Lets get it started...

i have arrived at my first intermediate stop which is 'in processing'...read: redo much of the paperwork i spent the last 2-3 weeks filling out. ended up getting blood drawn and have an immunization scheduled for friday. so far i have met up w/ several others going to do a similiar job as me. this is a pretty optimistic and motivated group, ready to get on station and do some good. i will get my new uniforms (Army Combat Uniforms aka ACUs for those not in the know) this week. as you have read in my prior posting, i was going to "HAVE" to fly to my follow on training. well, chief logic has trumped navy think and i am now authorized to drive my POV ! it may seem like no big deal but it will allow me to stop at home one last time before i go to 'oz'. so kudos to the change in what i "HAVE" to do. now if i could just go back and change my taxes, i think i'll go ahead and check the box at step 1, giving $ to the federal campaign fund...lol...yeah right. anyway, i believe i have done my fair share at saving the gov't $$ by not having to pay for a plane ticket or rental car!!! i estimate it to be over $1k saved!!! perhaps if everyone did that ~300 million americans, we'd be doing pretty good. anyway, if you would like to read some of what my job will include, here is a good story i found on (***section has been removed by author to maintain integrity***) other insightful stuff...as i sign off, ummm, sign...that reminds me, i better look into signing paperwork for getting my 'tax free' pay and 'extra pays' started, hehehehe.....BE SAFE, sandboxrich

spring ahead...

here i am, tomorrow i'll check into my first intermediate training stop as i head over to the sandbox. it has been about a week since i posted last and i wanted to have some 'substance' to share on here. first, me and my wife work with a youth group out in town and we had a great 'good bye' paaaarrty on thursday night. played some tuneage and got to do what i like best, chat with the youth. the weather here has started to warm up so in the back of my mind i am thinking, hmmm if it is getting 70 degrees here, i can only image how warm it must be starting to get in the sandbox. i was hoping to get there before the temps felt like you were walking on the sun. i guess i'll just have to aclimate quickly. did some great running ~8 miles...love the run, hate the chaffing (that is another story...somewhere else). i stopped by the office that is processessing my travel and training to see what the upcoming week looked like especially since i was hoping to drive my truck to the first couple of training locations. i wanted to drive from norfolk to maryland then to south carolina, stopping on my way to socar to pick up my family in virginia and spend the last night with them in socar before i checked in and headed to the 'box'. welp, not in navy think or logic...instead it seems like i will "HAVE" to fly to maryland and then the navy will pay for me to get a rental car while there. then i will "HAVE" to fly to socar. of course doing it all this way will leave me with a day or two at each stop and nothing to really do, except collect per diem $$. ok, i did my part to cut the budget, tried to save my fair protion of the nation debt but nooo, that was not acceptable. so, i will go ahead and follow the navy logic. hopefully the only rentals available when i get to maryland are CADDYs or VETTEs...hmm that would teach them. i hope the only rooms available are suites w/ a jacuzzi in the room and water front views...yeah,right. enough rambling about that. as if losing an hour of time on the clock wasn't enough 'out of my control' happenings before i leave. i guess when they decided 'they' would switch the clocks ahead, 'they' didn't take into account it would rob me of one more hour with my wonderful wife and kids before i left. errrgghh....i guess i'll go do my taxes and set my watch. ...BE SAFE, sandboxrich.

Tick Tock...

here we are a week out from my first deployment stop (actually right next door, nmps orfolk). last week, i got a storage place for my motorcycles and put the Goldwing in, this week i'll put the VTX in storage. took my daughter to see the play mousetrap at the little theater of norfolk, it was great fun! got to do some good riding on saturday although it was a bit windy. had a great breakfast sunday morning, thank you kim. went to buy some deployment type of stuff from the nex....not sure if i will have navy desert cammies or acu s, that will determine how much 'other' stuff i buy. went to see a movie w/ my son and daughter on sunday evening, wild hogs, it was not too realistic but fairly funny (not a stitch puller though). anyway back to the here and now...Happy Birthday to my mom and sister! born on the say day...well several years apart but the same day none the less. i would like to thank the other JCCS-1 bloggers for providing a sneek peek into life in country and i encourage others to read their blogs as well.....BE SAFE, sandboxrich

