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18 February 2005 - 31 May 2007

HHD, 881st Troop Command

Pierre, South Dakota

ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

1 June 2007 - 10 June 2014

HHC, 152nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion

Pierre, South Dakota

ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

END OF CHAPTER 5

18 FEBRUARY 2005 - 10 JUNE 2014

Chapter 5

SDARNG, 881st Troop Cmd, Pierre, SD

SDARNG, 152nd CSSB, Pierre, SD

STANDING UP THE 881ST TROOP COMMAND

In late February 2005, I began working for the 881st Troop Command as its first Training/Readiness Technician.  The unit initially organized (stood up) in 2004 with about two dozen part-time members and only two full-time members, MSG Gary Kafka, the Battalion Operations Sergeant, and SFC James Poppen, the Senior Human Resources Sergeant, or PSNCO (Personnel Services Non-Commissioned Officer), as it was called then.  Immediately after I started, SFC David Murtha arrived to serve as the battalion’s full-time Senior Supply Sergeant. 

 

The 881st Troop Command consisted of the battalion headquarters (HHD, 881st Troop Command), about 5 aviation units, both fixed and rotary wing, a public affairs unit and a medical air ambulance unit.

 

I was responsible for facilitating the administration, pay and training for the unit.  This involved processing personnel actions, orders, awards, promotions, enlisted performance evaluations (NCOERs) and memorandums; creating and publishing training schedules and unit newsletters (drill letters); securing training facilities, instructors and necessary equipment/supplies for drills; coordinating for Soldiers to attend military schools; and processing payroll for the entire battalion. 

 

I had additional duties as the unit’s Family Support Representative, Official Mail Control Officer, Drug and Alcohol Coordinator and Public Affairs Representative.

 

Serving as the Training/Readiness NCO was very challenging, not just because this was a new unit and I had to initially create most everything from scratch, but because there were so many different areas to work and I was the POC (Point Of Contact) for virtually every action in the unit, it seemed, making it difficult to stay focused and calm, especially at drill, when I was bombarded by several individuals at once. 

 

Often, while trying to assist one Soldier, other Soldiers would interrupt with various questions or actions they wanted help with.  They were usually very insistent and persistent.  It almost seemed as if they didn’t care I was busy helping another Soldier, or else they did it on purpose just to cause me stress, I don’t know. 

 

The other thing that added to the challenge of this job was that I had to use so many different, often vague, rules and regulations, procedures, websites and computer systems (with different USERIDs and PASSWORDs) for all the variety of tasks I had to accomplish.  Those tasks being:  Schools, Personnel Security Clearances, MILPO Orders, Payroll, Evaluations, Promotions and Personnel Actions. 

2005 GOLDEN COYOTE

ANNUAL TRAINING

RAPID CITY, SD

From late May to early June 2005, we performed our annual training at Camp Rapid where we set up temporary offices in Building 803, which housed a mailroom, offices, dining facility and barracks (where we slept).  Our mission was to serve as protocol liaison (like a welcoming wagon) for all incoming VIPs.  The VIPs were senior-ranking Army Reserve and National Guard officers in the rank of LTC or higher. 

 

During this time, my job was to coordinate with the VIPs’ units to find out when the VIPs would arrive, plan for the VIPs' arrival, meet them at Rapid City Regional Airport, provide them with a folder containing information about the exercise and Black Hills tourist attractions, then drive them to Camp Rapid in a GSA van. 

 

The challenging part of this job was trying to reach the VIPs' units by phone.  Prior to the exercise, the participating units were supposed to register all their POC information online on the Golden Coyote secure intranet site.  However, that information was often missing, incorrect or outdated.  I used a variety of workarounds to get that info, like scouring the internet, making phone calls, sending emails and networking with other units from the same state.

In June 2006, the 881st Troop Command occupied temporary offices at Camp Rapid and served as the protocol liaison/welcoming committee for all incoming VIPs to the Golden Coyote exercise conducted in the Black Hills.  The VIPs were senior-ranking Army Reserve and National Guard officers in the rank of LTC and above.  During this time, my job was to coordinate with the VIPs’ units to find out when the VIPs would arrive, then I would plan for their arrival, meet them at Rapid City Regional Airport, shuttle them to Camp Rapid and brief them on both the exercise and the Black Hills area.  We also shuttled them back to the airport, so they could fly back to their home states.

2006 GOLDEN COYOTE

ANNUAL TRAINING

RAPID CITY, SD

From 16 July to 12 August 2006, I attended the four-week 92A Automated Logistical Specialist Course at Fort Harrison, a U.S. Army Reserve post on the western edge of Helena, Montana. 

 

I drove my car 700 miles from Pierre to Helena, stopping at a restaurant/motel about 100 miles from Helena and staying overnight before finishing the trip early the next morning.  On the drive through Wyoming on I-90, I passed by a number of forest fires.  This was a very hot, dry summer and the heat was searing.  It stayed very hot during my entire stay in Montana.  My only respite from the heat was up on the mountains during my one-day trip to Glacier National Park.

 

The location was great, but I really didn’t like the course at all.  The school taught obsolete material, out-of-date procedures and outdated computer systems, typical for all US Army Reserve schools I attended throughout my career. 

 

Knowing that their out-of-date training would never be used by anyone in the real world made it difficult to learn.  I remember hearing the instructors say, repeatedly, throughout the course, “This isn’t really how it is currently being done, but this is the material we have to teach” or similar variations of that phrase.  In addition, I was an admin guy, not a logistics guy.  Even if the training was current, I had no intention of switching to the logistics field any time in the future (as it turned out, I never did work in the logistics field before retiring). 

AUTOMATED LOGISTICAL SPECIALIST

COURSE - HELENA, MONTANA

When we didn’t have school, we were free to go where ever we wanted.  I went exploring to see as much as possible during all three weekends. 

 

I drove all around the Helena area, golfed at Green Meadow Country Club and Fox Ridge Golf Course, checked out the walking mall at Last Chance Gulch (downtown Helena), climbed Mount Helena, took a boat tour of the Gates of the Mountains and saw the Montana State Capitol, which was used as a model for the design of South Dakota’s State Capitol. 

 

I took some longer trips to Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, and Anaconda, Montana. 

 

On the way to Yellowstone, we stopped at Nevada City, MT, a ghost town, and watched period reenactors portray what 1880s life was like in the old mining town.  Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966, the town’s structures were restored as an outdoor living history museum with 108 buildings.  Only a mile away, I passed by Virginia City, MT, which was also historically restored, but was a real town with people living there; not a ghost town.

R & R

MONTANA AND WYOMING

In Anaconda, MT, I golfed at Old Works Golf Course, a former abandoned copper mine and superfund site that was converted to a golf course.  The golf course was designed by legendary Jack Nicklaus and featured black bunkers made from ground-up copper slag.

 

I went on this golfing trip with a fellow student who liked to golf.  After paying our green fees, the pro shop paired us up with a few locals.  These locals were Vietnam Veterans who kept asking us questions about the military and the drug tests we, as Soldiers, go through periodically.  I thought their curiosity about our drug tests was a bit odd and asked them why.  They told me they smoked medical marijuana. 

 

After a few holes, one of them briefly stopped by some trees on the edge of the fairway and puffed on his pipe a few times.  Amazingly, both of these older gentlemen hit the ball long and straight nearly every time.  I started to wonder if maybe the marijuana may have helped their swing (like swing oil).  Otherwise, how could they hit the ball so consistently? 

 

Meanwhile, my golfing partner and I were struggling to keep out of hazards (roughs, bunkers and water).  Despite some errant shots, I didn’t think I did too badly, but my partner was having such a bad time, that he ended up just picking up his ball and driving me around the last few holes of the 18-hole course.

 

After we finished golfing, we were met by a few guys who worked for the golf course.  They asked to clean our clubs.  I was a little freaked out by it, because I had already paid good money to golf and figured I would have to shell out more money for them to clean my dirty clubs.  They said we had already paid for their service with our green fees, so I let them clean my clubs.  This was the first and only golf course I’ve ever played that did that. 

OLD WORKS GOLF COURSE

ANACONDA, MONTANA

During my third weekend, I drove to Glacier National Park with my golfing partner.  We left early in the morning from Fort Harrison to Glacier National Park and returned back to Fort Harrison very late in the evening.   It was a great road trip, although it would have been nice to have spent more time in the park.  We drove through only about half the park, but we did get to see some amazing sights AND beat the heat in the upper elevations of the mountains there.  One of the amazing sights was the forest fire in the park.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

At 8:30 am, on Saturday, 22 July 2006, I drove SFC Vernell Wilson-Williams’ rental car from Helena to Yellowstone National Park with SFC Bandy, 1SG Linda Schwartz and SFC Beedles.  SFC Beedles rode in front as navigator, but he was a very quiet, soft-spoken young man who often failed to give me any direction.  This resulted in some missed exits, wrong turns, backtracking and ridicule from the others in the car. 

