Appalachian Patria

Appalachian Intellectual. To me that means plain thinking. I am A Non Commissioned Officer in the Army Reserves. Let me say...My views expressed here are mine and not those of The U.S. Army, Army Reserve or my fellow brethren in The National Guard. This is entirely Sua Sponte. This is My Thinking. I'm single and in my mid 30's. Politicaly, I'm a Libertarian. (Again, Sua Sponte.I do not represent the Libertarian Party.)I love my native Appalachia, Rock n Roll and...I love God.

Name:
Location: Brevard, North Caroilina

I started blogging for two reasons. I was concerned about the changes to the area I live in, Southern Appalachia and I was about to go to the war. I was in Iraq in 06 and 07 and now Kuwait in 11 and 12. Blogging was a means of documenting my experiences and hoping it would help gain clarity. I don't feel that way about it any more. It's said people write blogs because they are frustrated, that's why people read them too. That makes us sound apocalyptic. Are we? Let it be said, what I say here is of my own thinking. This is entirely Sua Sponte and not an official representation of the U.S. Military or the U.S. Government as a whole.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Laugh Dammit'

Funny things happen. A few day’s ago, one of my Junior NCO’s had a close encounter with an IED. He calls me on my cell phone. “I have to show you something”. He sounds serious. “OK, what is it?” “I found an IED”. It’s possible, very possible. If a Afghan Guerilla can hide out in an American Base after escaping from it’s jail than an IED can be planted here on Taji. He comes and gets me, he’s as white as a ghost. We have a Marine Major with us and he drives up as I was going to check this out. I informed him of what was happening and he gives me a direct order not to get killed. “Hey, you’ve got Bino’s, right? Take your Bino’s”. I was forgetting about the things. So, we go and look at this thing. I had to look at it from a couple of different angles, but, sure enough, there is artillery round with wires taped to it and we are in more than killing range. Heck, they would get our body parts confused. It’s sitting next to one of the many ruined buildings on Taji, where some GI would get on it while poking around, like my Joe did.
We backed off from it. I pull out my cell phone and try to call EOD(Explosive Ordnance Disposal) and can’t get through. I try again. The damn phone won’t get through. I wasn’t going to say IED over the air on my radio and cause folks to get into a panic. We go back to our area where I inform the Major that the boy wasn’t crying wolf and I couldn’t get through to EOD. We called the Base Defense Operations Center on his phone, which was working better. “Come and get us and take us right to this!” So, it’s going to be time consuming, I go to the latrine real quick before heading out. The Major comes and gets me and my NCO who had found the thing. BDOC had called back, it was a training aid, several people had called it in before. My young NCO’s 21 year old heart is pounding out of his chest, he’s white as a ghost and his eyes are as big as a deer’s. “That’s fucked up!” he say’s. I laughed.
Really, he did good. I had to get onto him about something the other day. He’s still a work of clay. I told him the same thing I told my Stepson. “Be glad God is teaching you your lesson’s while you’re young”.

As I’ve said in some e-mails, I slept through a rocket attack a while back. Lot’s of our people heard it. They usually come in onsies and twosies. My building has pretty thick walls and my window is sandbagged, plus my air condition runs constantly (Except for the couple of nights it tore up on me). “You didn’t hear that?!” I slept like a baby.

Speaking of my sand bagged window (one of ye faithful knows of my project) I’m coving it up with pictures of home, post cards (that one of ye faithful has sent) , a news paper clipping of my newest little cousin, wildlife and girls out of magazines. Stuff like Stuff, Maxim, etc. The ones we were told we couldn’t bring over on the plane that is sold here in the PX.

As you may gather from a earlier post, the other night there was a show put on my five dancing girls. One a former Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader, a couple had posed for the above mentioned magazines and a Vegas Show Girl. They really put on a show. A couple could sing. I didn’t intend on going, but, found myself obliged. That’s another silly story.


The Appalachianist

Labels: , ,

6 Comments:

Blogger Gun Trash said...

Well, I suppose we can say the young man is now trained in recognizing IEDs, eh?

Sleep anytime, anywhere, with any kind of commotion going on around you? You're a grunt, AI, definitely. :-)

6:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, I can understand if you're feeling obliged.... you Just have to look at those girls! *giggle*

take care.

10:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mike said he and Addis walked up (20 yds.) on a 400lb. hog with big cutters today up at the cabin on the way to the feeder today.

9:09 PM  
Blogger Hill Billy Rave said...

Gunner, I suppose you could say that. He's still a litttle sore over hte subject. He did good though.

Janie, there is a story, but, I'm glad I went.

Twister, just read a peice in NC Wildlife some folks back in Transylvania sent me (You know who you are and thank you!) about Hogs. You will be hearing from me on that subject. I'm having a hard time answering mail now.

10:26 PM  
Blogger sage said...

I'd be all white and scared too, if I found a "training IED." Glad things are going okay for you.

Wildlife in NC is a great magazine--I got it for years after I left NC and still read it when I'm back at my parents home. Take care.

5:25 PM  
Blogger Hill Billy Rave said...

Hey, Sage, thanks for coming by. Yeah, he didn't think that "IED" was too funny. He was not 3 feet from it when he walked up on it. He insists who ever put it there ought to hung. I give him another week and he'll laugh.

10:37 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home