Time keeps ticking...

welp, i missed a few days but time didn't stop...me and my wife went to the beach over the weekend and spent sometime on the ocean front which was great, despite the cold weather. it was good just to spend time alone. we chatted a little about the upcoming months and our plans for family and the future. our son is planning to go on a missions trip to the dominican republic this summer and with me going to a desert 'resort', we figured she and our daughters should go somewhere 'enchanting' during the summer as well. so we have been going through the paces of getting passports for everyone. we still are not sure where the 'girls' are gonna go but travel is definitely on the agenda. i have taken a temporary 'leave of absence' from my muay thai training at tiger martial arts academy as i prepare to deploy however, my son will continue his 'punishment' routine...i recently got connected with another chief who will be filling a billet like mine at JCCS-1. we should meet up in our training cycle and deploy together. it would be great to train w/ someone and actually continue to work with them incountry. that is probably the biggest downside of IA tours, not being w/ the same crew through workups and deployment. but who knows maybe we will work together in country, we'll see...gotta go for now...HST medical, treat'em and street'em and BE SAFE....sandboxrich

nice day, nice ride...

as my days draw down and my gear up and fly out day nears, i had hoped to get some motorcycle riding in and that is just what i did yesterday! i got to spend some time on the road, in the wind with ~70 degree temps! a great day :) my wife has begun to prepare to be a 'single' parent and run a household again...(not that she ever stopped after my return from the last deploymen t...hehe). she has been a great blessing in getting paperwork around here sorted out. she has the task of not just keeping things together here, but she is also doing tons taking care of my mother-in-law who is recovering from cancer. talk about a heavy pack to carry. she is a great woman and i guess that is why God has us together. welp i wanted to get back to some 'normal' posts after that last 'lashing' post....Got my clearance done,off to PT(for those not in the know, it means physical training)...BE SAFE, sandboxrich

We are bringing "tough" back...

in the words of the Secretary of the Navy "We are a nation at war. Support of our Sailors and Marines in the Iraqi theater of operations is our most urgent task, and I am focused daily on what the Navy and Marine Corps can do to help achieve victory in Iraq and against terrorists elsewhere around the world."....as i prepare to deploy a second time to OIF, i have been watching with amazement at the recent message being sent by some, "retreat"...what the hell happened to the American fighting spirit? "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"...i don't think it meant 'go home'...we hang in there and do everything and anything we can to win...Stonewall Jackson said "When war does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." correct me if i am off here but to me that means get rid of the retreat mindset and let the enemy we are fighting know we are "In it to Win it!" i will finish with a word from one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson "In matters of style swim with the current in matters of principle stand like a rock." has politics become stylish? be a rock....and BE SAFE, sandboxrich

Say what...

i got one of those learn iraqi cds from barnes and noble...not sure if it was recorded wrong or if the 'hock' sounds actually belong in between words. i guess i'll find out soon enough. i've continued with my pre-deployment preps. i've been working on getting my clearance back up to speed. seems like over the years, it has expired. but should not be an issue since i've held a secret clearance as a Fire Controlman (no we don't put out fires) for the last 19 years. the only problem is the paperwork involved. while most of it is online, there is a 30 page 'working' copy to fill out "just to make sure nothing is forgotten" ...had a chance to meet w/ a friend off the HST (USS Harry S. Truman, my prior command) and from what i understand the surgeon is bringing sexy back...lol...HST sailors reading this, enjoy the humor and BE SAFE, sandboxrich

Here we go...

well i am starting my blogging in prep for deployment to JCCS-1 in Iraq. the training has started in the way of medical/dental/legal/online courses. soon i will begin getting my gear issued. actually part of that has started in the way of 'self' issued gear. i got a laptop to take along and allow me to keep in touch with the rest of the world. i took some other IA's advice and got the extended protection plan for my new puter. the salesman really pumped up the quality and flexibility of the broken computer exchange portion...he went on and on about what is covered but he looked somewhat confused when i asked if the plan covered bullet holes and shrapnel damage...needless to say my wife was not amused at my question...BE SAFE, sandboxrich