 

After stopping two or three times on the way to Yellowstone, we finally arrived at the park entrance at about 1 pm.  Our goal was to see Old Faithful, but that was another 50 miles away.  We stopped at three or four attractions along the way and were awe-struck by the beauty and uniqueness of these geysers.  We made it to Old Faithful 15 minutes prior to its scheduled “eruption”.  There appeared to be about 3,000 to 4,000 people there. 

 

After witnessing Old Faithful going off, we went to the nearby souvenir shop where I bought four Kachina dolls and a sleeve (box of 3) of golf balls with Old Faithful stamped on them.  We visited four or five more attractions before leaving the park at sunset. 

 

We were all hungry and thirsty, so we stopped at Rosie’s Café, an Italian restaurant in the nearby town of Gardiner, Montana.  I thought it was way overpriced and the menu print was small and hard to read.  I ordered shrimp, because it looked to be the best deal.  However, I was wrong, because they only brought out three pieces of shrimp that cost $9.  Luckily, 1SG Schwartz couldn’t eat all of her food and gave me some of her noodles. 

 

We left the restaurant at about 10:30 pm and didn’t get back to Helena until 1:30 am.  I drove the entire trip.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

In the spring of 2007, the SDARNG underwent a major organizational transformation by adding, removing, changing or relocating several units across the state. 

 

One of the changes included the 881st Troop Command’s relocation from Pierre to Sturgis, SD. 

 

Also, a new unit, the 152nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, was being added in Pierre. 

 

During this transition period, we were given a choice of whether we wanted to continue serving with the 881st and move to Sturgis, or stay in Pierre and serve in the 152nd.  Having previously purchased a house in Pierre, I chose the latter.  However, the only drawback was my new position was a Staff Sergeant position, one rank lower than my current rank, so I would later have to take a reduction in rank.

2007 SDARNG TRANSFORMATION

STANDING UP THE 152ND CSSB

On 1 June 2007, I began working for the new 152nd CSSB (Combat Sustainment Support Battalion) as a Human Resources Sergeant in the S-1 Section.  Compared to Training/Readiness Sergeant, this was more in line with what I was used to doing and I was much more comfortable in this role. 

 

It was a Staff Sergeant position, so I eventually had to take a reduction in rank.  That time came on September 15, 2008, when I converted from getting paid as a federal employee (civil service technician) to getting active duty military pay as an AGR (Active Guard-Reservist). 

 

I processed awards, NCOERs, OERs, promotions, qualitative retention board packets, staff brief slides and a variety of other things for the S-1. 

 

My new supervisor was SFC Brian Berger, who previously served as the Retirement Manager for Joint Forces Headquarters, SDARNG.  MSG Gary Kafka also opted for staying in Pierre and served as our full-time Battalion Operations Sergeant, the same position he previously held with the 881st Troop Command.

 

I spent several months getting organized; setting up files, records, memorandums and staff brief formats; and developing workable tools and systems to process paperwork and monitor processing status.  I did all of this in an effort to help me and the new S1 section become efficient and fully operational. 

 

It was a new unit, so I spent a great deal of time creating new “products” (ie, memorandums (Word documents), staff briefs (PowerPoint), and tracking tools (Excel spreadsheets), from scratch, rather than having the luxury of simply making changes to existing products. 

2008 GOLDEN COYOTE

ANNUAL TRAINING

CUSTER STATE PARK

In June 2008, our unit participated in Golden Coyote, a two-week annual training exercise in the Black Hills that trained about 2,000 Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers from scores of units throughout the US.  This was our first annual training as a new unit and we traveled from Pierre to Custer State Park in a convoy of about a dozen Humvees, of which I drove one them.

 

The 152nd served as Mayor of a Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Custer State Park Airport (CSPA), providing life support for up to 340 Soldiers from nine units and overseeing transportation missions, including a timber haul humanitarian mission to deliver firewood to the towns of Oglala and Pine Ridge on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Western South Dakota.  Although our FOB camp site was located just outside the airport, we did use the airport as a refueling point for military vehicles and helicopter LZ (Landing Zone) for incoming and outgoing VIPs visiting the FOB.

 

Our higher headquarters for the exercise, a regional support group from the Iowa Army National Guard, also resided on our FOB.  Within a week, they were recalled to Iowa to support flood relief efforts in that State.  On short notice, we stepped up and seamlessly assumed the Iowa unit’s role as command and control of the entire Golden Coyote exercise, while simultaneously performing our original mission as FOB Mayor and overseer of various haul missions.  To me, this was an amazing feat, considering our unit didn’t even exist just over a year prior.  Luckily, the weather was nice; not much rain, not too hot and not too cold.

 

Once again, part of my mission was to plan for the arrival of VIPs, greet them at the airport, transport them to the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) for a briefing (slide show presentation) and tour, then transport them back to the airport when they were done.  Again, I had to maintain a spreadsheet matrix with all kinds of information about each VIP, their unit, contact names, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.

 

However, after our unit took oversight of the entire Golden Coyote exercise, I had to quickly create the mother of all spreadsheets, one that contained several information fields (such as name, rank, unit, gender, PMOS, FOB location, etc.) on thousands of Soldiers from dozens of units.  Every day, I received personnel strength reports from each FOB and had to compare and make appropriate changes to the spreadsheet.  I used numerous formulas and paste links in the spreadhseet to automatically add totals for each unit and FOB into a summary report.  It was quite a challenge, to say the least.

In June 2009, the 152nd again served as Mayor of Custer State Park Airport Forward Operating Base, providing life support to as many as 600 Soldiers from 10 units and overseeing transportation missions, including the timber hauls to the towns of Oglala and Pine Ridge on the Pine Ridge Reservation.  

 

This time, Mother Nature played a cruel trick on us.  It rained every day for the first week.  Green pastures turned brown from all the mud.  I spent many hours digging trenches around tents, then had to continually deepen and widen them to drain the ponds that formed around the tents. 

 

We wore rubber boots all the time.  Just walking from our GP-Medium Sleep Tent to the Mess Tent or the Porta-potty was a chore.  We had to fight to stay upright in the mud to avoid slipping and falling.  With all our gear and slippery ground conditions, it was no wonder I didn’t fall more than I did. 

 

Due to the torrential rains, a 6-foot wide pond developed below the waterproofed-canvas floor of our (GP-Medium) TOC tent.  It felt like a waterbed when walking over it and it remained there for the entire time we were there. 

 

One night, towards the end of the first week of rains, I had TOC Guard with SGT Charles (Chuck) Hagan.  TOC Guard involved monitoring communications radios during the evening hours and doing hourly commo checks, via walkie-talkies, with the security gate guard detail on the road leading to the FOB.  At around 2 am, a severe thunderstorm dumped massive rain on the FOB.  Water began to flow into the TOC tent.  Chuck and I grabbed a shovel and a flashlight, went outside, and proceeded to deepen and widen the trenches.  I held the flashlight and Chuck did most of the digging.  The thunderstorm’s pelting rain and lightning made this task a little painful and a little scary at the same time.

 

The last week of annual training was hot and dry.  That created a different set of problems when it came time to tear down and pack up all of our equipment, especially the tents and camo nets that got caked with mud.  All the trenches we dug had to be filled back in and smoothed out.  This was a tough job, because the sun was hot and the mud had hardened, making it very difficult to dig.  It took a lot of sweat and back-breaking effort for me to backfill those trenches in the hot afternoon sun. 

 

After returning to Pierre, we had to clean all our equipment, primarily tents and camo nets, at the old Econo-Foods parking lot in 100+ degree heat.  I really tried to help, but I struggled with heat exhaustion all day and had to take several breaks. 

2009 GOLDEN COYOTE

ANNUAL TRAINING

CUSTER STATE PARK (AGAIN)

On a hot, sunny day in June 2010, I mowed my yard right before boarding the bus that would take me and the rest of HHC, 152nd CSSB from Pierre to Blue Grass Army Depot, near Richmond, Kentucky, for “Golden Cargo”, our 2-week annual training event.  While waiting at the Pierre Armory parking lot for our bus to arrive, I noticed my arms began to itch a little bit.  I didn’t think too much about it and just scratched the itch, periodically, on the trip to Kentucky.

 

Our mission at Blue Grass Army Depot was to serve, once again, as FOB Mayor, providing life support to as many as 320 Soldiers from 10 units.  The FOB’s mission during the Golden Cargo exercise, which involved various Reserve and National Guard transportation units, was to redistribute hundreds of tons of munitions between Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, and Crane Army Ammunition Activity, Indiana.  The 152nd was responsible for the command and control of those missions.

