got to IM with Al today also - he was the one that reminded me that I never really told you that I got my Internet working again. It's pretty much back to the crappy Internet that I started with - it works when it wants too. But trust me, I learned my lesson and I'm not complaining anymore! It's fine, it's fine, it's fine!!! :-)

At least I can write blogs! I've learned to be very thankful for the little things in life.

Mark.

Working Weekend

2009-07-18T10:41:00.003-04:00

It's surprising I even KNOW that it's the weekend. Still the days all seem to run together and often I ask myself, "What day is it today?".

Well, it's Saturday (I'm sure, I just checked my computer) and there is some good news that I can share. I had a very long talk yesterday with the Chief replacing me soon! He is a very nice Christian man so we have a lot in common already! :-)

He says his team is getting excited to come and I told him we were JUST as excited (if not more) to know we are soon leaving. For many of you (I can hear you) it's not soon enough! I know. For me, I still contend I am here for a reason and I intend to finish the plan as best I can. I'll be home when I get home.

We talked for a good long time and it was perfect because I was in the office and literally had "just walked in" when he called. I was a little late getting there because it was Friday and I had no good reason to be in earlier - and besides, it was an off day. :-) We talked for what seemed like 90 minutes about various issues and potential things to avoid. It was reminiscent for me when I was in his position getting ready to come and I couldn't help to be thankful for Chief Ron Rearick taking his time to talk with me the same way. Those conversations really helped and I felt like I knew Ron when I got here. I hope it will be the same for Robert (the new chief). I already like him - and his wife - because she has sent two wonderful packages filled exclusively with Hawaian macadamia nut goodies. ALL KINDS of macadamia nut stuff! (I did have to share some... :-( That's not a bad thing though - keeps me from gaining all that weight back.

Speaking of that - my Mom told me I looked "Skinny" on Friday - and the same day, the CC came by my hooch and I was in my PT gear and he said "Geez, Chief, your nothing but skin and bones now!" - Which is not REALLY true and I told him I was just a little leaner and still tougher than a $2 steak!

I'm sure you all will still recognize me when I get back - I'll just be wearing my belt a little tighter. Pam and I will have to go shopping for some new clothes till I get back into the beer and ice cream! :-) I may even have to get the new commander to by me a couple new uniforms!

See - there are good things about this deployment if you LOOK for them!

Mark.

Too long to post

2009-07-16T09:12:00.002-04:00

Let me say up front I'm sorry for not posting more frequently lately. It's been very busy and quite honestly, there's not much new I can tell you. Yes, new things happening, you will just have to wait till I get back to get all the details.

I had a pretty good day today and the CC even verbalized his appreciation for a good day - he said, "I'm in a pretty good mood today" and that made me feel especially thankful - and made me in a pretty good mood too!

I'm thankful that all the crews are fully engaged in projects and there is certainly no shortage of work for anyone. Things are progressing along quite nicely at the moment and it's a good feeling to know we are making a difference and we can all see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are not there yet, but there is a definite improvement in what I feel is an already high morale!

Another week is in the books - as you remember, SAT-THR is our typical week since Friday is our down day. Well I won't be the only one working tomorrow - and I wasn't last Friday either. Several of the PM (project managers) and crews are making an extra effort and working some of our projects even on their days off. And others are working on side projects to make things better around the FET (Facility Engineer Team) building (our office building) and still others are putting it time to help with MWR activities, other self help projects, Operation Care and many other important things that need to be done.

A good week for me - I still miss you all and I want to again let you know there is not a day that goes by when I don't think about you and know that you are still praying for me and my team. I sincerely want to thank each and every one of you and I will do that in person soon.

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Mark.

The Lord's Day!

2009-07-12T12:00:00.003-04:00

Well I didn't sleep so great last night and and I woke up a little grumpy - which is very uncommon, but I was treated to a nice Skype Video with all my grandchildren and both my kids - and Jeff, and of course my wife Pam - and my good friend David! What a nice treat first thing in the morning! It was wonderful to see all of them and they all looked great! Good stuff! After all that, I forgot all about my crappy sleep night and had a great day!

Now it's catching up with me and I think I'll try and lay down a little early tonight - wind is blowing somethin fierce - but it *IS* Rib night and I'm fat and sassy - so hopefully I'll sleep well tonight.

Had a pretty good day! Went to church this morning, worked thru lunch (I always do on Rib Days) and had a GREAT dinner! They were cooked perfectly (as usual) and everything was great! I'm going to have to keep up the tradition when I get home - Pam doesn't know it yet, but I think Sunday is going to be RIB night on a regular basis!!! Just that we'll have to find a comparable place in ATL somewhere cause we sure as ____ aren't coming back here - I don't care HOW good they are - (they really are pretty good!)

Typical day, oh - I know what you will find interesting. The Internet now is actually FASTER in my hooch than it is in my office!!! How's THAT for a surprise! Seriously! It's horrible and barely usable! In fact, I'd call it limited because pages just will not load. It's a combination of bandwidth (or lack of) and DNS timeouts. That makes for some crappy Internet - let me tell you.

Also got to Skype with my parents on FRIDAY - I love Friday's - still. We talked for a good long time and it was nice seeing them smile. They like having their granddaughter there in MQT - my brother and his wife went up for a visit.

We've actually started planning for the rotation! (that's REALLY good news)! I won't get into details, but it's slowly starting! Things will fall into place in no time and I'll be back in GA before you know it. BTW - you know I'll end this blog eventually and I plan to print it to PDF for the record. Don't worry though, I'll post my cell information when I get back and it will be just like old times and you can actually CALL me once in a while! :-)

Looking forward to it - don't want ya'll to get TOO excited. I'll tell you the same thing I'm telling my guys. We came here to do a job and we are going to do it - and do it well - right up to the end. The Wing Motto when we got here was Start Right, Finish Strong - and we plan to stick to that - after all, it's important and I think the people here realize what they are doing *IS* important - and making a huge difference. That's one of the things we bring up at every commanders call for the group - we make sure we tell them that not only are they all doing a good job, but that it's making a difference for the people on BAF now and the many that will come thru here in the future.

Mark.

What can I say?

2009-07-07T11:43:00.007-04:00

Hi!

Well, things are still fine with me - and with the team. We are all still here and making a difference on BAF for all coalition forces. That's a very true statement too - not overstated. The projects we are working and completing are major projects that will improve the quality, life, health and safety standards for everyone coming to BAF. And if that doesn't make you smile - then I don't know what to tell you.

We are all contributing - we are all working hard to make things happen.

Mail call again today in a HUGE way! 30+ boxes came in from Fairview Baptist Church! I expect another batch of 56 boxes coming in the next few days... got 3 yesterday, and 28 or so today. Since I've been here, I talked a little about perspective - and my perspective has changed (in this case) for the better because I realized there exists a tremendous amount of people out there who really do care and actively support military warriors. There's a few from GA that I plan to make a personal visit too - I'm recording their names and addressed and I'll look them up when I get back - maybe deliver an appreciation hug! Speaking of hugs - the Chapel NeXt team is sponsoring a Hot dogs and Hugs campaign! Sounds like a lot of fun and I'm going to try and get in on the action. It's coming up soon, so watch for the pictures. I'll tell you about it AFTER it happens! :-)

I've got a "driver" for my truck... no, silly, not a chauffeur, just someone to drive it back and forth to work everyday - I decided to still keep up the walking. I did take a day off after the dodge ball game (did I already mention that?). I've gotten used to it and I'm sure it's one reason why I feel so good and I'm sure it's a good thing to keep a smile on my face! Besides - you get to meet/see a lot of interesting people along the way! :-) As you all know, there are MANY different coalition forces here - and I mean from all over. Once in a while I'll get to talk with them. I also meet a lot of KBR (and other contractor) folks from different places all over the world too.

Now the trick will be to get my "driver" to wash the truck and clean it up for me... :-)

Mark.

PS - It took me about 10 min to write this post and it's now been more than 90 minutes (yeah, no kidding) and it's STILL not posted. So far, you haven't heard me cuss in this forum - but if this keeps up, I'm going to change this from a family show to NC-17 and anyone older than 50! :-)
I'm giving up and going to bed. With any luck, I'll be able to reach my wife from my cell phone - and more than 50% of the time - that don't work either.

It's now the morning (0530) - let's see if it will post now....

Mark.

Perspective

2009-07-05T12:48:00.002-04:00

Now might be a good time to have that perspective discussion. So I thought my Internet connection was really bad... Oh how WRONG I was! At this moment, I'd take that back and be HAPPY to pay the $100!!! As it is - now it's REALLY bad! So bad that it's basically unusable (I thought it was "unusable" before). Now - in perspective, it was fine... At least I could Skype with my family and friends! And I could use MagicJack ONCE IN A WHILE! Now - I'll be lucky if the blog posts!!!! (seriously!)

Could not contact Blogger.com. Saving and publishing may fail. Retrying...
Return to list of posts

And if it does, I guess I should be happy about it...

Mark.

Friends

2009-07-04T11:38:00.002-04:00

What's a good friend?

Well - many people told me I should write a book when I get back - and if I was going to do that, I'd have plenty of material just for a book about friends. I am so very blessed to have so many good friends. I was able to Skype with my wife last night in TN. She went to visit all my rowdy friends in TN at the Brown's - David and Janice. Pam is celebrating the holiday there with MANY of our friends and it was so nice to see all of them on the back porch. Hard, and a little sad for me knowing that they are all going out to play on the water for the weekend - fishing, skiing, boating, etc... and I'm here fishing in sewer water with a rock! Yuck. But they all said they love me and I know that's true. They all miss me and I miss them too - much more than the water and the fishing. I have no idea how many people were there - but there were many - and ALL of them were excited to see me - and that was so special for me. Very humbling that they all think so much of me to talk about me and pray for me. Now it's true - I'm not sure what they "talk" about - but I'm pretty sure they think and talk about me like I think and talk about them - very fondly and full of pride. I love my friends and they love me. This is a true blessing. I know how wonderful it is for Pam to be in their company for this patriotic holiday - and she happens to be with Janice - who has never missed thanking me on a Veterans Day (or any other military holiday) since we met some 15+ years ago. How's that for a thoughtful friend? That's not the half of it. Over the years, we have laughed and cried with many of our friends - sometimes at the same time, had many, many good times and 1 or 2 bad, but the good news is - ALL of us are very thankful for God bringing our families together. In the process, many other's have joined the crowd and it has certainly made for a very LARGE crowd of friends - many of whom were on the back porch last night. And for that, I am very thankful today. You all made my day today and I'll be thinking of you all having fun in the sun as I rest my head to end another day here in Afghanistan. 1 more day closer to coming home. I look forward to the day when I can be with ALL of you again - whether it be on the porch in TN, back home in MQT, on the beach in FL, playing turkey bowl in PA, someplace in TX or AZ/VA/MS (this guy moves around a lot - still) or back in GA (which is kind like home now) or anywhere else - being with friends is always a special time.

There is one friend though that I thank God for everyday and I miss and love more than anyone else - and that's my BEST friend, Pam.

Mark.

Party Time

2009-07-02T10:03:00.002-04:00

We worked this morning and we had a party for the afternoon! It was a complete party with all kinds of activities. Frisbee, Football, Volleyball, Dodge ball, Basketball, and the favorite game - CORNHOLE! It was a blast! (pun intended)

On top of that, we had LOTS of food. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Grilled Chicken, Ribs (yup), and Steaks! (of course all the fixins and deserts too). The Commander bought us all Bitburger (o%) Beer and there was lots of other drinks.

MSgt Carey organized the cornhole tournament and subsequently WON THE WHOLE thing!!! I say it was rigged from the start, but who knows.... The party took place at the premiere venue on BAF! The MWR Clamshell (same place Toby Kieth played and all the other major events are held) - it was a GREAT place to have fun and out of the 107 degree HOT sun! Senior MSgt Bramlett played music on the PA system all day! TSgt Lojoie was tied to the grill for a while cooking the steaks.

All in all - a GREAT day - best day since I've been here! To ADD to the good news, I got my TRUCK!!! It's a BRAND NEW Toyota Hilux - very nice, and much more comfortable than the Gator I had been borrowing when I needed to go places outside of walking distance. I'll take a few pics of me and the truck tomorrow.

Pics of the party are posted here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/PartyTime

Most everyone came to the party and those who were there had a LOT of fun and got to relax. It was perfect timing because the R&R team was back and the other team hasn't left so EVERYONE had a chance to go the party! The Commander said some very nice remarks to start us off and the rest is now history.

I'm glad to have been there - it was really nice to see everyone participated in something a lot of folks helped out in the end to straighten up. The MWR Staff was phenomenal and really took care of us.

A very good day (in perspective)

Mark.

PRT Trip pics posted

2009-06-30T10:25:00.002-04:00

As promised, but a little late (like everything else around here) are more pics from my PRT trip courtesy of the boys from the team. There are a couple good ones too (I think).

Also - I posted a couple of fresh project pictures in BAF10.

The guy in the contracting office finally got to me. I was a little ticked off today as I still don't have any of the three vehicles we ordered back in MAY - and the order made it to contracting (final stop) the first week in June. Still no trucks!

Nothing in the mail today - but it sure was nice to get the 56 boxes (count'em) from Eastside Community Church in Wichita KS! (I didn't know there were nice people there either! :-) All the boxes had GOOD stuff in them too!!! Useful stuff! All the guys/gals that opened them were happy and had big smiles. VERY nice of them to do that! All for Independence Day too. They wrote a nice note in each of the boxes of thanks and gratitude for our service. Nice touch!

The wind picked up significantly today for the first time in a about 2-3 weeks. It's been breezy, but today was straight WINDY. Lots of blowing dirt to eat. The shower will sure feel good tonight, but we are still limited to 3 min! That will be a real treat when I get home... Taking a LONG 5 min shower. (see, I told you my perspective on things has changed). How many of you women think 5 min is a long shower??? Try 3 min - goes for the gals too. Now granted there is nobody checking the clock and many do not abide by this rule, but most do because they respect the rule first, and 2nd, there is a water shortage on BAF - all the water is trucked in daily. Also, there is limited HOT water for so many folks - so those that abide are helping those who take advantage (and don't care) and shower as long as they like. Drives me crazy, but what can you do with these kids? Just remind them once in a while... I do.

Not much else to say today... I'm fine. Really. I'm still in the same routine. Walk to/from work and most places around BAF when time permits. I only drive to the far out places when I need too.

Hope you enjoy the pics - I'll post some from the party coming up - that should be a LOT of fun. We are holding a Cornhole tournament. Lots of interest in the game - 24 folks already signed up! should be a good time. Structures guys put together the board sets for us and the EA (engineering assistants/surveyors) team is going to set up the official courts!!! :-) It's fun to be an engineer!!!

Mark.

Good/Bad News

2009-06-28T13:03:00.002-04:00

That all depends on your perspective - and while I'm on that topic, let me tell you my perspective sure has changed in the last 5 months since I started this back in JAN! Yes, believe it or not, my orders started on 29 JAN. That's when my perspective on things started to change.

More on that in a different post - it's not what I planned to tell you.

Good News/Bad news - The good news is I didn't miss RIB NIGHT!!! The Bad news is I didn't miss RIB NIGHT - I would have if my trip wasn't cancelled this morning - bummer. But it's still not out of the question - so - hopefully sometime soon. Also, I got the two disc's with the pictures from the PRT trip (good news), but I forgot them in the office so you will have to wait till tomorrow night till I can post them (bad news).

Also - more bad news - I missed church today cause I was working so hard... :-) Seriously - something came up just before 1430 (J-Time) and I couldn't make it. Next Sunday, J-Time moves to 1030 so that will work out a LOT better for me anyway.

I wish you could see the Chapel NeXt website! Not many web pages around here are kept up to date, but THAT one is! I think God is updating it Himself! It's very professional and lots of good information! Looks good too!

So I planned on getting in bed early - that's didn't work out too well - I'm sitting here keeping all the people concerned about me up to date - Oh, yeah - that's not such a BAD thing to have a few friends who love you! That's GOOD NEWS for me!

Thanks to all of you!

Mark.

More pics comin

2009-06-27T12:09:00.003-04:00

This is a short post - just wanted to let you know I got some pics from TSgt Lajoie and I posted them here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF10

I also added a couple pics from the Blackwater project in Baf9

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF9

I stopped by to get some more PRT trip pics - the guys said they had two full CD's for me - but I couldn't find them late this afternoon so I'll try again to tomorrow.

More interesting pics coming very soon!

Mark.

PRT Trip

2009-06-26T10:22:00.002-04:00

Had some more excitement! I was tasked with a trip off base to do an engineer analysis of a generator installation. I took one of my Power Pro guys who is a Master Electrician in his civilian occupation. We were on our way and we ran into a little snag. That's about all I can tell you. We did get to complete our mission, but it was a very long day and I'm certainly not getting any younger. After ALL DAY in all that gear, my back was telling me "You know, your not as young as you used to be!!" I thought when I came back into my hooch and took off my stuff... I was light as a feather and if I wasn't so sore, I'm pretty sure I could have dunked a basketball... Now - I know SOME of you thought that was funny!!!

I posted some pictures here: Yes, I'm even IN some of them!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/PRTTrip

Not to mention - it was over 100 degrees in the shade... Yeah, Yeah - low humidity... It was still HOT! I was on my feet for the better part of 6 hours.

Great assignment though - got to get out and meet some locals and try and further our cause with a little HA (Humanitarian Aide) - you see the picture with the two little kids, we gave them some pens, pencils, and crayons - and they came back with a wheel barrel full of Pepsi/Juice/cookies, etc - of course, not for us!!! But to SELL! And not cheap either! $1 per Pepsi - and it wasn't cold! Someone needs to teach these little ones about entrepreneurship!

All in all - a good week - well, since it quieted down a little after the rocket attack that seemed to make the news pretty fast.

Still don't have my Truck!!! And on top of that, some idiot decided to put the generator (it's a big generator) for the Cherry Beasley Camp in MY PARKING SPOT!!! The power went out the other night and was out for about 10 hours - the problem?? Well, a transformer blew. That's not so bad - happens all the time right?? Well, you'd think SOMEONE making a little more money than ME would have thought about that- but apparently not. So - the only solution was to "ORDER" one - which as we all know, EVERYTHING around here is "ON ORDER" - and we wait. So there's no telling how long that stupid generator will be in my parking spot - but - that's OK - cause I don't have a truck to put there ANYWAY! :-)

Mark.

Time Out

2009-06-24T12:44:00.002-04:00

Hi!

Just posted some interesting (IMHO) pics - a mixture - one from the exciting night.

Also - had a going away roast for Col Reed today - he will be leaving soon and at one time was in control of over 1600 Airmen! (wow)

He's a great guy and great leader and it's always great to go to these things and get another piece of wisdom to add to my battle book.

And a couple of updated project pictures for the engineers! I'm sure they can appreciate all the hard work that is being accomplished.

Should be an exciting day tomorrow - look for some even MORE interesting pictures tomorrow night (my time).

Mark

Bagram in the News

2009-06-21T08:12:00.007-04:00

Well, last night Bagram made the news. You can go to Google News and search Bagram for the details. Needless to say, nobody got much sleep last night and there was a lot of excitement! I'll definitely be going to bed a little early tonight!

I'm OK and everyone in our group is OK. We had a good Sunday - Father's Day. I hope to Skype with both my Father and my Father-in-Law today - hopefully here in the next few minutes.

Chapel NeXt service was very good. There were 3 other guys from my unit that have been attending - it's nice to see them there.

I'm in charge of putting together our 4th of July Celebration for the unit. I can't give away too many details here, but it's going to be a lot of fun and I've arranged it so we will get some time off of work - something our Airmen really seem to like.

I'm fairly confident I'll be getting my truck back tomorrow - of course, there is no reason to really believe that the way things go around here - but I'll be happy to post again tomorrow if in fact I do get it.

I watched a movie on Friday - Enemy at the Gates. It was OK. Pretty good story about a Russian and German sniper duel. Supposedly a true story - I'm not sure about that and I didn't have the energy today to verify.

I got a very nice envelope filled with three HUGE patriotic cards today from some nice people in CA (and here I thought the only nice people in CA were my sisters family!)

Of course that was a joke - I don't need a bunch of hate mail about all the nice folks who DO live out there. When we went to the Yurok Reservation for a reserve project several years ago, I met some very nice people!

Hopefully we get some sleep tonight - please say an extra prayer it's not as exciting as last night! And for those of you who can, please pray for the families of the ones we lost and those who were injured last night . I have been and will continue to do so.

Happy FATHER'S DAY to all the Fathers reading!

Oh, that reminds me... I wanted to share a quote with you I read earlier today:

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made so and kept so by the exertions of men better than himself. -- John Stuart Mill

Mark.

Fishing in Afghanistan

2009-06-17T10:12:00.002-04:00

I couldn't take it any longer. I was walking around today and it just looked like the perfect spot. So I set up my pole, tied on a rock, and went FISHING!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF9

Well - I didn't catch anything. Of course, what the heck did I expect to catch using a ROCK for bait! :-) But I thought you all might enjoy the pictures anyway.

I'm doing OK - I was supposed to get my truck back today - but that didn't happen - much like many other things around here. One day you think things are going to go a certain way, and it seems too often something completely different happens. That's OK though! It's all in God's plan. Like I've said before, I'm not here to figure OUT God's plan, just execute it.

Rib night again tonight - just got back in my hooch and I think I'll enjoy some homemade cookies that Heidi sent - Umm, Umm GOOD!

Hope you all are well!

Mark.

CAS Brief

2009-06-14T10:17:00.002-04:00

I had the pleasure to get invited to the CAS briefing. I had heard it was very good and I decided to give it a try. I was VERY impressed with the professionalism of the all the guys and especially to the Cpt and 1Lt who gave us our briefing. We spent 4+ hours on the flight line and got some seriously close-up pictures with them and their machines!

The Cpt was an A-10 pilot and the 1Lt was a "wizzo" - WSO - Weapons Systems Officer. The A-10 is a single seater and the F15 Strike Eagle is a 2 person job. 1 Pilot and 1 WSO. They let us sit thru their typical morning pre-flight briefings and then we went out to get a close look at the planes. Check out the pics here!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/CAS

Yes - I'm in several shots including the pilot seat of the F15! No - we didn't get to fly, that's probably as close as I will ever get.

All in all - a great day. The briefing went into church time - I'm sure God forgives me! I did sing him a couple songs of praise though! :-)

And of course, you all know now what Sunday means!!! RIB NIGHT!!! Um, Um GOOD!