 

It was very hot and humid the entire time we were there.  Temperatures hovered around 100 degrees with 90% relative humidity.  After a few days, a visible rash developed on my forearms and I was itchy all the time, especially when I was in the sun.  Although I worked in an office, I had to regularly walk outside to go to the chow hall, the barracks, subordinate units’ offices, the PX, etc.

 

I went to the Medics and had them check out my rash.  They told me I had an allergic reaction to Cipro, which can cause sun sensitivity, and told me to stop taking it, so I did.  Even so, my rash remained for the entire two weeks of Golden Cargo.  The medics gave me calamine lotion and cortisone cream, which helped a little with the itchiness, but I still felt miserable most of the time.  Despite that, I still managed to do personnel accounting and status reporting for all Soldiers on the FOB.

2010 GOLDEN CARGO

ANNUAL TRAINING

BLUE GRASS ARMY DEPOT, KY

When I returned to my doctor in Pierre after Golden Cargo, he said my “prostate infection” was cured (I thought that was funny, because I didn't have a prostate infection).  He said the pain I was feeling in my body was likely due to a hernia and referred me to a surgeon who examined me and confirmed the doctor’s opinion.  Even though I didn’t think I had a hernia, I trusted their evaluations and went ahead with surgery.  In retrospect, I wonder if maybe they were just trying to make more money for the clinic by doing unnecessary procedures.

 

A few months after my hernia operation, I still felt the same pain in my body and went back to my doctor.  He told me it was likely due to the surgery and to give it a little more time. 

 

After a few more months, I went back to see the doctor again, because the pain didn’t go away.  Luckily, the doctor wasn’t available, so I was examined by his PA (physician’s assistant).  After describing the symptoms to her, she said she wondered if, maybe, the problem wasn’t related to my lower back.  She had me get some X-rays and, sure enough, she was right.  I just wish I had seen her in the first place, so I wouldn’t have had to endure the horrible rash and possibly unnecessary hernia operation.

 

This whole ordeal reminds me of an old joke. 

 

Question:  What do you call the medical student who graduates last in his class at medical school? 

Answer:  Doctor

QUACK DOCTOR

For our 2011 annual training, I’m pretty sure we were scheduled to go back to Custer State Park Airport to serve as a FOB Mayor again.  However, due to the massive amounts of snow melting in Montana, the Missouri River became flooded and our FOB mission was cancelled. 

 

Instead, we went on State Active Duty (SAD) to support flood relief operations along the Missouri River in the Pierre/Ft Pierre area.  State Active Duty is the status that National Guard Soldiers are in when the Governor calls up the Guard to assist with natural disasters or riots. 

 

Despite the circumstances, I was glad we didn’t go back to Custer State Park, because 2009 Golden Coyote just about killed me and I didn’t want to go through that EVER again. 

 

Even though I was extremely busy working my regular job AND supporting the flood relief mission, it was worth it not to have to relive Golden Coyote 2009 all over again.

 

Below are some pictures I took of the Oahe Dam tailrace soon after flooding began.  A day or two later, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed the access road to the tailrace as a safety precaution, due to the flooding.

2011 ANNUAL TRAINING

CANCELLED DUE TO

MISSOURI RIVER FLOOD

In June of 2012, during Golden Coyote, our unit’s mission was to serve as Mayor of FOB Coyote for all exercise participants residing on Camp Rapid.  We set up our base of operations at the Duke Corning Armory and slept in barracks on Camp Rapid.  

 

Halfway through the exercise, my wife (now ex-wife) called to say she and my son were suffering from severe flu-like symptoms and requested I come home to take care of them.  I got approval from my supervisors and commander, then rode with a fellow Soldier who drove me back to Pierre in a GSA vehicle (government car).

 

I stayed at home for a few days until their symptoms had abated enough to allow me to drive my POV back to Camp Rapid.  While I was washing dishes at home in Pierre, I suddenly got a back spasm that left me reeling with a severe, stabbing pain. 

 

Despite the back pain, I drove back to Camp Rapid to complete my annual training with the unit.  Upon my return, I went to the medics and received muscle relaxers and pain killers which helped greatly to ease the pain.  However, I was so hopped up on medications for the remainder of Golden Coyote that I wasn’t very productive.  I felt somewhat bad about that, because I wasn’t contributing as much as I normally would and that was very frustrating for me.

2012 GOLDEN COYOTE

ANNUAL TRAINING

FOB COYOTE, CAMP RAPID

On 17 December 2012, the 152nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion of Pierre received official mobilization orders to later deploy to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  Around that same time, I was found to be medically unfit (which equates to medically non-deployable) and was told I would not deploy with the unit.

152ND MOBILIZATION ORDERS

In early March 2013, the 152nd rode a bus from Pierre to Camp Dodge, near Des Moines, Iowa, to participate in a logistics-based battle simulation, also known as a “warfighter exercise”.  This two-week exercise was intended to prepare the unit for its upcoming deployment in July and would serve as it's annual training period for 2013.

 

On the first day, I was one of about a dozen NCOs who were assigned role-playing positions as either First Sergeant or Company Commander of fictitious units.  The trainers/facilitators on Camp Dodge tasked us with reacting to various scenarios on a computer-simulated battlefield, via our input on the computers, to challenge our problem-solving/decision-making skills.

 

On the second day, I was repurposed as a driver for Soldiers who had to go to the VA Medical Center for sick call in nearby Johnston, Iowa. 

 

On the 3rd or 4th day, one of the officers had to return home to visit a family member in the hospital.  So, I drove him 500 miles from Camp Dodge to Pierre on a bitterly cold and windy day, dropped him off, and then drove another 500 miles (with the wind) back to Camp Dodge that same day. 

 

A funny thing about this trip was that the GSA vehicle I drove, a Jeep Patriot, had a very low fuel range, approximately 220 miles, and seemingly poor fuel economy.  About 25 miles south of Sioux Falls, the fuel gauge registered 1/4 tank.  About 15 miles later, the LOW FUEL light came on.  We made it about another five miles through blizzard conditions when the vehicle ran out of fuel and died.  Normally, this would not have happened, but we figured the strong headwinds and cold temperature accelerated the fuel loss.  The officer, for whom I was driving, called his brother who lived near Sioux Falls.  Within about 10-15 minutes, his brother arrived with a fuel can and we made it to the next gas station, which happened to be only 1/4 mile away at the Tea exit.  Because of the poor visibility, we didn't know we were so close.

 

After arriving at Camp Dodge in the evening, I was told the Mess Sergeant needed to return to his home in Sioux Falls, so I drove him back (290 miles) the next day and returned to Camp Dodge the same day.  In those two days, I drove over 1500 miles.

 

Upon returning the second time, I got extremely sick with flu-like symptoms.  My boss told me to go to sick call the next morning, so I drove myself to the VA with at least one other Soldier.  The doctor put me “on quarters” (don’t work - just stay in the barracks) for three days.

 

Towards the end of annual training, I began to feel a little better and was able to do “odd jobs”, one of which was for our Battalion Executive Officer, who wanted me to get a plaque made, so at the end of the training, he could present it to the battle simulation facilitator staff in appreciation for their efforts to get the 152nd prepared for war. 

 

I brought my personal lap top computer to Camp Dodge and used it to design the plaque, pictured below, and emailed it to Crown Trophy shop in Grimes, IA.  They finished it in about three days, just in time for our unit to present it to the facilitators on our last day at Camp Dodge. 

2013 ANNUAL TRAINING

(WARFIGHTER)

CAMP DODGE, IOWA

In April 2013, also in preparation for deployment, our unit convoyed in Humvees to Camp Guernsey, Wyoming, for weapons qualification and training.  Included in the convoy was a 15-passenger van that I drove the entire way there.  During the week-long exercise, the unit would train and qualify on a number of different weapons systems.

 

After we arrived in the afternoon, we unloaded all our field gear and carried it to our barracks.  We ate evening chow (dinner) and then I was told to get my field gear and ride in a Humvee to the Ammo Point, so I could guard ammunition, which was located in the middle of the Camp Guernsey Military Range, probably about 10 miles away from civilization. 

 

Another Soldier was also selected to help me guard the ammo.  We were told we would only be there until 10 pm, but that we could, possibly, be there all night.  Both of us were chosen, because we weren’t deploying and wouldn’t be qualifying on weapons. 

 

As night fell, the temperature started to drop and it was close to freezing outside.  I brought a cot and sleeping bag, but I didn’t want to set it all up if we were leaving at 10 pm, so I figured I would just sit in the Humvee seat and try to rest there.  I periodically started the vehicle to stay warm. 

 

After a while, I started feeling my lower back tighten up and I got a pretty bad muscle spasm.  I realized the reason was probably because I was sitting all day, as I drove 367 miles from Pierre to Camp Guernsey, and was now sitting in the Humvee seat, which was not comfortable at all. 

 

Just after 10:15 pm, I figured we would probably be spending the night there, so I set my cot up and got in my sleeping bag.

 

Just a few minutes later, at about 10:30 pm, a Humvee pulled up with two Soldiers who said they were going to relieve us as ammo guards.  I got back to the barracks about 11 pm.

 

The next day, the whole unit went to the rifle range.  I drove the 15-passenger van, shuttling Soldiers and supplies from one range to the other all day long.

 

The next morning, I woke up and could barely get out of bed and walk, my lower back hurt so much.  So, I went on sick call with another Soldier who needed to go there also.  However, all the vehicles were out on the range and we had to wait about two hours for someone to drive from the range to our barracks to give us a ride to the local civilian medical clinic in the nearby town of Guernsey, WY. 

 

When we arrived at the clinic at about 10 am, the receptionist told me the doctor was not in yet, so our driver left us at the clinic and returned back to the range.  Before he left, he told us to call him when we were done with the doctor and he would pick us up.

 

We sat in the lobby for an hour, then got hungry and ate lunch at a nearby restaurant.  After we saw the doctor at noon, we called the driver to pick us up.  We waited an hour or two for him to show up, but he never did.  We began to think he probably wouldn’t be picking us up.  Luckily, the receptionist was very nice and felt sorry for us.  She offered to give us a ride to the barracks and we graciously accepted.  I rode in the back and left a $5 bill on her seat.  We finally returned to the barracks about 2 pm.

 

I went on quarters and was pretty much worthless for the last week of training, because I couldn’t hardly walk from the pain in my lower back.  Also, the pain killers and muscle relaxers made me very sleepy. 

2013 WEAPONS QUALIFICATION

CAMP GUERNSEY, WYOMING

On 5 July 2013, the 152nd held its deployment ceremony at Riggs High School.  I helped hand out programs to hundreds of guests in attendance.  After the ceremony, the unit went to the Pierre Regional Airport and boarded their plane.  For the next month, they completed additional pre-mobilization training and processing at Ft Hood, Texas, before flying overseas to Afghanistan.

 

While the unit was deployed, I was in charge of the S1 section in Pierre, which only consisted of me and a junior Enlisted Soldier (SPC/E-4).  I did a lot of coordination for the deployed unit and actioned daily emails and occasional phone calls from my boss overseas.  I performed many of the Senior Human Resources Sergeant’s duties in addition to my normal job of processing NCOERs, OERs, awards and promotions.

 

In November of 2013, I drove to Topeka, Kansas, to undergo a hearing test and psychological evaluation at the VA Medical Center there.  After I completed those, I drove to Fort Riley, Kansas, to undergo my MEB (Medical Evaluation Board) physical exam.  The exam took most of the day.  After the exam, I could have stayed overnight in a hotel in nearby Junction City, Kansas, but drove to my Uncle Lonnie’s house in Grand Island, Nebraska to sleep overnight there.

 

The unit had originally been scheduled to be deployed for one year, but was relieved by another unit in Afghanistan and returned to Pierre in mid-December 2013.  It was very nice to see them all return safely and I had a great time meeting them all again.

152ND DEPLOYMENT TO AGHANISTAN

5 JULY – DECEMBER 2013

During the last three months before the 152nd’s deployment, the unit was busy getting all pre-deployment requirements completed, to include ensuring all deploying members’ training and logistics were completed.  I was very busy processing OERs and NCOERs that became due as a result of the deployment.  I also put together most of the documents needed for each member’s mobilization packets, which contained an average of over two dozen documents each.

PRE-DEPLOYMENT PERIOD

APRIL – 4 JULY 2013

In early January, I knew that I would be medically discharged at some point, but nobody could tell me when.  In the spring of 2014, I received my orders for discharge, with an effective date of 10 June 2014.  Because I was being medically discharged and had previously served 33 years, I had to retire from the Army National Guard (no more reenlisting again).  I used about three weeks’ worth of leave and worked only a few days per week throughout the last few months of my career.

 

My last drill weekend was 7-8 June 2014.  On Saturday evening, June 7th, I had a wonderful retirement party at the Pierre Armory and received many going away gifts, cards and well-wishes.  It was a bittersweet moment.  I was glad I wouldn’t have to wear combat boots every day, wear a helmet or go to drills one weekend a month, but I was a little sad I would no longer have the comradery with my fellow Soldiers.  They say, “All good things must come to an end”, and this was no different.

 

I didn't have a stellar career, but it definitely was quite interesting.  I didn't enjoy every moment.  There were several times I feared for my life and a few times where I literally had to fight for my life when physically attacked by other soldiers.  I was berated and/or ridiculed many times by senior leaders.  I suffered physical and emotional scars as a result of all that.  However, I try to think more about the good times, people and places I was able to visit while serving my country.

SAYING GOODBYE TO

UNCLE SAM

JANUARY TO 10 JUNE 2013

May 2005 - Fort Meade Regional Training Institute - Unit Public Affairs Representative Course.

 

There are too many buttons...how do you work this thing?

May 2005 - Fort Meade Regional Training Institute - Unit Public Affairs Representative Course.

 

This course is easy!

42A ANCOC PHASE II & III

12 JUNE – 9 JULY 2005 

CAMP PARKS, CAIFORNIA

PRAIRIE DOGS:  During the last phase of training, my classroom overlooked an open grassland range that served as excellent habitat for a very tall and skinny variety of, what looked like, prairie dogs.  We took a series of exams throught the course and were given plenty of time to complete them, usually two to three hours.  I would usually finish the test in 30 minutes to an hour and had to leave the classroom, per their instructions.  So, to pass the time, I went out on the stairwell and watched the prairie dogs running around the field.

 

COYOTES:  One day, while going for a long run on the range, I scared up a few scrawny, mangy-looking coyotes.  It was probably not a good idea, for obvious wildlife safety reasons, but I chased one of them for a while, but eventually lost it.  I think it went down a secret hole somewhere.

 

JACKRABBITS:  Camp Parks had no shortage of jackrabbits.  During one of my runs, I scared up a jackrabbit and chased it for a few miles around Camp Parks.  The rabbit would race a few hundred yards, then stop and let me catch up a little, then race a few more hundred yards.  He did this repeatedly.  It was really fun.  Eventually, I lost him too.

 

BURROWING OWL:  The burrowing owl, a protected bird species in California, was also fun to watch and sometimes interacted with the prairie dogs, although I don't think they preyed on them.  Both lived in the ground.  The owls were very tame and I could get pretty close to them.   Later, a friend told me someone wrote, as a joke, the following comment on his end-of-course critic:  "The burrowing owl tastes like chicken."  To this day, I still get a chuckle out of that.

2005 - Camp Parks, CA - A pair of burrowning owls stand near their burrow located only a few feet from the street.  I never saw them try to cross the road.

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT

OF MY LIFE AT CAMP PARKS

During the first two weeks at Camp Parks, I had to get up in front of class and give a training brief on one of the parts of the course we would eventually get tested on.  Each student had to give a similar type of brief on different subjects related to our MOS (Military Occupational Specialty). 

 

The course taught extremely outdated material using obsolete regulations.  When the regulations eventually wore out from use by the students, the school could not reorder them (since the Army no longer printed them), so had to make photocopies of the obsolete regulations.  The copies were often difficult to read.  That was the case for the class I had to teach.  Also, the class I was supposed to teach involved some confusing rules and formulas that I thought might be difficult to explain in a way the entire class would understand.  Turned out I was right about that.

 

I had to give my brief on a Monday, so instead of riding BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) with the rest of my class to visit San Francisco on the weekend, I stayed in the barracks, studying the material and preparing my brief.  In retrospect, I should have just gone with everyone else, because my training brief on Monday was a disaster, despite my preparations. 

 

After I finished giving my brief, I knew it had not gone well at all and I expected a good dose of constructive criticism.  Instead I got much more when my instructor went off on a five-minute rant, berating me in front of the rest of class.  Initially, this was the most embarrassing moment of my life.  But after a while, I started to realize that what she did was totally uncalled for and definitely not the way to develop a student's confidence and leadership.

 

At the end of her tirade, she said she wanted me to give another (make-up) brief.  She said it didn't matter what subject I briefed on, that it could be something I was familiar with.  After class, several students approached me with morale support and told me they didn't agree with her behavior.  I felt a little consolation and vindication from that, but still knew I was going to have overcome the growing anxiety of briefing in a training environment with a very critical instructor evaluating my every word.

 

Prior to the course, I gave annual briefs on awards, orders and security clearance procedures to large groups of SDARNG personnel, but those were not in a training environment and I was not being evaluated on them.  I didn't get nervous at all duing those briefs.  For my make-up brief, I decided to brief on awards.  I had intimate knowledge of them and had a 70-page PowerPoint slideshow presentation already built from the year prior. 