Everything else is great with me - my brother, Debbie and Mom sent me another nice box - I got the 7 ball today! Good feeling and included was an ITune's gift card - nice since I lost the last two I had before I got a chance to use them! Good thing the games are only $.99! :-)

So I'm off to download a few new items to enhance my latrine visits! Hope you all are well! I am.

Mark.

Picture This!

2009-06-11T10:10:00.006-04:00

MAIL CALL!
First of all - the Baxter's really came up with a great box to send! Homemade cookies, and some other stuff.. Did I mention homemade cookies???

Included with the jerky, lemon drops, Twizzlers, etc... (all stuff I really like) - was a set of Bose® in-ear Headphones which pair up very nicely with my new ITouch!!!

I thought the headphones that it came with the ITouch were pretty nice - until I put in the Bose®! As Aiden would say - "OH YEAH!" And did I menetion the homeade cookies?

Soldier Angels came through in a BIG (literally) way! I couldn't be more impressed or surprised that one organization would give so much! I've likely received more than 30 personal cards and letters. I answer all of them (initially). That's not including countless cards and letters for the Airmen, 14 (at least) packages and today was the kicker... 56 Sand and Cool scarves received along with a HUGE box of coffee and enough toiletry supplies for the ENTIRE TEAM! Not to mention a host of other items... magazines, huge box of beef sticks, 4 cases of popcorn and a WHOLE LOT MORE! We are all now fat and sassy. What a blessing to have contacted these people. And it took only 1 (count'em) simple request.

The sand and cool scarves arrived in perfect time. Today was a little warmer - but I know it's only going to get hotter and windier. Plus we had Commanders call and it was a perfect time to issue them out. Everyone really appreciates the very nice and thoughtful gifts!

THANK YOU SA!

Projects are good - very good actually, HVAC has been putting in a lot of extra hours on a critical project, the dirt boys are very dirty... meaning they are spending a lot of time and energy on one of the priority projects we have and several others... the electricians are now in high demand and spread out all over BAF working on a host of different projects and the Utilities guys are just plain working - here, there, everywhere - out and about - and on all kinds of stuff - Utilities or not! Not forgetting the Engineering Team - surveying just about every square inch of Bagram it seems. Every time I go somewhere - I see one of the EA's. The structures guys haven't slept since they've been here. If I told you all the things they have done - that would be the only reasonable conclusion.

Things are great and I am very proud of this team. Everyone (not just the guys out in the field) is doing a great job. The admin folks are awesome. We recruited a few guys from the field to provide "expertise" in some specially required fields/areas and they really stepped up. People are working in and out of their specialties - but nobody is complaining - at least not to me. This has been a very rewarding tour so far. I just hope and pray the 2nd half of the ball game is just as good as the first and we will all be fine!

A great week - maybe the best week yet! They keep getting better!

A HUGE thanks you to ALL of you reading because I know in my heart you are praying and supporting me and the team and for that - I am truly grateful!

Mark

Moonlight

2009-06-08T12:26:00.003-04:00

The other day I got back late and there was a good photo-op with the moon. Posted the pics in BAF8. Also posted are a couple pics with the guys who built and set up the Jason Cunningham memorial - a high visibility project that they did a GREAT job with!

Got another macadamia nut package from the Hickam Chief who will be here soon!!! :-)

Other than that - I've been even busier than usual the last few days - but things should calm down now for the rest of the week. Looks like temperatures are going to start warming up a little - the Soldiers Angels assured me the cool and sand scarves are in the mail! They will likely come just in time!

Got to Skype with Aiden, Jeff and Heidi yesterday after church! That was a treat. Oh Yeah man was up to his tricks eating a banana and drinking his dad's smoothie. Was great to see them.

Pam is on - see you later! :-)

Mark.

Movie Day

2009-06-05T12:51:00.002-04:00

I finally got some time today to watch a movie and eat some pistachio nuts! (and some breadsticks) I watched a movie called Death Race and it was OK - a little violent.... :-) The good guys won in the end.

Was nice to see both my parents today! Even though they are in two very different states and I am still half way around the world - technology is awesome.

Good mail week too - packages galore from my family (parents and sister) and lots of cards and letters of thanks and encouragement! Thank you all for thinking about me and praying for me and my team.

I still haven't gotten any more pics from the Col pinning - didn't see anyone in particular today - but I hope to get them tomorrow and I'll post them when I can.

Apparently there is a very good video of the while thing - obviously, that will not be posted - but a good thing for Col Lehman to have!

Not much else to say today - hope to get to talk with the grand kids this weekend. I miss all of them and my kids - but most of all my beautiful wife who has stood by me all 27 (almost) years I've been in the military. In fact, most of you know we will have to celebrate our anniversary while I'm still here. 27 will certainly be a year to remember, but not for the lavish vacation, party, trip, dinner or any of that. We have had some interesting anniversaries over the years, but this one will top them all. Well - at least until we get to 50!!! :-)

Hope you all are well and I miss all of you too.

Mark.

Col pinned

2009-06-04T10:01:00.004-04:00

We pinned Col Lehman today - his effective date of promotion was 1 JUN 09. It was a VERY nice ceremony and I had the honor as one of his "pinners" - I was truly humbled when he asked me to do that for him and much obliged! (can you tell I've been in the south too long??!!)

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF8

I'll post more pictures as they become available - probably tomorrow sometime. See - that's what happens when I'm not taking the pictures.

Col Reed presided over the ceremony and said some really great things about Col Lehman and us as a Utilities Detachment team. They (the top leadership) all recognise what a great job we are doing here and the fact that we ARE making a difference - both on and off Bagram with our interaction with the locals.

What a great thing!

I had dinner with the 955th Chief last night - we had a good talk and a great meal! (RIBS!) All in all, a good week - had it's moments, but I'm still smiling and happy to be here working for the Lord. I'll be glad when it's over! :-)

Soldiers Angels continues to flood me with cards and letters (this is a good thing) and I answer them all. I stay away from answering emails because there is simply not enough time for that. I did answer one just today - the email I received was so well written and heartfelt, I would have felt too guilty not responding! I just had too... :-) There are SO MANY people who appreciate and support us with thanks every chance they get - and I never realized to such a great extent. God Bless all of you for that!

Someone sent in a big batch of Starbucks coffee - (ground) and that was a plus! We still have lots of Starbucks whole bean coffee - but I'm too lazy to grind it myself. Actually - I just make such a mess doing it - it's cleaning up the mess I despise. Good coffee, but certainly not worth $5 a cup! Nice to drink for free, but you won't catch me in a Starbucks anywhere around Stockbridge when I get back! (unless you want to pay for it! :-)

Hope you all are well - I pray daily for many of you I know are reading - and I know many of you are doing the same for me - and I cannot tell you how much that means to me! Thank you!

Mark.

June Bug!

2009-06-01T11:16:00.001-04:00

Wow! I can't believe it's JUNE already! I picked up the COL for breakfast this morning! I am very proud and honored to be serving with him. I will surly miss him when this is over.

Had a typical Sunday - good Chapel NeXt service and it always makes me feel good to write about my week starting with worshiping God.

I got a lot of cards this week. So many I've been thinking about what to do with them. I know my wife would LOVE to read all of them so I'm going to pack them all up and send them to her. I think Hallmark is behind this war somehow. :-) I did receive a very nice card from my "Angel" today from Soldiers Angels. It was a card describing a hero and what a hero is and does. I know that all of us on this team don't think of ourselves as heroes - we think we are all just doing our jobs - and we are. It is very humbling to be thought of as a "hero" to someone. Also - my father-in-law just sent me an article written by Ben Stein back in 2004 - interesting all this "hero" stuff is coming from different sources at the same time. Well - I'm not going to try and figure all that out - just know that I think I have the greatest job in the world and I couldn't be more proud of the people that I am here working with. I personally think the people at Soldiers Angels are heroes for all the support they have delivered in less than month since I wrote and asked them to adopt our group. It's overwhelming!

When I get back, I'm going to join the team! Great organization.

So last week was pretty hot - all the weather reports said it was "unseasonable" - I sure hope they are right and it wasn't an indication of more of the same to come. This week (today) wasn't so bad and the forecast is for cooler temperatures (in the low 80's) for this week. Still windy (much more than a breeze) and I hope this doesn't continue either because it makes for difficult and simply miserable work conditions at times.

I took a few pictures today of a concrete pour we had today. It went very well and very quickly. There was plenty of help and the LN's were eager to help and really worked hard. The guys had the hard part jumping knee deep in the concrete - I didn't see any of the LN's willing to take that step! :-)

I went to our third wing awards/promotion ceremony today. We had our very own SSgt Gooden promoted last month and it was a real pleasure to see him up there and receive his promotion order from Col Kwast. Being promoted to the NCO grade is a huge step in a military career! Anytime you cross the tiers you know and feel a special pride in yourself and a huge sense of accomplishment. I hope and pray that feeling carries him forward to help our unit and the Airmen he will now be responsible to supervise. Amen!

I better get busy posting pictures - I'll post them in BAF7. If you've been following along, you should be able to use any previous link - just change to BAF7.

For newcomers - I'll post the link tomorrow after the pics are uploaded.

Mark.

MIxed Pics

2009-05-29T13:08:00.004-04:00

Got some more pics posted today.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF6

A mixture of a few things including some more action shots of the volleyball tournament, me standing next to a very tall and beautiful rose bush (even kinda makes ME look good!), the HVAC guys working hard to install some AC units, and the structures/heavy guys putting a memorial together in Camp Cunningham. Finally, there are some pics of Command Chief Dearduff, command chief master sergeant for Ninth Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central, who was visiting and just happened to stop by my office! While he was there, he recognized one of the Airmen on my team - TSgt Gagnon for all he's been doing on and off duty. Also Amn Aniya who works for the FET - Amn Aniya and 5 Airmen on my team had dinner with the CCM. Chief Dearduff is a really great guy and very knowledgeable - we talked with him at length and got some good insight.

It's always a good thing when we get the recognition of the DV's when they come to BAF. That means that we are doing some very special things here. While only a small amount of things get recognized, I see and hear what is going on with all we are doing and I can tell you I am very proud to be here and to be a part of this team. They are all working hard and getting things done - that's the main thing - and people are noticing - (I wonder why!?)

Some of the team got a private tour of the hospital today with CMS Cardozo. She is truly a wonderful Chief and someone we ALL can learn from. The more time I can get my Airmen around these good people, the more I will try. I announced the hospital tour at CC call yesterday to the entire group. I was very happy that 4 of them took me up on the offer.

It will soon be Col Lehman and I couldn't be happier for him. I know he is a little anxious and also looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to a great ceremony planned by our 1st Sgt (she's really good at this stuff) and it's not everyday you get to plan a Col pinning!

It's late for me and I've had a very busy day off - I'm going to bed. I must be up early to start my day tomorrow. Hope you all are well!

Mark.

I'm really NUTS!

2009-05-26T13:07:00.002-04:00

Just got a very nice package in the mail today - along with another half dozen cards and letters from supporters from Soldiers Angels. Those people are GREAT!.

The box came from the folks at SITA! Claudia and Tom put together a box full of various nuts (which I like to snack on) including 3 huge bags of pistachios! Thanks very much for that - I've got LOTS of movies to watch now too! So this FRI I'll be snacking on the pistachios and watching a couple movies when I get back from the hospital.