 

I didn't have a copy of the slideshow at the school, but called my friend and coworker, MSG Kafka, to ask for a huge favor of emailing the slideshow to me.  Because it was a large file, he separated it into three smaller files before emailing to me.  Luckily, the instructor was happy after my make-up brief and I didn't have to endure more verbal abuse.

CUSCO, PERU

In December 2007, I went to Peru for a two-week sightseeing vacation.  The plane ride took a full 24 hours with several layovers along the way.  One interesting stop was at the airport in Panama.  The pilot taxied the plane outside of the security fence and around the front of the terminal building, then back inside the fence on the other side.  It was the strangest airplane maneuver I had ever seen.  It made me wonder if maybe the pilot didn't get in trouble for doing that.  Surely, the airport would not be directing airplane traffic to taxi out of the airport to the get to the other side of the terminal building, I thought.

 

After landing in Lima, the Capitol of Peru, one of the first things I noticed was the pollution.  Vehicles there didn't have the emission-control standards the United States has.  Riding the taxi several miles from the airport to where I was staying made me feel very grimy.  The air was particularly bad in areas where many buses traveled, choking me out in a thick, black cloud of diesel fumes. 

 

I spent a few days with some friends at their house in a suburb on the west side of Lima.  During my stay, the house experienced temporary outages of both the water and power.  Peruvian plumbing and electrical standards are not as high as in the United States, although I didn't expect them to be.   

 

I had a wonderful opportunity to experience Peruvian culture while dining on excellent food at Club Brisas, which put on a unique show with several Peruvian dance groups wearing the traditional garb of their region in Peru.  It was a great show and I really enjoyed it.

 

Below are some pictures from Club Brisas.

TRIP TO PERU

I flew on a small plane from Lima to Cusco, staying at the very unique Wiracocha Hotel for five nights.  Riding in a plane was worth the extra cost, because a bus would have taken a full day.  Cusco was a nice city, probably my favorite of all the ones I visited in Peru, with Puna, on Lake Tititicaca, being a close second.  The only drawback to both was that their high elevation (Cusco at 10,500 ft and Puno at 13,000 ft) gave me a little altitude sickness, although it didn't bother me too much.  

 

I took some tours of ancient Peruvian sites in the area, including Saksaywaman, Tambomachay and Sacred Valley.  The tour guide said that an easy way to remember "Sachsaywaman" is to pronounce it as "sexy woman".  Along the way to the sites, we passed some small alpaca farms and stopped at one to take pictures.

 

Below are pictures of the Cusco area

MACHU PICCHU

MACHUPICHU

Early in the morning, I boarded a train in Cusco and rode it to the small, tourist town of Aguas Calientes, located at the base of Machu Picchu.  The train tracks followed the Urubamba River during much of the 75-kilometer journey and took about three hours.  It was a very scenic train ride. 

 

After arriving at Aguas Calientes, I rode a bus up the mountain to Machu Picchu, the route included over a dozen switchbacks all the way up.  I purchased a cheap poncho at the visitor center and walked up to the ruins with my tour guide and about 20 other tourists in our group.

 

The tour guide was a wealth of information, but after a while, I got tired of trying to understand what he was saying as he spoke with a strong Spanish accent.  I broke off from the group and explored more on my own.  I spent several hours walking around the extensive ruins.  At one point, I noticed a large, black bird, a Mountain Caracara,  perched on one of the stone blocks and I took a few pictures of it. 

 

In the afternoon, I rode the bus back down the mountain to Aguas Calientes and took the train back to Cusco, arriving there just after sunset.

BUS RIDE FROM CUSCO TO PUNO

Along with Machu Picchu, I think the highlight of my trip to Peru, and one of the most unique and awesome experiences of my life,  was the Lake Titicaca and Taquile Island boat tour.  The entire trip took a full day.  It was amazing to see two very different cultures of people who lived only about 20 miles apart from one another. 

 

The first group we encountered on our boat ride was the Uros (or Uru people) who created floating islands in the shallow, marshy bay near Puno by lashing together a series of three-feet thick blocks made from mud, peat and totora reeds.  Our tour guide said they use two layers of blocks, so the island ends up at about six feet thick when complete.

LAKE TITICACA

After spending a few hours with the Uros, my tour boat sailed about 20 miles to Taquile Island where I saw the second group of people dressed completely different.  They definitely had a Spanish influence. 

 

Toward the end of my Taquile Island tour, before my tour group decended the rock steps that led to our boat, dozens of Taquileños returned in two big boats and climbed the steep steps with bags of Christmas items they purchased in Puno.  What a rare photo opportunity!

TAQUILE ISLAND

After spending five days in Cusco, I rode a bus southeast to visit the Peruvian city of Puno.  Puno overlooks Lake Titicaca near the border with Bolivia.  The bus ride took about 12 hours.  Below are some pictures I took along the way.

I arrived at Puno around 5 pm and took a taxi to my hotel.  The hotel had a great view of the city and Lake Titicaca.  During my two or three night stay, I walked around the city, ate some really good Peruvian food, enjoyed a wonderful boat ride on Lake Titicaca to Taquile Island and toured a pre-Incan archaeological site known as Sillustani. 

 

Below are some pictures taken in the breakfast room at the top floor of my hotel, as well as some photos I took from the road on a big hill as I was leaving Puno.

PUNO, PERU

SILLUSTANI

The day after my Lake Titcaca tour, I went on a personal tour of the Sillustani pre-Incan burial site, which was about 20 miles northwest of Puno.  It was a very interesting place with unique rock towers, called "chupas".  The name, "Sillustani", is pronounced, "See-you-stahny".

I travelled to Huancayo and saw some interesting things, including a maca processing plant, a carrot-cleaning operation and a brick-making site.  In the city center is a big Catholic church with a brick yard.  Surrounding the church on the other side of the street are several shops.  I stood on the brick yard and took some pictures of the city center's morning activity.  I thought it was pretty unique.

HUANCAYO

The first of three things I did during my last few days in Peru was to visit a Peruvian Army Base.  I had a wonderful time visiting with Colonel Walter Fernando Ballen Peña who graciously welcomed me to his office.  We had a great talk and I felt proud to meet him and represent the U.S. Army on his home turf.

LIMA

January 2008 - Lima Peru - When I showed the gate guard my US Army ID Card and told him I was on leave to visit Peru, he let me in without question.

January 2008 - Lima Peru - I took a picture of his desk, particularly his name plate, because I am horrible with names

January 2008 - Lima Peru - Colonel Peña and I hit it off great and talked for quite some time.

January 2008 - Lima Peru - He proudly displayed his picture taken with President George W. Bush at some diplomatic event he attended.  He made sure to point it out to me and I was very impressed by it.

January 2008 - Lima Peru - The hospitable Colonel greeted me as I arrived. 

The second thing I did before leaving Peru was to visit the Peruvian Army Museum on the Pacific Coast in Lima. 

After returning back to Lima, I took a day tour of Nasca, Peru.  The bus trip followed the Pacific Coast and took all morning.  After arriving to Nasca, I ate lunch and went to the local airport.  I rode a plane to observe the Nasca Lines from the air.  The plane made several banking movements to allow me to take pictures, which I did, but it also caused an unsettling feeling in my stomach (motion sickness).  Fortunately, I didn't get sick, but came very close to it.

NASCA LINES

The third and final thing before I left Peru was visit the Huachipa Zoo on the outskirts of Lima. 

I had a really great time in Peru, but was glad to get back to the English-speaking United States.  I didn't speak much Spanish at all and three weeks in a country where few Peruvians spoke English made communication quite frustrating at times. 

 

Strange as it may seem, I was also glad to get back to work.  Having spent three weeks in unfamiliar territory and surrounded by unfamiliar people, returning to my daily grind was like a well-needed dose of normality.

In December 2009, I flew to New Jersey, rented a car and stayed in the Bridgewater Marriott Hotel for a week.  My hotel was 30 miles from Newark Train Station. 

 

Every morning, I drove from the hotel to the Newark Train Station and caught the train to New York City to see various sights.  During my time there, I did a number of tours, including the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, Grand Central Station, American Museum of Natural History, the U.S.S. Intrepid, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum and the New York Harbor Tour Ferry.  I also walked around the city a lot and saw Times Square, the World Trade Center Construction Zone and a number of other sites.

 

I should also mention that within the first 24 hours after renting a car, I drove to Dunellen, New Jersey, to visit Flor Mendoza, owner of Planet Chicken.  On my way to her restaurant, a lady suddently changed lanes without looking and sideswiped my rental car.  This put a slight damper on the trip and caused some inconvenience and wasted time, but I didn't let it bother me much, because the police knew she was at fault and I didn't have to pay any money as a result.

NEW YORK CITY

May 2011 - Oahe Dam, Ft Pierre SD -  View of tailrace from the parking lot gate.  This path went all the way to the red warning sign near the dam, but most of it flooded.

May 2011 - Oahe Dam, Ft Pierre SD - The tailrace handicap dock was completely submerged. 

May 2011 - Oahe Dam, Ft Pierre SD -  Here's an east-facing view of the submerged handicap dock.

May 2011 - Oahe Dam, Ft Pierre SD -  This is a view from the end of the tailrace access road facing north towards the dam.

May 2011 - Oahe Dam, Ft Pierre SD -  That's Oahe Marina looking south across the water.

ROAD TRIP TO

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

In September 2011, I took a road trip to Seattle, WA, to get away from Pierre for awhile.   This was only a month after my son, Andrew, was born, and soon after Task Force 152's EOC (Emergency Operations Center) stood down from its three-month long support of Missouri River flood relief efforts in the Pierre/Ft Pierre area.

 

Along the way, I drove through Yellowstone and saw a bunch of geysers just like I did in 2006. 

 

I also drove to Liberty Lake, WA, a small town located between Spokane, WA, and Coeur d' Alene, ID, to spend a few days and nights with a friend and his family who had moved there from Pierre a few years before.   During those two days, he drove me around Coeur d' Alene and we went golfing a few times.

 

I spent a few days and nights in Seattle, visiting Pike Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium and the Explore Music Project Museum.  I also took the Duck Boat Tour, riding through Seattle streets and waterways in an amphibious landing craft, the same kind used by the U.S. Army during World War II.  I didn't tour the Space Needle, because I didn't want to pay $20 and wait in a long line, but I did get a few pictures of it.  I had already been to the top of the Space Needle in 1984, during a weekend off from ROTC Advanced Camp at Ft Lewis, so it wouldn't have been my first time up there.

 

On the way back to Pierre, I stopped in Helena, Montana, for a few days to visit another friend, Retired Sergeant Major Robert Schmitz, a good man who I used to work with at Camp Rapid.  I was going to visit him on my way to Seattle, but at that time, he was out of town hunting Big Horn Sheep.  By the way, he didn't get one.

Along the way, I drove through Yellowstone and saw a bunch of geysers just like I did in 2006, but I also saw some different sights this time. 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

I stayed a few days and nights with Alan Cazan, a former Pierre dentist, who moved to Liberty Lake, Washington, and set up his practice in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, in the mid 2000s.  I had a great time visiting him and his family who were very hospitable and cooked wonderful food.  Alan drove me around Coeur d' Alene and we golfed a few times in Liberty Lake.  The second time we golfed, my back went out, but I finished the round.  However, that was the last time I ever golfed.

COEUR D' ALENE, IDAHO

September 2011 - Coeur d' Alene Lake, Idaho - The many blue-roofed boat docks were an impressive sight on the lake.

September 2011 - Coeur d' Alene Lake, Idaho - Here I am with my son walking towards the end of the dock at Coeur d' Alene Resort.

September 2011 - Coeur d' Alene Lake, Idaho - Alan and I are on our way to see the lake at Coeur d' Alene Resort.

September 2011 - Coeur d' Alene Lake, Idaho - a lone boat sails the lake near sunset.

September 2011 - Coeur d' Alene Lake, Idaho - This was the first time I ever saw a pontoon plane docked on the water.

September 2011 - Coeur d' Alene Lake, Idaho - They sure are big on the color blue here.

The drive across the State of Washington was a learning experience for me.  My previous notion of Washington's climate was that it was wet and forested like the Rambo movie, particularly because I spent two months at Ft. Lewis in the summer of 1984 and lived outside in that type of rain-soaked forest day and night.   After driving west past the mountainous Spokane region, it seemed like the next 200 miles were dry and barren until I saw fertile farmland in a big valley east of the coastal mountains.  

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

On my return trip from Seattle, I stopped in Helena, Montana, to visit my old friend and colleague, Retired Sergeant Major Robert Schmitz.  

 

I previously had worked with Bob at Camp Rapid until I transferred to Pierre in 2005.  Two or three years later, he retired from the South Dakota Army National Guard as the SDARNG's Recruiting and Retention Sergeant Major, the top enlisted soldier of South Dakota's recruiting force.  Because he spent most of his career in Chamberlain, he held his retirement party there at Charly's Bar and Grill.  I went there and had a great time celebrating with him and a number of guests in attendance.  After he retired, he moved to Helena, Montana, with his wife to be closer to her 12 grandchildren (his step-grandkids) who lived there.

 

I spent a few days and nights at Bob's house.  He was very hospitable and I enjoyed hanging out with him and his wife.  He drove me around Helena to show me some sights and led me on a little walking tour of the historic part of Helena (Last Chance Gulch).  We ate in a restaurant there and met a family with a cute baby girl, so we took some photos of her and my son together.  (I later emailed the images to them). 

HELENA, MONTANA

September 2011 - Helena, Montana - Bob is giving us a good tour of Last Chance Gulch (Helena's Historic Walking Mall). Behind me is the Dragon Gate/Memory Wall of the historical Chinese community and the Windbag Saloon Grill.  I didn't realize then how funny-looking my cell phone looked.

September 2011 - Helena, Montana - When I saw the little baby girl, I knew we had to get a picture of them together, so I asked her family what they thought about that idea.  They absolutely agreed.  We ended up getting about a half dozen and I later emailed them to the family.

Less than two months after visiting Bob, I was deeply saddened to hear he passed away unexpectedly on 8 November 2011.  He was a good friend and I miss him.

On 29 June 2012, I started a two-week trip to Europe, where I visited England, France and Italy.  I flew from Sioux Falls to London, stayed a few days with a friend in Canterbury, England, rode a train to Paris, Turin, Rome, and Venice where I spent two days at each location, except Turin where I stayed for a week. 

 

The trip started off on a bad note, when my very first flight was delayed, then cancelled, and my luggage was lost.  Originally, I was supposed to fly to Bristol, England, arriving on the morning of 30 June, but due to the cancelled flight out of Sioux Falls and missed connecting flight out of Minneapolis, I was told there were no seats available to Bristol for at least the next few days.  So, I caught the next available flight to London Heathrow Airport, arriving in London in the afternoon of 30 June. 

 

Because of the delayed/cancelled flight out of Sioux Falls (FSD) and lost luggage (it was misdirected to Bristol), I was not able to see most of what I had planned in England and Paris.  Instead, I spent many hours, initially waiting for flights and later, calling KLM airlines many times to locate and get my luggage back.  I went through a lot of stress and mental anguish for five days, not only from the delayed flights and lost luggage, but because of Delta-KLM Group personnel's horrible customer service. 

ROUGH TRIP TO EUROPE

DELAYED FLIGHTS AND

LOST LUGGAGE

I had not planned on getting international cell-phone service for the trip, but after the lost luggage incident, it became a apparent that I needed it to call KLM, if I ever wanted to see my luggage again.  So, I started service during a 2-hour layover in Amsterdam enroute to England. 

 

During the first week of my vacation, I rang up a bunch of charges on the phone, due to hundreds of minutes on the phone with KLM.  For each call, I had to navigate through their automated menu, wait several minutes for them to answer and then wait several more minutes when they put me on hold (often multiple times).  While waiting for them to answer and while I was on hold, I had to endure listening to this creepy song that drove me nuts.

 

After my trip, I waited for my monthly cell phone bill to arrive, so I could include it with the claim I filed with Delta (parent company of KLM) to get reimbursed for all my lost luggage expenses.  My claim didn't even include the five days of worry, inconvenience and frustration from the Worst-in-the-World customer service at KLM. 

 

Delta's only response was a canned letter, saying the reason they wouldn't honor my claim was because I didn't file within two weeks of my return flight.  When I filed my claim, I didn't know that.

 

If I was a congressman, I would push for legislation requiring that airlines honor all claims filed within 60 days to allow travellers enough time to obtain all necessary receipts prior to filing a claim.  Otherwise, as Delta personnel later told me, you have to file an incomplete claim, and then add additional receipts as you get them.  To me, that's ridiculous!

DELTA CLAIM FOR LOST

AND DAMAGED LUGGAGE

On 2 July 2012, my train from Ashford, England, arrived at the Paris Gare du Nord Train Station in the afternoon. 

 

I walked a few blocks with my carry-on bag to the Hotel du Brabant.  As I approached the hotel, I saw a bunch of scaffolds near the front door.  The desk clerk told me they were renovating and that I wouldn't be able to stay there, because of construction going on right outside my room.  He told me to go to a hotel called, the "New Hotel", a few blocks away, so I did. 

 

The New Hotel was a definitely not new at all; it was old and run down (must have since been remodeled, because their website photos look much different than how it was when I was there).  Their room rate was the same as the Brabant's, but a step down in quality from the Brabant.  However, it was very close to the train station, so I stayed there for the next two nights.  Immediately after check-in, I called KLM to give them the address and phone number of the New Hotel and told them to deliver my bag there, NOT the Brabant.