Work is going good.

The volleyball team came in 2nd overall and they all got some very nice certificates presented by one of the Task Force Commanders! The games were REALLY close and a point here and there made all the difference. The other team took all 6 games to finally beat them and win the tournament. There will be more volleyball tournaments before we leave and TSgt Lajoie and MSgt Gros-Hayes have pledged revenge! I wish them well.

We still have a 5K Memorial Day walk/run coming up that I'll be helping with - no, not running in silly!

Lt Col Lehman will be Col Lehman on Monday next week - I'm really looking forward to that and I'm sure he is also. He really deserves it and I'm very proud and honored to be working for him - at least for the next three months. We already have (officially now) a new commander at the 94th CES.

Another Memorial bonus (and unexpected) Skype with my friends in TN! That was pretty special to see of them. It was just wonderful to see all my friends and family over the holiday weekend. I just got off Skype w/Heidi and Aiden - Mr. "Oh Yeah!" man - Looks who's talki'n! I missed Shelley and Jeff. :-(

I do miss you all and my "normal" life. This is really quite a break - I feel like I just left everything behind - which has it good points and bad. Good that you all are so supportive and I really don't have anything to worry about and I can focus on what needs to be done here - because that IS important. Bad in the way that you all are figuring out all these ways to do things without me that when I get back, I won't have anything to do!

So I figure I'll just tell you all that I'm getting extended for 6 more months and pick up my new bass boat and fish for a while when I get back! (good thing Pam likes to fish and can keep a secret)

Thanks again for reading. Yeah, I know - I AM NUTS!

Mark.

2 in 1!

2009-05-24T12:31:00.002-04:00

I wanted to tell you I had a special treat yesterday! My son Skyped with me and I got to see three of my grandchildren! Friday was their last day of school so I hope to get more chances now to see them since they will be home more! I also saw my brother in FL - he and I talked for quite a while and I could tell you what HE is up to - but I can't cause that's a surprise too! :-)

Skyped with Mom and Dad on Friday - as usual - and that was also very nice. I love to be able to stay in touch and the Memorial Day thought that comes to mind is how in the world did those people who GAVE us our freedom do this! The mental challenge here is tough - I cannot imagine what they had to be thinking!

Mark.

What I like

2009-05-24T11:21:00.005-04:00

I really like Sunday's because it's the Lord's Day! But also because it's RIB NIGHT! Ribs at the DFAC again tonight and they SURE were delicious! I skip lunch on Sunday's so I can get a little extra work in (since I take time out for church) and I load up on Ribs. They really are very good ribs - cooked all by local Afghans and the sauce and salads they have to go with it are perfect.

UM, UM GOOD!

The rest of my day was pretty good. We have a team in the Memorial Day volleyball tournament headed up by TSgt Lajoie. They are pretty good and going to the finals. They ALMOST lost tonight, but were saved by a NET call on what would have been the winning point for the other team! So instead of 15/10, they reversed the score to 14 11 and continued to play the final game of the set - and TF (Task Force) Killer Bees (don't ask me where the team name came from) came back and WON THE GAME! It was pretty exciting and I'll be posting some action shots to picasaweb shortly.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF6

I miss my wife! (Duh!) - She's out of town and away from the video camera so I don't get to Skype with her this weekend :-(. Busy week coming up for projects. Should be very interesting the next couple days!

Had a wonderful Chapel NeXt service today. A word from the Senior Pastor who is leaving and wanted to deliver the message. He's a Pentecostal guy and his delivery was fire and brimstone all the way! But the content was good - talked about things from 1 John - it's a book that is a litmus test to read if you "think" you've been saved.

http://net.bible.org/verse.php?search=1%20john%202:9&book=1%20john&chapter=2&verse=9

1 John 2:9 "If anyone says, "I am living in the light," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness."

Good thing the Taliban and al-Qaeda are not Christians! :-)

Mark.

What to remember

2009-05-23T12:27:00.003-04:00

Wow - Lot's of good people out there saying some very nice things during this Memorial Day weekend! Thank you all!

I'm very proud to be here and carrying the liberty torch on for those who have gone before us. There are many fallen heroes - some who are close to me, some who have gone recently, and many, many more that I will never know - but I thank them all. A good friend of mine just wrote to me and said the phrase, "All gave some, some gave all!" How very true that is. And on this Memorial day, we remember those who gave it all for you and I.

It's incredible when you think about all the men and women who have fought in the many wars just in the last 233 (almost) years since our independence day. And these days, I am reminded by many of the supporters who write in that less than 1% of the US population is currently in the military (that includes both Active/Reserve, all branches). While that may seem like a lot (est ~2.3 million), there have been times when that number was much higher and the wars were fought with much less sophistication and many lives were lost in a single battle compared to the wars of today. At least for US military. The Haji we fight today haven't quite figured it out yet and they loose MANY more than we do in every engagement.

With that said, let us ALL remember those brave Americans who have fought before us - especially those of us who ARE in the military today. Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor those American men and women who have left us. ALL Americans owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to our fallen warriors. For those of us serving today, we make their loved ones who are still here prouder than ever and honor them each time we put on our uniforms to serve. I encourage ALL military personnel to serve in remembrance of our fallen heroes - by doing so, we serve with pride and honor those courageous men and women who gave ALL!

Mark.

Good News!

2009-05-21T11:36:00.003-04:00

Our first group of people just got back from an R&R (Rest and Relaxation) trip. The comments about the trip were very positive for the most part! One interesting thing to hear was they said the food is even better than it is on BAF! More selection and better quality! I was surprised because I thought the food here was excellent! I may have to go there just to find something to eat!

They also said it was hot, the trips were either free or inexpensive, and the beer was really good! The best part was the trip was relaxing. They got to take their mind off of being in a difficult environment where stress is high and there is lots to do. Some people handle this environment a lot better than others.

It was also brought to my attention that some people from the unit are reading this blog! I was very surprised and glad to hear that! I hadn't heard from anyone in the unit to date, so I wasn't really sure! I guess I never really thought people would be reading and just not saying anything. Remember, you CAN post anonymously and I would really like to hear your thoughts directly. Along that same thought, this is MY blog and MY opinion/view on things - if you are interested in how I think about the unit, please feel free to continue reading and you will likely enjoy an inside look at how I see things. Discussing negative feedback about any particular post with other unit members instead of discussing it with me won't help anybody. If you are interested in doing your part to help the unit, please let ME know if you need help understanding any of my statements.

The post highlighted below in particular sums things up pretty well: (in case you are just starting). I do encourage you to start from the beginning though because it would be like opening a book in the middle - you would only get half the story (which is always dangerous). If you don't read anything else, read this post:

http://ms-baf.blogspot.com/2009/04/inspired.html

That describes exactly how I really feel about being here and working with my team. It's not perfect and throughout these posts, it IS possible you may find an honest opinion here and there you may not agree with - I don't expect to please 100% of the people 100% of the time - that's just the goal. This blog is like our trip here - it is what you make it. If you look for the bad things, you will find them. If you make the days count, you won't have time for the bad things.

If you are a spouse of a deployed member here, I welcome you to keep reading and enjoying the first hand information. Yes - it DOES come pretty quick and I sincerely hope you are keeping in close touch with your loved one and are not surprised by what I'm telling you. The support from back home is crucial. I can tell you that it's not hard to spot the Airman that has issues to deal with and I do my best to make sure ALL of us here are as safe and comfortable as possible. It could be a LOT worse - but some of us just don't see it that way. It's not easy, but it is possible to smile around here - if you look for things to smile about. Some people you just can't please no matter how hard you try.

There are regular streams of support mail coming in now. Some from back home at Dobbins and some from a web based group named Soldiers Angels. They really are good too and I've had the opportunity to give out some of their mail just today. There is more coming and I've put the word out that this is available to everyone. The letters are from caring supporters who enjoy telling us thanks for what we are doing to protect and defend our country. There are also a host of gifts coming for the Airmen like "Sand" and "Cool" scarfs for everyone! These items will sure come in handy for the Airmen as it looks to get much hotter and windier in the coming weeks.

We already got a taste for the wind last week at the Blackwater site (and others). I was out there for most of the day one day and came back with dirt and sand in every open crevice on my body. Most of the guys out there were more prepared than I and already had their military issued goggles on, balaclava's, and Boonie hats among other protective measures.

Well this week is over and it was a very good week overall. The wind died down to a nice breeze and the temperatures were only "hot" one or two days. Other than that, the clouds and light wind kept the heat from soaring and we made significant progress on projects.

Thanks again to Soldiers Angels and to all of you reading - commenting or not.

Mark

What to send?

2009-05-17T11:47:00.002-04:00

Somebody sent me a bag of large, primium Pistachios - they are almost gone and I REALLY enjoyed those.

If you are looking for something simple to send, that would make me smile!

Mark.

Post 54

2009-05-17T09:32:00.002-04:00

Welcome to post 54! Yes, that's right! This is my 54th post - have you made 54 comments? Well, I can tell you that I read every single comment and I appreciate those who are concerned about me, read this blog, and pray for me and the Airmen who are with me. Thanks for that!

I have posted some more pictures (none of me) here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF5

The pictures include work on our current priority project, Blackwater. Also, there are some pictures taken from directly outside my office window of the rose garden with the roses now in full bloom - it really is very pleasant to look at! And finally a few shots of our new Wing CC, Col Kwast at a surprise dinner for his recognition as a Brigadier General select. If you thought making Chief was tough (less than 1%), less than 1/4 of 1% make General Officer! So this is an event you don't see everyday! I was very proud and honored to be there.

It's the Lord's day today and I went to church as was able to relax and pray for a little over an hour. They have a new singer on the praise team, but they still sound awful! That's is only MY opinion and I'm sure God smiles at all of us when we sing to him regardless of how it sounds to me. The word was delivered by the senior pastor who's last Sunday in BAF was today. She is a wonderful lady from the Army who has been here for almost 15 months. I'll miss her and I look forward to meeting the new senior pastor next week. He was introduced this week, but it was very crowded and I had someplace else to be right after service was finished. He seems like a great guy.

An Army guy moved into our hooch and occupied our little "common" area - so my hooch got a little more crowded with a fridge, microwave, and a few other things - I'm not sure if I told you already. He's a nice guy and he doesn't snore - so that's good!

All in all, a fairly good week.

Hope you all are well!

Mark.

Where in the world am I?

2009-05-13T10:44:00.002-04:00

Apparently the last post was somewhat controversial! Let me see if I can't dispel some of the myths. First, I apologize if I have lulled any of you into a false sense of security about my safety with any of my previous posts. After all, everyone should realize exactly where I am - directly in what the media and the military call the AOR - Area of Operations. It's a war zone! It's a dangerous place. Don't think for one minute that I am not constantly reminded of that, and maybe the last post I made was a more vivid reminder for you. I certainly don't need a reminder, I get reminded of that more times that I can count every single day. Although that last post never happened, it could... well, most of it - and I think some of you just realized that.

Let me tell you what will never happen. I will never be so naive as I indicated, I will never be off my game and be "rockin OUT baby" in any mission critical situation - which is pretty much 24/7 around here, and I will never put myself or any of my Airmen at any unnecessary risk or allow them to be off THEIR game. Furthermore, I won't need an army guy to tackle me if I'm being shot at! I'm perfectly capable, trained and equipped to fight for myself. We all carry loaded weapons 24/7. It's like the wild, wild west in that regard. You wouldn't think so the way some people DRIVE around here... I think they forget we all have weapons! I used to think that was the solution to the idiot drivers in Atlanta... now, I'm not so sure!