 

During my stay in the New Hotel, I periodically checked with the desk clerk to see if he received my bag and the answer was always "no".  I made four trips, walking back and forth between the New Hotel and the Brabant, to check if the Brubant received my bag, just in case KLM got confused.  Every time, they hadn't received it either.  I called KLM periodically to find out if the bag made it to the Paris airport, but every time, they told me they could not confirm if it did or not.  They were no help at all and all they did was waste my time.

 

On the evening of 3 July, I still hadn't received my bag.  I figured it HAD to be in Paris, even though KLM couldn't or wouldn't tell me it was there.  I finally took matters into my own hands and rode the Metro train to the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to see if I could locate it. 

 

The lost luggage department looked on their computer, saying it was delivered to Hotel Brabant on 1 July and that the case was closed.  I told them that was wrong, so they checked another system and this time said they had the bag.  Once they realized they had it, they took almost two hours to get it for me.   

 

On the train ride back to my hotel, I noticed there were yellow stains all over the bag and a big hole ripped in the bottom.  Despite that, I was extremely happy to finally get my luggage back, so I could change out of the dirty, sweaty clothes I had been wearing for the last five days (I didn't want to waste money buying new clothes).  After this ordeal, I will always pack a change of clothes on my carry-on bag.

 

Despite the luggage fiasco, I did manage to see some sights in Paris (below)

For sightseeing, I got around Paris on the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus.  I took many of the pictures (above) from either the top or inside of the bus and often while it was moving.

 

I've heard it said in the past that the French are rude, but I never had any problems with them during my first two or three trips to Paris in the 80s and 90s.  This time was different.  A good example was the grumpy old troll (the desk clerk) who slept on a cot in the back room/office of the New Hotel.  He was the opposite of pleasant.  I think he may have been the owner.  He was rude, angry and had no people-skills at all.  Not once did he smile.  Any question I asked was given a contrite, "NO".   The rude desk clerk of the New Hotel didn't bother me in the least though, because I was happy to be leaving Paris and his dive hotel.

 

I was also happier the rest of the vacation after I got my luggage back from KLM.  Not having to worry about it and waste time and money to retrieve it was a load off my mind. 

 

Thanks KLM.  With friends like you, who needs enemies?  You lost my luggage, damaged it, lied when you said, "it's being delivered to you now - you should get it within two hours", told me you would deliver it to me twice and failed both times, then you could not tell me where it was after you failed to deliver it the second time.  Lastly, you refused to reimburse me in any way for even the round-trip train fare I had to pay to get my bag back.  You taught me a valuable lesson to never fly KLM ever again.  I recommend to the world to avoid your airline at all costs, unless they want to risk going through the nightmare I went through. 

 

OK, I'll get off my soapbox and get on with my story.  I just had to vent about KLM's horrible customer service.  Bad customer service is a big pet-peeve of mine.

TRAIN RIDE

FROM PARIS TO ROME

On 4 July 2012, Independence Day, I thought it was fitting that I celebrated my independence from Paris and all the luggage mess on that day.

 

I rode the train all day through France.  It was a nice trip, even though it lasted all day.  I stopped in Chambery for about a three-hour layover, stopped briefly in Lyon, then spent about six hours during a layover in Modane.  

 

I really liked the mountain town of Modane.  It rained for about 10 minutes, then the sun came out for about an hour, then it rained again, and so on.  This cycle repeated about three or four times while I was there.

 

Having six hours to wait for my next train (to Turin, Italy) to arrive, I explored Modane on foot.  It was a small town of just over 3,300 people, so I couldn't go very far, because there wasn't too much to see.  I stopped in a pizzeria and bought a medium pizza.  They baked it in a very hot oven and it was done in only a few minutes, not 15 minutes, like Pizza Hut.  The crust was pretty thin and the bottom was slightly charred, but it was a very good pizza, the best I had ever eaten up to that point.  

 

I carefully planned and prepared for this trip with amazing detail.  However, there were a few things I didn't prepare for, but maybe should have.  One big thing was Murphy's Law.  The other was reserving all my trains in advance.  I did reserve some, but not all, because I thought it would give me more flexibility with my schedule if I left some open.  I wrongfully assumed that I would have no problem catching a train, because, during my 4 1/2 years in Germany, I never reserved a train and always got a seat.

 

I had to wait about an hour longer than expected in Modane, because of a mechanical failure on the train that was supposed to take me to Turin, Italy, on the next leg of my journey to Rome. 

 

Below are pictures in France during my train trip from Paris to Rome

When I planned this vacation, I purposely reserved hotel rooms near train stations to save on cab fare.  This time was no exception.  My hotel, the Starhotel Majestic, was only a block away from the Puerta Nuova train station.  Unlike the 2-star dive in Paris, this was a 4-star hotel.

 

I spent a week traveling around the city, at first on foot and on municipal buses, but later discovered a bike-sharing system, called "ToBike", and biked around Turin after that.  There was also one of those Hop-On, Hop-Off tour buses and I rode them as well.

 

I really enjoyed my time in Turin.  I met some nice people, enjoyed some great food and saw some interesting sights.  I took a lot of pictures while riding around town, some on the tour bus, but most on a bicycle.  The big advantage to the bike was I could go anywhere I wanted and stop any time to take a picture.

 

Unique Vehicles in Turin

TURIN, ITALY

I left Turin in the afternoon of 6 July on an express train bound for Venice.  I really enjoyed Turin, but was tired of living out of a suitcase and ready to finish this vacation, so I could go back home to the good ole' USA.  I would not recommend traveling to Europe in the middle of summer, unless you enjoy hot weather and many tourists.  Paris, Rome and Turin were all miserably hot and full of tourists.

 

The train ride from Turin to Venice was nice.  The train cars on this express trip were modern and air conditioned.  The train stopped in Rho, Milan, Brescia and maybe one other town on the way to Venice. 

 

Train Pics from Turin to Venice

TRIP FROM TURIN TO VENICE

On 12 July 2012, I arrived at Santa Lucia Railway Station in Venice right after sunset and walked with my luggage 350 meters to Hotel Guerrini.  My room was very small, but clean, convenient and less than $100/night. 

 

After securing my bags in the room, I walked around the neighborhood a little to see all the street vendors and the nearby plaza area around Scalzi Bridge on the Grand Canal.  By this time, it was around 10 pm and I was getting a little hungry, so I ate pizza at Quanto Basta. 

 

The next morning, I enjoyed a nice continental breakfast at the hotel.  Hotel Guerrini had a rustic charm to it, especially its quiet, little courtyard.  The cool thing about it was that the arch and courtyard made it very private, even though it was in the middle of a busy pedestrian street.  I don't foresee myself ever going to Venice again, but if I do go, I'll probably stay at that hotel again. 

 

I spent all day traveling around Venice on foot, in a gondola, and mostly, in several passenger ferries.  My ferry rides included trips to a few surrounding islands, including Mirano and Lido.  

 

On Mirano, I walked through several stores that sold fancy glass and I toured a glass shop to see how it's made.  I learned Mirano Glass has been world-famous for centuries and made only on that island.  

 

On Lido, I walked a block or two from the boat terminal to check out surrounding merchants in the area and purchased some snacks.

 

The following morning, on 14 July, I got up very early to catch the first bus to Marco Polo Airport, which was about 10 miles away on the Italian mainland.  From there, I flew back to Sioux Falls.  

 

Views of Venice by Land

VENICE, ITALY

4 July 2012 - On the train from Paris to Chambery, France.  I'm a happy camper to be leaving France and my baggage worries behind.  What a great way to celebrate Independence Day.

4 July 2012 - Chambery, France - I arrived at my first of three layovers at 10:30 am and ate lunch at the Train Station cafe.  They had a pretty nice-looking menu display, so I took a picture.  The train made just a quick stop in Lyon, France, so I didn't take any pictures there and don't count it as a layover. 

4 July 2012, 2:30 pm - Modane, France - I arrived at my second layover in a cool mist over this beautiful mountain town near the Italian border.  My third layover was in Turin, Italy.

4 July 2012 - Modane, France - This was the view outside the train station.  The sign post shows cities from all over the world with their relative distance to Modane.

4 July 2012 - Modane, France - Above the bed and breakfast is Fort du Replaton, a fort built in 1892 to provide artillery cover for the French side of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel.

Turin had Great Food

700+ Drinking Fountains

Old Churches

July 2012 - Turin, Italy - I started taking pictures of these until I realized there were way more than I could photograph.  Many of the fountains display a bull's head, because the Italian name for "Turin" is "Torino", which translates to "little bull" in English.  Most of the 700 fountains are over 100 years old.  I drank from a few and the water was good.