So - with that said, yes, I am still smiling. I'm at peace with where I'm at and very calm. Fully aware of my surroundings, but not scared and neither should you be. There are people injured and/or killed every day. Most of them are bad guys. Every once in a while they get lucky and get one of us - it happens. It has happened since I've been here - to more than 15 coalition forces. Have you not paid attention to the fallen comrade ceremonies I have spoken about? No, I haven't told you about every single one, and I can't and I won't.

None of this will stop me from executing our mission here or living my life. There are some funny things that happen from time to time and you get to hear about them - like the fat ladies with the pizza who had their truck towed. Plus I really do enjoy mail call everyday! Because I haven't told you any of the bad stuff (I can't), let us all remember there is plenty to tell.

I have mentioned more than a few times that I sincerely appreciate your prayers and support - but most importantly your prayers! Hopefully now you know and understand why.

Mark.

Bad Stories?

2009-05-11T10:17:00.002-04:00

I guess the last story wasn't as big of a hit as I thought it was going to be - but if y'all liked that one, I'm hoping you will LOVE this one:

I got another package the other day! It was an Apple iTouch!!! I was shocked because it's something I would have never purchased for myself - ever. So anyway - I was all excited to use it and the CC called me in his office and said there was a very important mission I would have to do right away and it couldn't wait. Grab my gear and meet the Army guys at Checkpoint Alpha. OK- so I grabbed my new iTouch and thought maybe I'd get a chance to use it.

As luck would have it and is the military way, we got our orders and it was pretty much hurry up and wait - it would be a couple hours before our Helo (helicopter - can't tell you what kind) was ready. Lucky for me, one of the Army guys had a computer and offered to set up my iTouch! I thought that would be a good idea since I had NO IDEA what to even do with the thing! He said, "Don't worry, Chief, I'll set it up with all the same stuff I got on mine - all kinds of music, music videos, games, email apps... I got it ALL!"

So - being the naive guy I am - I said, "Sure - go ahead!" So - we were in holding for about 2.5 hours and they called and said 15 min to show time - they guy said - Perfect, 10 left to go! So they called us to load and the Army guy gave me back my iTouch and told me not only was it loaded, it was fully charged! I thought - WOW! Perfect...

So - we all got on and up and away we went. Can't tell ya where were goin either. They stuck me in the back of the Helo where it was dark and I told them that was unacceptable cause I wanted to SEE! They gave me the chair right by the out door and I had a beautiful view of the mountains! It really is spectacular to see! The iTouch was real easy to use and I thought I'd listen to some music of our 30 min ride. I found some heavy metal music and started rockin OUT Baby!!! I had my head down rockin and bobbin when all of a sudden this Army guy (a big guy too) comes across the floor and tackles me off of my seat into the back of the helo! Well - I was a little pissed cause I noticed a small scratch on my new iTouch (very small) and I thought to my self, I'm gonna get up and teach these Army guys a little manners on how to treat an AF Chief! I started to get up and I saw stars -so I quickly sat back down for a second.. Then, all of a sudden, three other guys grabbed some heavy weapons and started shooting and we made a hard bank left! That's when the Army guy on the other side with the 50 cal opened fire! All this happened in just a few seconds and I was perfectly fine now. So I stood up and gave the Army guys my war face and one of them looked pretty scared for a second and pointed to the top of his head. We cleared the area and were flying smooth at this time - but I was still a little angry with these guys. I put my hand on my helmet and there was a piece missing! Apparently I either took a bullet or piece of something to the top of my K Pot (Kevlar Helmet) and that's why the Army guy got me out of the line of fire! I thought it was just because he didn't like ROCK music!!! Or it was too loud for him or something....

Anyway - we had a good laugh over it afterward and the guys were really pretty kool after I took off my headphones and got to know them a little bit...

So now I know why I never bought on of these dang iTouch things! They'll get you KILLED!!!

As the last story was all true, this one is all a fabricated - every last bit except the fact that my brother and mother DID send me an Apple 8GB 2nd Generation iTouch! Wow!!! Thanks for that.

I'm telling this story to make a point. You guys should start a contest and see who can send me the thing that generates the craziest story!!! It's a WIN/WIN! (I can't loose) - You guys send me all kinds of new toys, and I get to write more stories for you to read and enjoy!!!! :-)

(I'm just kidding).

But Al/Mom, thanks for the gift! It certainly wasn't necessary, but I think I'll like it... particularly when I visit the latrines!

BTW - I'm fine - had a good day!

Mark.

A good Story for you.

2009-05-08T04:08:00.010-04:00

Boy do I have a funny story to tell you about today.... The funny thing is, it's NOT a story! This actually happened, but I'll tell it like a story.

SMSgt Bramlett and I spent a good part of the day together at our #1 priority project that has a deadline of 1 JUN and the CC's hot topic. Late in the day I got a call on my cell phone that my vehicle was to be turned in. I had already lost my truck because (well, let's not get into that cause that's another long story) - so, I lost my truck. In place of the truck I was driving this temporary little Toyota Corolla - looks really out of place here - but anyway, today I lost it too. So I have no vehicle - which is not so bad. But I had a few stops I needed to make on the way home so I took SMSgt Bramlett up on his offer to drive me in his POS Polaris 4 Wheeler.

One of the places I needed to go was to get a subdued patch for my flight suit. Now - that may mean something to some of you, or not, but that's also a different story. The patch needed to be purchased from the embroidery store in the the PX complex - the busiest place on BAF. The entire area is probably only 2 acres and there must be 25+ shops and stores, no parking, and hundreds of people milling about. Oh - and there is only 1 way in and out. As we were pulling in, the SP's (Security Police) were stationed by the entrance/exit with blue lights flashing. We noticed and illegally parked vehicle and assumed they were there to write a ticket.

We made it to the shop, bought the patch, and walked out in about 5-8 minutes. During that time, a tow truck appeared blocking the one and only entrance/exit. Now we are waiting to see what happens. Were they going to actually TOW this illegally parked truck? Well, Yes. They are. So next thing we see is some people moving about the truck - like it belonged to them. Surely they would just ticket them and let them go? Nope.... They were going to tow it. Period. So the truck driver gets out with his buddy and one of the men talk with the apparent driver of the truck - she hand's him the keys, and he drives the vehicle to position it behind the tow truck.

I thought to myself, You have GOT to be kidding! Nope - they continued to block the entrance this whole time - which by now 10 minutes has passed while this part happened and the guys from the tow truck are now apparently having some problems with the mechanical tow lift and are attempting to repair it.

So curiosity got the best of me and I jumped out of the POS Polaris and walked over the the nearest SP Sgt on scene.

Me: "Can I ask a really stupid question?"
SP: "Yes, Sir"
Me: "Are you towing that perfectly capable vehicle?"
SP: "Yes, Sir! It was illegally parked and we are towing it to place X"
Me: "Well, I understand that, but since it is perfectly capable to drive, why not just DRIVE it to place X?"
SP: "Uh, well, uh, Sir, (pause) we are not authorized to do that. We HAVE to tow it, Sir."
Me: "OK. Just a stupid question!"

So - there you have it. They are blocking traffic in and out of the busiest place on BAF for 30 min to tow a perfectly drivable vehicle - to which they had the keys, mind you.

Now comes the funny part (if you hadn't at least smiled already). They "drove" the illegally parked car BACK into the illegal parking spot to temporarily make room to let cars drive around the tow truck - which the two men were still busy trying to repair. As we drive by the illegally parked truck, two fat ladies (I'm talking 300+ each) (civilians) were taking at LEAST 20 pizza's out of this truck. So these ladies came to the PX area to buy pizzas and were too lazy to find a legal parking spot, went and picked up their pizzas, and were pulling out when they were busted.

Now, they lost their ride, and are stuck there with these 20 pizzas!

Also - on the way out, there was an Army Captain (yes, an officer) directing traffic - that's something you don't see everyday!

So that's my story and I'm sticking too it. Mike and I had a pretty good laugh over that!

All that to top off a fairly crappy week for me. Like I started the story, I lost my ride too, and we also lost our common area in our hooch to some Army guy (supposedly a SGM (Sergeant Major) or Officer) - so I didn't want to make a big stand to keep it. The Army guy is moving in tomorrow. And apparently we are loosing all (yes, all) our heavy equipment for at LEAST a week at the end of the month. I know some of you reading this are engineers and you can certainly appreciate my frustration with that comment.

Mark.

It's FRIDAY! (again! :-)

2009-05-08T04:08:00.008-04:00

Time sure is passing by quickly... Here it is another Friday - and the Friday before Mother's Day. And the Friday before my Mom's birthday! God bless her! I'm enjoying some homemade breadskitcks as we speak! :-)

Happy Mothers Day Mom, Pam, my mother in law Lois -Mom, Heidi, Shelley, and everyone else I'm missing (like Pam's sisters, my brother's wives, Janice, Nana, Nora, etc) (cause I'm not very good at this kind of thing).

I KNOW its not today, but we have to put things in perspective - and since I have the opportunity today - I'm taking it!

We had a singles cribbage tournament again - I made it to the finals (again) - except I came to the final set (2 out of 3) with 1 loss (double elimination). So I had to play SMSgt Jalbert - an HVAC superintendent from Westover. It was close, but I lost. Did the best I could with what I got - made only 1 small mistake and it may have cost me the first set (1st game I lost and I had a chance to win. I won the 2nd game and lost a close third game for the tournament).

I know some of you blonde's won't be able to follow that... :-)

I got some work done today - I need to look at a small project for SITA (nothing major - I'll get that done today and I've already straightened up my hooch and my office at the FET (blgd where I work).Then - I'll eat in the middle of the afternoon, Skype with my parents at 0800 EST (1630L for me) and I'll be on Google Talk for a good part of the rest of this day. Probably Skype w/Pam when she wakes up.

OK - enough for now. Hope you all are well - I still think about all the people who are reading this and I can't thank you enough for you prayers.

Mark.

Coined today!

2009-05-05T12:57:00.003-04:00

I coined myself!!! With 100 unit coins. And they look GREAT! I ordered 100 coins and sold 75+ within two hours! What a great morale boost for the Airmen! They were all very excited to get them - and such a nice coin for only $5.
See the artwork here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/755ECESCoin

The real coin looks even better! Seriously!

Needless to say I've already emailed the vendor and asked her to spin up 50 more and I might bring that up to another 100! People are starting to come from around the base!!! Maybe I missed my calling and I should be a coin designer! :-) (yeah, right) I'll think about that when I retire.

Oh - my CC and I were just talking the other day - I'm going to miss him. He will pin on Col on Jun 1... Soon he'll only to be my deployed commander and I'll have a new unit CC after we redeploy. But I really like the new CC too - so it's all good!

Things are still well with me - I'm still blessed to know how many of you are praying for me - please stay vigil - honestly, I need all I can get. It truly is a wonderful feeling.

I'm pretty surprised nobody had anything to say about the Army guys. Any of you engineers out there notice how they screwed up our site grade? :-)

Mark.

Pictures Today

2009-05-04T10:13:00.003-04:00

First of all, I was going through the DFAC (Dining Facility) for lunch the other day and the cook caught my attention. His name is Specialist DEWEY! I immediately thought of my Dad - he had a lot couple of stories he told me about the cooks when he was in the service - and for some strange reason, this guy made me think of him.

Look at the last picture in this album --> http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF5

Then, just today, I was out on a site and some Army guys had just returned from a mission and they posed for a few pictures for the Chief.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/ArmyPose

I told them I'd post them on the Internet and send them the link so I will. They were all a bunch of good guys.

Mark.

I love FRIDAY'S

2009-05-01T09:25:00.004-04:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I love FRIDAY'S? Well - I do! I'm actually surprised at myself for knowing that is IS Friday! So far I've had a pretty good Friday! I haven't yet talked with my Mon & Dad - but I'm looking forward to that.

Things are well with me. All is going along fine and we are steady pushing through. Not much new happening. It was a beautiful day up until a few minutes ago - and the wind picked up and some dark clouds rolled in very fast. But that's fine because I'm in my hooch now and I've already eaten dinner. I think I'll just work out, take a shower, do some stuff on the computer and hit the bed a little early tonight.

Sorry - not to exciting today - not because I'm not excited to write to you, just not a whole lot to tell you about today.

Mark.

Toby's n Town!

2009-04-28T09:56:00.006-04:00

Toby Keith played in concert for all of us at BAF last night! He also did a personal appearance on the flight line and a short commercial for the Screaming Eagles - 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) out of Fort Campbell, KY. I was in the commercial - the only AF guy! I should be easy to spot , (left side of the screen) but wanted to show our support! :-)

Anyway - Toby showed up in a SUV, was met by a couple people, walked over, did the commercial (twice) and left - I think that whole thing took less than 5 min. No option for autographs, etc... Only select individuals. If you look at the pics of people lining up on the conex boxes, you 'll see they have guitars and all kinds of things they expected Toby to sign. Didn't happen.

The concert was to start at 2000 and it actually started a few minutes late. He played for a little more than 1 hour and the band took 1 break, and Toby stayed on stage with his guitar player and they did a couple songs - so he was out there for an just over an hour... Great music - sounded great and he performed very well. Customized songs, etc... All who went said it was nothing less than spectacular.

One admin note - the Toby Album is taking up a lot of space in my picasaweb album. I'll leave it up till I need more room, so if you want to see the video's and pics in that album, check it out now because that will be the first one to go when I need more space.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert

I also got a package from my Mom & Dad yesterday - included was some more Jerky - I have a whole drawer full of that now... :-), some banana bread (very good) cocktail peanuts (a good snack with my near beer) - and a couple tin cans... Now, what is interesting is these tin cans are sealed. Tight. Very tight... so tight that me and the entire team of 56 have been trying to get into one can since yesterday. We've tried everything, including our friends at EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) who shot it with a water cannon and the dang thing didn't budge. I keep telling my friends, "I think she put bread sticks in there! and they really are very good - and I'll even share ONE with you if you can get it open!". So - they are really motivated! Hopefully tomorrow we will have success. We are calling on our friends in the flying squadron and have put the containers out on the aerial gunnery range... Wish us luck!

Mark.

What's good about 0330?

2009-04-25T11:22:00.003-04:00

Who ever said "Nothing good happens after midnight (or 2 in the morning)" probably never got up at 0330 in the morning and stood out at the end of the flight line and was blessed with a beautiful sunrise! Pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF4

Incidentally, they were all taken from the relatively same spot - notice the 360 degree view of the mountains! (bonus videos of some aircraft flying in and out of BAF) A lot of people have asked me "What's it like at Bagram?" and I tell them all the same thing - "It sure is pretty to look at!"

Now you may be wondering what I was doing there - well, I volunteered to help with the Country Music Marathon - a 26.6 mile race/run around BAF - and since BAF is not that big, those who chose to run the full marathon had to go around twice! :-) - I was out there till about 1100 and I was exhausted watching all those poor soles running their hearts out - more power to ya! I'm too old for that ... well, you know what. But at least I can support them and cheer them on. We had LOTS of goodies to pass out - that was my job. It was fun. And - since I volunteered, I had a good reason NOT to run! :-)

Then I went to work for the afternoon.

Needless to say, even though I went to sleep a little early last night, I'm a little tired tonight and it's almost 2030 - passed David's bedtime already anyway! I'm planning to call my wife (since I didn't get a chance yet today) and hit the bed.

Finished 1 bag of the homemade cookies Heidi sent - they are going fast! :-)

Mark.

Boxes GALORE!

2009-04-23T09:36:00.002-04:00

WOW! What a mail day!!! Again, I can't tell you how much of a morale boost it is to get stuff in the mail! And today is a HUGE boost for me! I'll start with the box my daughter sent - filled with all KINDS of good stuff including homemade cookies (my favorite - Chocolate Chip), assorted chips, a couple of cute cards including a unique BBG grill - uh, yeah... OK - and many more of my favorite things - Twizzlers (a huge bag), beef sticks (big ones), some pictures colored by my grandkids, a CD with videos (I'll watch later) - the most WONDERFUL picture book - and a very special note from Jeff that made me cry. A perfect box topped with a tube of toothpaste - which believe it or not is perfect timing - I would have been out in the next day or two. (and more) Thanks Heidi and Jeff.

Next there were THREE (count 'em) boxes from Nick and Nancy Godbey!!! Nick works at SITA with me - and a very nice guy married to a wonderful lady. One box had a huge book (The Chamber) and hometown paper form Easter Sunday (nice touch) and some sweet peach things that look really good. I'll let you know from someone that eats them because if I did, I'd be as big as a house (it's a huge bag). Another box filled with little stuffed animals! A great morale booster for many - and I'll take these to the hospital and share with our wounded warriors. I'm sure a couple will make it to the gator trucks (guys like to put these on their vehicles). The 3rd box had more beanie babies and a large OREO cookie package and some other cookies. Um Um good (for someone else! :-) And a very thoughtful letter... Thank you Nancy and Nick!

So there you have it - mail made my day! Well - it's been a good day all around. We had a Wing commanders call with Col Kwast today and let me tell you - he is a GREAT speaker. He is a model Airmen all the way through. The more I listen to him, the more I like him.

Mark

Inspired!

2009-04-22T12:24:00.005-04:00

I just had another dinner with the big guys. 20+ Chiefs from BAF had dinner with our new 455th AEW Commander, Col Kwast. Col Kwast replaced General Holmes earlier this week (you can see the details and some of my Airmen on the public Bagram website). Col Kwast has only been here a few days and thought his FIRST group dinner should be with all of us - the Chief Master Sergeants on BAF. What a guy!

He is a tough guy - and I really like him. I liked Gen Holmes too. Col Kwast is a guy who shares a lot of the same concerns about what's going on here as I and many of my fellow Chief's. While it may seem to many we are here for just a short time - and we are - it's important to realize why we are here. Many forget. We are at war and this is what we signed up to do - I volunteered more than 26 years ago. I am happy to be here serving the people of America and the Airmen under me that I am responsible for. I signed up for this and I'm going to make the most out of it. Our mission is to Fly, Fight and Win - and I am doing all I can to make that happen - and I'm happy to do it! I'm not counting the days, I'm making the days count!

It's challenging at times - yes. I want you all to know how proud I am to be here - and especially to be part of this group of men and women who are working every single day to win the hearts and minds of the Afghani people. That's exactly what I told Col Kwast when it was my turn to introduce myself and tell our story. Some of the other Chief's took the opportunity to make Col Kwast aware of some of the obstacles they face - and rightly so. I and some of the other Chief's recognized why we are here and told him how happy we are to be here serving our Airmen. You may have noticed in some of the pictures that I posted the LN's (local nationals) who are working alongside our Airmen. There are more that 20 LN's that we work with every single day. We are teaching them the labor skills to be productive members in their own society. We are helping them by not only teaching them civil engineering skills (such as carpentry, plumbing, HVAC, structural work, electrical and more) we are also teaching them English and computer skills when necessary. This is truly a win/win situation because while we teach them, they help us by working and completing projects as a force multiplier. We get more work accomplished in faster time than working without them, they benefit greatly (they are paid) and we offer them the opportunity to be self sustained - PLUS - they go out into their own communities and spread the good word that the Americans are here to help. What could be better than that?

Many of the Chief's in that room said the same thing - "I have the best job in the Air Force" - well, I believe I do!

I love this job, I love what I'm doing and if I didn't miss my family and friends so much, I'd probably stay here as long as I could - like many of us here. Reality - I'm coming back as soon as my work here is finished.

Thanks for reading. God bless us all and thank you all for your prayers. I think about it every day - how many of you are praying for me and my Airmen. It's a wonderful feeling.

Mark.

What makes a good day?

2009-04-21T09:09:00.004-04:00

I told you before - mail call... :-)

Today I received a box - a rather large box that was rather heavy - and rather beat up - as many of the packages that arrive are beat up regardless of how big and/or heavy. So what was inside the box you may ask?!

A lot of stuff. So much stuff I had to wait till I got back in my hooch to "unpack" it!! I'm not going to give the complete contents because my Internet sucks - I'd have to type so fast and so long, it would probably never post the message! :-)

So let's start with Jerky - Uh, yeah - LOTS of that - and every flavor you can imagine! Chips - uh, well I can't say nothing was broken in the package - because there were like 3 chips that we NOT broken. The good news is everything else in the box was undamaged. So - I've got broken chips with dip - lots of dip too (this is good because there is no such thing around here). Texas Pete made it - he is plentiful around here. Then I came to some cigars (lots of those - Swisher, my favorite) and nuts - oh yeah, lots-o-nuts. Big bags/little bags. And some sweets - a LOT of different kinds of sweets. I put every single one into a bag and I'm bring them back to the FET (the building we work out of) for those younger guys to fight over. Honey buns, nutter-butter sumtin or nuder, Little Debbie things, I think I saw some Skittles in there - heck, I didn't even recognize some of the stuff they have now! :-) It all looks - uh - sweet.. Yeah - good things to share. I know - some of you are telling me I NEED to be a little sweeter!!! I hear ya!

Also stuffed in the box was a magazine - nice touch... made me miss hunting with David back home even more... and a very nice USAF Tumbler - not broken - good thing to have - if only I had something GOOD to go in it!!! Cold, frosty, BEER! That would be good! I searched the box and found none... I hoped, and dreamed, and I'm stuck with my Bit-Burger 0% near beer - that's OK though - it's the thought - I'm good with that.

So there you have it - a whole blog entry over just one box. Yes - it was a good day. Thank you BOX FAIRY!!!

The box came from our friends in TN - David & Janice. I'm guessing more Janice than David. I can see David now - stuffing beer after beer in the box and Janice pulling them out as fast as they were going in. Thank David - nice try buddy! :-) For what it's worth, honestly people - I don't need the headache. Do not try to send anything illegal - that would just be a bad day. Look how happy I am and I got just a box of 'stuff" - good stuff, and a lot of stuff... Thanks again Brown's! I love you all.

Mark.

Church Day!

2009-04-19T10:18:00.002-04:00

It's Sunday and it feels good to start yet another week.
Time seems to be going by fast - although I understand there are many days left here. Things are going along fine and I'm doing very well. I received several letters today from supporters through anysoldier.com - that was very nice and I answered them all. There were 4 different letters from a church in Cumming GA - ironic that I received them on Sunday! :-) It's a very good feeling to know there are so many people out there who take the time to recognize our service men and women!
Weather finally cleared for the weekend. Weekends are a little slow anyway because there are many people going to church on Sunday - now that it's a work day! I like it though... And Saturdays - well we have what is called "Professional Development Time" where we allow the Airmen 4 hours for anything that is considered "professional development" - you'd be surprised what they can make up! :-) This is a little hard to track - and honestly, I don't think we are tracking it that well - so many are using the 4 hours to "study". Well - it's any body's guess studying what! The good news is there are a few Airmen using it for the right reasons and they will benefit with either a skill level upgrade or finishing up an important PME (Professional Military Education) class - which are mandatory for promotions.
We have some good, high visibility projects coming up. There is no shortage of work around here - Oh, I know what I can tell you. Another one of our Airmen is getting "coined" tomorrow from our Group Commander for putting together a Wing Recognition Board! It took him only 3 days - "start to finish" and he did a great job. I'll post the pictures - and those of you who are reading this will know what the pictures represent! I'll be sure to take a few photos of the Col presenting the coin.
So - we are making a name for ourselves here - lots of good people with lots of good work.
Church was great again today... the singing is growing on me.... it's awful, but in a way, it's nice. They sure do try hard.
Mark.

More time off?

2009-04-16T09:45:00.004-04:00

Uh - no. Not for me. I have to be up @ 0415 tomorrow! Then I'll probably work some - then do the usual weekly hooch cleaning. Last FRI I cleaned my office - well, most of it. It looks good and it really needed it. I have a few more things to clean there too - so I'll do that.
All the projects are moving along fine and the CC is happy for the most part. A few bugs here and there, but we put the fires out pretty quickly and it seems to be working. The guys/gals are all still really motivated and working hard despite the crappy (rainy) weather we had. Today was the first day in a long while we didn't have rain during the day. It poured very early this morning so things were muddy and wet. But the sun did shine for most of the day and it was pleasant.
I've been working out regularly - I feel great. I walk a lot - even though I have my own vehicle. I can walk to many of the projects and I do. I probably walked 4-5 miles just today. Some days more, some days less - but 3 is probably the average per day.
I received and email today in response to one of my thank you notes to some nice people that say they "adopted" us from anysoldier.com. They are in their 70's and have been writing to airmen/soldiers from that website for 3 years. They said many of their "adoptions" have even stopped by their home after returning to the States! That's very nice - they are nice people and they write well. Very supportive.
Not much else new I can tell you. I'm posting some more pics on my picasaweb.
Enjoy the photos. Skype is a great thing. My Internet still sucks... :-)
Mark.

A nice day - and a story for you.

2009-04-13T11:59:00.004-04:00

Nothing too exciting to report today (no mail) - other than I'm fine! Which is why I know many of you are following this blog - and for that I thank you dearly.

There is an interesting story I will tell you that happened over that past several days. I established the DobbinsTop3.com website several years ago. When I did, I had a little extra time and I made and EPR (Enlisted Performance Report) page to help all supervisors write better reports on their Airmen. I covered the page with many EPR bullets that either I had written or used on various EPR reports over the years. I did little QC (quality control) even though that is now my civilian specialty! (that's ironic).

Anyway - I recently received an email from a TSgt (I didn't know who he/she was at the time) stating that he/she looked at my page and didn't like my bullets. So - I was a little ticked - and I wrote back and basically told him/her not to complain unless you offer a solution (better bullets or how to fix the ones that are there). I did a quick review of the bullets and did find a few minor errors, but for the most part - I still think they are pretty good! :-)

So - this started an email/IM conversation and he/she told me he/she just graduated NCOA (Non-Commissioned Officer Academy) - I've been to many of these NCOA graduations and I am intimately familiar with the "attitudes and feelings" of the graduates - it's like they (the AF) make it easy for you to get the same feeling you had when you signed up for basic training - (which so many of us military types have forgotten). He/She mentioned he/she was motivated and felt challenged - which I immediately turned into an opportunity to mentor this TSgt whom I didn't even know. I then challenged him/her to "keep" that mindset with them for the rest of their career and I told him/her he and the Airmen he/she meets will be better off for it. To which he/she accepted! :-)

There were a few other exchanges of information - but this was the heart of the story. So from this far away land, here I sit telling you how much I miss my family & friends - I sure missed them on this passed holiday because there are a couple traditions that have been broken, but I'm still thinking what a great country this is and what a great Air Force we have - and I just HAD to take the opportunity to make it just a little bit better - one Airmen at a time. If TSgt Weston just happens to read this (and it wouldn't surprise me), then he/she should understand and learn this is what it takes - our job is never done. It will slow down when I retire - which after this deployment, I will have some REAL thinking to do about how much longer I will partake in this endeavour. I'm sure my civilian BOSS would welcome the retirement idea - then I could focus more on helping SITA (more). Maybe not - he's very supportive of what I'm doing - and so are all of you.

Thanks again for reading...

Mark.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T10:44:00.003-04:00

Happy Easter everyone! I was treated to a beautiful morning today and I started my day at the Easter sunrise service - it was perfect.
We suffered our first accident later in the day - one of our master electricians fell off a ladder and fractured his shoulder. He will be on the next flight out of here and headed home - which will actually be later tonight. Yes - that is pretty fast.
I had high hopes that I could bring every one home safely - well - accidents happen.
So my day ends on a sour note - but I'm still smiling! :-)

Mark.

It's (good) FRIDAY!

2009-04-10T05:47:00.005-04:00

Did I ever tell you how much I like Friday's? Yes - even over here. AND - I like it better over here because I don't HAVE to work on Friday! I don't have too - but, since there really isn't much else to do - I do anyway... :-)

It's all good - just went to the office to check a few emails and schedule a few appointments for tomorrow. I cleaned up the place cause it gets filthy in a hurry with all the dust. I couldn't stay at work long - so I came back to the hooch to watch a few movies. Since we just finished the Borne Again Series in church, I thought it would be appropriate to watch the Jason Borne series - funny thing about me and movies, 1. I don't watch that many and 2. I don't remember them when I watch them anyway! If you would have asked me if I'd seen the Borne movies, I would probably answer yes - because I thought I had... But after watching the first one again, it seems me and Jason suffer from the same disease cause I can't remember it! :-)

Internet was out again for the last 24 hours. Bad thing is customer service doesn't exist here either so there is no hope for recovery of ANY of my $100 for the month - yeah - that irritates me. But - I'll pay what is necessary to stay in touch with my friends and family - because that's what's important to me - along with a few other things.

Getting packages on a regular basis this week. It's very nice. Our new commanders wife sent two big boxes with the Marietta Daily Journal (enough for everyone) and a pile of Easter candy! Apparently nobody told her I was on a diet. But the boxes were perfect timing and made the entire group smile - and - it made it feel more like Easter. Of course, as a Christian, I wouldn't miss this holiday. Going to watch the Passion tonight - starts @ 2000 so it will be late before I get back. And several letters and other packages came (I think I mentioned the one from the school children - very thoughtful).

OK - Happy Easter everyone! I miss you all - thanks for ALL the comments - I read ALL of them. I'm fine - really. Just staying busy to make the time go by faster - and it is. Staying busy also helps me stay focused and mission ready - which is vitally important here.

Mark

Meet the General(s)

2009-04-08T12:26:00.002-04:00

Well I have never seen so many Generals in 1 place at the same time. In fact, I'm not certain how many there really were! I personally met 4 of them - and there were at least a couple more. And there were only about 130 people in the room. Some of you may not understand why it's so exciting to see one - but honestly, it's not everyday you get in the same room with a 3 star - and several brigadier generals! On top of that, they asked ME to have dinner with them (and of course a bunch of others). Well - I sat directly across the table from General Stenner and we had a nice conversation!

A couple of Airmen in our squadron were coined. That is also something that doesn't happen much. I've been in the AF 27 years and I have 1 Commander coin (from our current LtCol) and that's basically it! You won't find many Airmen with a 3 star coin!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF2

I suppose there will be a few comments on why the Chief has his hands in his pockets - not to worry, no - I do NOT stand like that - I was getting my keys to escort the General to dinner. That's a pic of him in my truck with our 1st Sgt.

So that was a lot of fun! All great guys - very genuine and you could really tell they cared about what was going on. They reiterated time and time again how proud they were of what we are doing and thanked us repeatedly on behalf of the nation - it was really very special. All nice guys that deserve to represent our top AF leadership.

Here are the bio's of the two Generals that were key for us:

LIEUTENANT GENERAL CHARLES E. STENNER JR.
http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=7710

BRIGADIER GENERAL ROBERT E. BAILEY
http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=8923

Gen Stenner is the AFRC Commander - and Gen Bailey is responsible for organizing, training and equipping the command's expeditionary combat support - that's US! :-)

Oh - and the sky was beautiful again this evening!!! Got a few good shot of that too.

Mark.

Mail Call

2009-04-07T12:17:00.002-04:00

Great mail day! I got 2 very nice letters and a package! The letters came from two families in the US who had no better reason to write than to say THANK YOU! (isn't that nice!-) They found us on AnySoldier and took the time to write personal letters. Also came two packages from a first and 3rd grade class! The kids all made "cards" and they were all VERY cute! I wrote back to all three of these senders today and personally thanked them for their kindness and thoughtfulness!

Had a VERY busy day - I can't say more than that right now. And the pictures are - well -just OK.

It was a good day - as they all are. And I'll share a little bit about what I write in my letters to the supporters who send support mail - "While working for the Lord here in this place, I am constantly reminded how blessed I really am." And this is very true. I smile here a lot because I think about how happy I am to be here supporting our mission. And that mission to put it simply is our wing motto - "Fighting terror, Building peace". As civil engineers, we primarily focus on the "Building peace" part. And our team is truly doing an outstanding job of this!

I'm very proud of all of them - and that makes me happy.

Mark.

Started sad, ended GLAD!

2009-04-06T12:31:00.002-04:00

Hi!
We started the day with yet another Fallen Comrade Ceremony. But the good news for all of you is I'm still here! :-) And very GLAD about that. I got to Skype with my Dad tonight! And he called me!!! :-) So I'm glad about that.
We finished the Born Again series in church on Sunday - that was really cool! God is good! Holy week this week! I'm fasting on WED - please pray for me then.
Rained again all day today (for the most part) but I think it's going to be nice tomorrow! The sunset tonight was beautiful - brilliant orange/red sky - I missed a lot of it (went out too late) and didn't get any pictures.
I'll be taking some tomorrow though - be sure to check the website soon.
Let's see - my Internet still sucks...
My wife sent me a wonderful card with a picture of the two of us more than 25 years ago... Good thing I've got my glasses! We were both so skinny then I could hardly see us! Also got some cards from folks I don't even know! I registered our team on AnySoldier.com and these people work pretty fast. It's nice to know there are good people out there supporting the troops! These were personal letters too - not a "canned" message. I made a promise to email or write all of them back at least once.
I still have to write a note to the little girl that sent me a box of girl scout cookies. I've been a little busy the past few days and haven't had a lot of time. Looks like I have plenty to do this Friday!
I'm fine - really. Don't worry about me. I sleep OK (for the most part) I'm healthy, I eat well and I have everything I need. I actually feel very blessed to be here working for the Lord. I'm happy most of the time - as usual - there are several here that would disagree with me, but that goes with the territory... :-)
Mark.

Early Morning Pics

2009-04-04T11:24:00.004-04:00

I was up early this morning and I captured (what I think) are some beautiful pictures of the mountains just as the sun was coming up. Of course it looked MUCH better in person - the camera just can't grasp how beautiful it really is here sometimes - well, to look at anyway. It's really a GREAT place to get in touch with God - which I have been doing on a regular basis and again, I thank all of you who are praying for me and my Airmen.

I did get to speak with David Brown today! Did you know it's his birthday today? I did! And I was glad I got to talk with him despite the crappy Internet! (we talked on my cell phone) He's 49 this year! I'm looking forward to 50 when I won't be here in this place!

Oh - the pics - I suppose you want a link to make it easy for you -

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF2

Looks like a little more rain tomorrow, then the weather is supposed to be nice next week so I'll take some more pics (and with me in them).

Hope you all are well - I'm fine these days. Busy - makes the time go by faster.

Mark.

What day is it?

2009-04-02T13:42:00.002-04:00

Let's see -it's THR - night. Just got finished playing in the cribbage tournament and we WON the first two rounds! Me and Amn Bergeron. We actually made it to the semi finals (we got a bye for the first round and won in the 2nd). It's double elimination - so we've got a pretty good chance! Nothin to win except bragging rights. It's fun though. Something to do.

I'm off tomorrow which is a good thing for my Mom & Dad. I plan to sleep in till at least 0630 (my normal time is 0450). It's 2215 right now and the showers are closed! I just got back in my hooch and I take a shower before bed. I could wait till morning - but ... well, let's just leave it at that. I'm going to take a shower tonight. They open back up in 20 min.

It's raining again - It never rains very hard - just spits rain for a long period of time. You can even stand out in in for a good part of the day and not get really wet. It did get a little cool last night - but today it rained in the morning, then was decent for most of the day (high was 60) then rain again tonight.

They had a BAF's got talent show last night that I wanted to try and see - but I didn't make it for various reasons. The cribbage tournament was a welcome break.

I know I'm jumping around a bit -

Still miss everyone and my "normal" life - but there is still a lot of work to be done here and we aren't finished yet. Lots of stuff happening everyday - you just can't imagine.

I suppose a lot of you were expecting an April Fools Joke - well - those of you that know me well know I like a good practical joke on April Fools Day - I've set my children up numerous times over the years - a couple of them they didn't think were very funny - but of course I thought they were ALL funny! :-)

Sorry to disappoint you... no jokes this year. (kids say YEAH!)

Mark - out.

Last Day in MAR

2009-03-31T09:56:00.003-04:00

Whoo HOO!

One month gone - 5 full ones to go. Then it's all down hill from there.

Skype is a good thing - it's wonderful to see my family. I've gotten to talk with almost everyone! Yes - even my parents!!! My Dad is home alone (yeah - like the movie) and he and I had a 20 min conversation the other night. Before that, I talked with my Mom and brother in FL - and I speak to my wife everyday (just about). Technology is great. I often think about the guys like my Dad in the Korean war - they didn't have Skype!!! I kept wondering what he thought about sitting in his living room talking with his son 10,000 miles on the other side of the planet. I guess I should have asked him - but we had a lot of other things to talk about...

And I got my FIRST PKG today!!! I TOLD you mail was a big morale booster!!! :-)

My wife sent me some goodies and necessary stuff - it's ALL good! Thank you Honey!

Many of the guys have received pks and it really makes their day. I have a box of Girl Scout Cookies that came from a little girl who was thoughtful enough to add her mailing address to the box - so I'm going to email her and tell her that the cookies she sent found their way to a happy tummy inside of an Air Force guy. Hope she's not too disappointed - she intended them for a solider! :-) Since we are attached to the Army - we get a lot of Army morale items too - it's very nice.

Work is going well - I got some more pictures I have to sift thru - I'll probably post some of them tonight (the ones I can). I'm not in any of them.

One guy (Cpt Jaw) ordered a BIKE!!! Yeah - $350 bike. Single speed. Touring bike. Hope that works out for ya... The roads here are TERRIBLE and you can forget going OFF road on a touring bike - that's just asking for trouble. It's hard enough to WALK - much less ride a bike. But, who am I to say? I will say, good luck!

That's all for now - time to Skype!

Mark.

Skype Face

2009-03-27T12:27:00.003-04:00

I've heard a few gripes -

POST SOME PICS!!! POST SOME PICS!!!

So I did - and then I hear,

"Your not in any of the pics!!!"

:-)

Here is my Skype Face - I might be wearing my PT shirt (like here) or my uniform - that is all they let us wear.

I promise to take some pics next week with ME in them for you.

Fallen Comrade Ceremony first thing tomorrow :-(

Mark.

More Pics!

2009-03-26T09:04:00.002-04:00

There are 30 more pics uploaded!

Next time I'll start a new album. (BAF2) - look for it on my main page:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert

I'm off tomorrow - well, kind of. We have an electrical inspection in the BHuts (our hooches) and I'm going to the office for at least half the day. The MWR folks are showing "Facing the Giants" on SAT - I'll probably check that out and I'll be attending church regularly on Sundays @ 1430L - It's called the Chapel NeXt service and it's very good - (see my earlier post "Rain - No snow - Yet! "). Good series...

We are starting to plan our R&R trips for the group - everyone seemed very excited about that - all the guys/gals are working very hard and and this will certainly be a welcome break.

Going to dinner - hopefully RIBS tonight!

I'll let you know.

Mark.

Looky Here!

2009-03-25T21:57:00.002-04:00

I took some pictures of some of our crews in action. By the time you read this, hopefully they will all be loaded. Internet sucks! It was completely out all last night.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF1

Mark.

U R LUCKY!

2009-03-23T12:32:00.003-04:00

Aren't you guys lucky today!

I just got off Skype with Marcus and we figured out where I am!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=34.954030,+69.260613&ie=UTF8&geocode=FS5bFQIdRdUgBA&split=0

Yup, that's my hooch! :-)

Ok - going to call Pam and go to bed.

Mark.

SLOW!!!

2009-03-23T11:36:00.002-04:00

This is for Doug and anyone else who knows anything about INET speeds

Last Result:
Download Speed: 94 kbps (11.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 7 kbps (0.9 KB/sec transfer rate)

What is more disturbing than anything else - this particular Internet package is the "Premium" service and costs $100 per/mo.

When you quit laughing, send me a note... :-)

Mark.

Rain - No snow - Yet!

2009-03-23T09:30:00.002-04:00

Well it rained today - I don't THINK it will get cold enough to snow - but I'm not the weather man. They still say it will - we shall see.

The weather did put a damper on things today - as far as construction production goes. For the most part, we did very well in spite of the rain. LtCol Lehman and I had the privilege to escort the 755 AEG commander, Col Reed, out to some of our various projects! He's a GREAT guy! He enjoyed his time with us and was happy to see what we are doing and he got to meet many of the Airmen on our team! He was pleased. So was I and LtCol Lehman.

I'm feeling pretty good these days - all finished with the chest cold I had. Back to normal and it feels good. I'm walking a lot - haven't had the desire to RUN much. I did jog a few times - no great distances - maybe a mile or so. That running thing is getting harder and harder. The good news is I'm able to walk without any pain and that doesn't bother me at all - so walking it will be for a while. Around here - it's faster to walk than it is to drive in many cases.

I still have a few breadsticks left that I really enjoy in the evenings - with my non-alcoholic Bitburger beer! In fact, I'm enjoying them both right now!

Can't think of much more I can tell you. Just that I miss my family and friends and thanks to ALL of you who are praying for me and the team. We all appreciate it!

I did go to church yesterday - it was a very nice - very similar to what I know... A bunch of fun loving Christians who can't sing very well, but love the Lord! Very similar to many churches I've been too. :-) The preacher was an Army Chaplain who delivered a very good message about what it means to be born again - if you haven't read the story - check it out - just look in your index for Nicodemus or follow the links below.

Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3:1-21)

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2355

The preacher was a Jim Carey look a like and he did a great impersonation of him!

Several people were really touched by the message and it was great to see the Holy Spirit at work here in Afghanistan.

OK - enough of my preaching. Seriously, thanks for the prayers!

Mark.

The Meaning of Our Symbol

2009-03-22T03:11:00.004-04:00

http://www.af.mil/library/symbol/meaning.asp

The Meaning of Our Symbol

The U.S. Air Force symbol honors the heritage of our past and represents the promise of our future. It retains the core elements of our Air Corps heritage -- the "Arnold" wings and star with circle -- and modernizes them to reflect our air and space force of today and tomorrow.

The symbol has two main parts. In the upper half, the stylized wings represent the stripes of our strength -- the enlisted men and women of our force. They are drawn with great angularity to emphasize our swiftness and power, and they are divided into six sections which represent our distinctive capabilities -- air and space superiority, global attack, rapid global mobility, precision engagement, information superiority, and agile combat support.

In the lower half are a sphere, a star and three diamonds. The sphere within the star represents the globe. It reminds us of our obligation to secure our nation's freedom with Global Vigilance, Reach and Power. The globe also reminds us of our challenge as an expeditionary force to respond rapidly to crises and to provide decisive aerospace power, worldwide.

The area surrounding the sphere takes the shape of a star. The star has many meanings. Its five points represent the components of our Total Force and family -- our active duty, civilians, Guard, Reserve and retirees. The star symbolizes space as the high ground of our nation's air and space force. The rallying symbol in all our wars, the star also represents our officer corps, central to our combat leadership.

The star is framed with three diamonds, which represent our core values -- integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do. The elements come together to form one symbol that presents two powerful images -- at once it is an eagle, the emblem of our nation, and a medal, representing valor in service to our nation.

Somebody pick me up!

2009-03-20T11:26:00.005-04:00

Holly Molly!!

Yes - I thought I had died!!!

I'm walkin down the street and I see this guy on a John Deer tractor!!! People were scurrying out of the way and I said to myself - "No way - this CAN'T be David!!!"

Well, the guy got a little closer and sure enough - I thought I was going to crap my pants.

It sure LOOKED like David - after all, he WAS on a John Deer TRACTOR!!! Pulling a load no less... Had a mustache!!! But that's what gave it away - it WASN'T GRAY!!! HAHAHAHA!

But of course, I had to take the guy's picture because I knew nobody would believe me if I told them we are fighting the war with guys on John Deer tractors... My guess is now that David knows this secret, he'll be at the recruiting office first thing tomorrow morning!!!

The first full week is almost over. Lots of fun and exciting things going on.

More to come...

I'm fine - been feeling pretty good. Food here is great and the weather has not been to bad to date - looks like they have SNOW in the forecast - that should make it very interesting around here....

Mark.

Already?

2009-03-19T12:37:00.004-04:00

It's FRIDAY tomorrow!!! Yeah! It's funny that I even know that... All the days seem the same. It's been a long week, but we are finally getting into a rhythm and running on all cylinders - well, kind of... that's a long story.

I posted some more pics from CST - And I took some today here @ BAF. All the pics posted to BAF1 are from the same relative standing position - so you can see there is a 360 degree panoramic view of the mountains! That makes for some BEAUTIFUL sunrises and sunsets! And you know I'm up for both of them everyday!

I'll take more in the next few days - many areas are restricted.

So some added to this album (9 I think)

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/CST

And my first pics from BAF are here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mark.schubert/BAF1

More to come...

I'm going to call my parents tomorrow! :-) About 10AM FL time.

Mark.