Statues are all over Town

Other Interesting Sights in Turin

Historic buildings

This huge plaque was above an archway on the west wing of the Royal Palace.  I estimate it was at least 15 feet tall. It pays tribute to King Victor Emanuelle II.

Four Plaques of Turin's Royal Palace

This was an 1898 commemorative plaque of the congress of the Italian provinces to the Royal Palace.

This plaque appears to commemorate both WWI and Christopher Colombus, although I'm not sure why both together.

This plaque looks like another homage to King Victor Emanuelle II.  The Roman numeral date is 1862.

Because of the delay in Modane, I arrived in Turin too late to catch the evening express train to Rome.  I waited in line for over an hour to purchase a ticket for the next available express train, but learned that it was full.  The ticket agent said I could wait until evening of the following day for the express train or ride the slow train at 10 pm that same night.  (The slow train stopped at every little town along the way and took all night to get to Rome.)  I chose the slow train, because it got me there much sooner than the express would have.  It was also cheaper than the express.

 

My train out of Turin left the station at about 10 pm on July 4th.  The train was old, dirty and miserably hot.  I slept on a bunk in the same room of a sleeping car as an older Sicilian couple.  They were very nice people and we survived the night to Rome together.  

ROME, ITALY

It was a few hours before sunrise on 5 July when I arrived at the Rome Termini (Train Terminal).  I saw several locals hanging around like vultures just outside the train station and they seemed kind of shady.  Because it was still dark out, I decided to play it safe and take a cab, instead of walk four blocks with two bags to my hotel room. 

 

About a half dozen taxis were waiting outside to give rides to passengers.  I was going to get into one cab, but the driver told me the price was 20 Euros (almost $30), so I didn't get in, because that was way too much for what I thought was fair for such a short trip.

 

After I told him I didn't want to ride in his cab, he became very agitated and insisted that I get in his car.  He even approached to get my luggage, but before he could get too close, I walked back into the terminal building and out a side door where I saw another taxi with a driver who seemed much safer to deal with.  His price was only 7 Euros, so I rode with him to my hotel.  He told me it was good that I didn't get in the other cab, because some of the taxi drivers are swindlers and thieves that try to take advantage of tourists.     

 

The Tropical Hotel was not really a hotel at all, just one floor of an apartment building that a Filippino lady rented out as a bed and breakfast.  My room was nice and clean.  Because I hadn't slept well on the train and had already paid for the previous night at the Tropical Hotel, I took a three-hour nap there in the morning to recover.

 

In the afternoon, I walked around the colliseum and the Roman forum area, then got on the Hop-On, Hop-Off tour bus and rode around Rome, taking several pictures.

 

Early the next morning, I ate a delicious continental breakfast in a small, make-shift breakfast room that was actually the kitchen of the unit that the owner lived in.  I enjoyed talking with her while she sat with me as I ate.  Her husband was an Italian who worked in Rome, although I don't remember what she said he did for a living and I never did see him during my stay there.

 

I hit the Hop-On, Hop-Off tour bus again, but this time took a few other routes, including the Vatican.  By about 1:30, I begain waiting for the bus to pick me up at the Vatican to take me back to the Rome Termini.  However, after waiting for an hour, it never showed.  At 2:30, I started getting a little worried, because my train out of Rome was scheduled to depart at 3:30 or so.  I ended up paying about 20 Euros for a cab ride back to my hotel and arrived to the train station just in time to catch my train to Turin.

 

Below are some Rome pictures (many are from the tour bus)

PARIS, FRANCE

After a two-hour layover in Amsterdam, I arrived at London Heathrow Airport in the afternoom on 30 June.  My English hosts, Carmen and Edwin Jones, were waiting for me when I arrived.  Unfortunately, they had to wait a few hours more for me to process through the lost luggage department.  When I finally got out of there, they drove me to their home in Canterbury, about 90 miles away. 

 

It was late afternoon when we arrived at their home.  Right away, I called KLM and was told the lost bag was located, shipped to London-Heathrow and that it should be there the next morning (1 July).  They said, once it arrived at the airport, they would deliver it to where I was staying in Canterbury, England.

 

After my phone call to KLM, the Joneses drove me to the small town of Chilham, near Canterbury, where we ate a nice dinner at an English pub, then walked to Chilham Castle from there.

 

The next morning, we went to their church, where they served as ceremony officials.  Edwin carried the staff and Carmen carried a candle.  After church, they took me on a walking tour of Canterbury where I saw some excellent sights.  At about 3 pm, we returned to their home and I called KLM again to check on the status of my bag.  This time, they said it was on its way from London Heathrow Airport to the address of where I was staying in Canterbury, England, and that it should be there in one to two hours. 

 

When it didn’t arrive after 2 ½ hours, I called them again.  They told me to call the phone number of the local delivery service they use.  I tried calling the delivery service, but nobody answered.  I called the airline again and asked them to call the delivery service, but they refused to do that.  I tried the delivery service again, this time successfully, and they told me they hadn’t even picked up the bag from the airport. 

 

By now, it was evening and I was scheduled to go to Paris the next morning.  So, I called the airline again and told them to fly the bag to Paris.  They said once it lands in Paris, they would deliver it to my hotel there.

 

The next morning, 2 July, Edwin and Carmen, my gracious hosts in England, drove me to the nearby town of Ashford where I caught my train to Paris.

 

Below are pictures from my short stay in England

CANTERBURY, ENGLAND

Views of Venice by Sea (Adriatic Sea)

Murano Glass

From 7 April to 18 April 2008, I attended an 80-hour Army National Guard Brigade/Battalion S1 Course at the Professional Education Center (PEC) on Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  This course was required by our HRO (Human Resource Office) for all full-time S1 personnel to complete. 

 

I brought my personal lap top and began using it, after class and on weekends, to figure out a way to make reviewing EPS packets less time-consuming and more accurate.  I created a spreadsheet tool that automatically calculated points and eliminated the need for a calculator.  I called it the “EPS Calculator”. 

 

I completed it right at the end of the course and shared it with our Instructor, CW4 Richard Niehe.  He thought it was a great product and posted it on the S1Net for me.  The S1Net is a secure, online forum for human resource personnel from all Army components.  (I used the EPS calculator for the next six years and it helped a lot).

2008 S-1 COURSE AT

CAMP ROBINSON, ARKANSAS

Pierre, SD - Thursday, 27 September 2007 - I attended a luncheon at Georgia Morse Middle School with a friend and saw Governor Mike Rounds there.  I talked briefly with him before getting my food.  While we were talking, Crystal Lindell of the Capitol Journal took our picture and published it in the Capitol Journal the following day.

In the Spring of 2010, I was in my second year of a local bowling league.  Our team, sponsored by Beck Motors of Pierre, consisted mostly of full-time 152nd CSSB members, including MSG Gary Kafka; SFC James Poppen; SFC Chadwick Schmitz; SGT Corey Jaragoske; SGT Kyle Kafka (Gary’s son); and me.  We also had SSG Jonathan Nesladek, a part-time Soldier who was assigned to another SDARNG unit; Kelly Stout, a retired SDARNG officer; and one civilian who worked at Beck Motors.

 

I really enjoyed bowling with these guys every week, until I began to feel pain in my upper leg.  The pain felt like it was coming from deep inside my body.  I tried to ignore it, because it only seemed to really bother me when I bowled. 

 

By late May or early June 2010, it started bothering me more, so I went to the doctor right before summer camp.  He thought I had a prostate infection and prescribed Cipro, an antibiotic.  I began taking it right before our 2010 Annual Training. 

BOWLING FOR PAIN

Pierre, SD - 7 June 2014 - SFC Alex Raber presents my third award of the Meritorious Service Medal during my retirement ceremony which was held only three days prior to my actual retirement date.  It was nice having the ceremony in the Pierre Armory on Saturday evening during 152nd CSSB's drill weekend, so many of the 152nd CSSB members were able to attend.  Having them present made it very special .

Chapter 6 covers:

1.  Over 10 years Honor Guard Team

2.  Six State Active Duty deployments 

3.  Biographical summary

Saying Goodbye to Uncle Sam
152nd Deployment to Afghanistan
Pre-Deployment Period
Camp Guernsey, WY
Camp Dodge Annual Training
152nd Mobilization Orders
Delta Claim for Lost - Damaged Luggage
Venice, Italy
Trip from Turin to Venice
Turin, Italy
Rome, Italy
Train Ride from Paris to Rome
Paris, France
Canterbury, England
A Rough Trip to Europe
2012 Golden Coyote Annual Training
Helena, Montana
Seattle, Washington
Coeur D' Alene, Idaho
Yellowstone National Park
Road Trip to Seattle, Washington
2011 AT Cancelled due to Missouri River Flood
2010 Golden Cargo - KY
Quack Doctor
Bowling for Pain
New York City
June 20009 - Golden Coyote AT
2008 Golden Coyote AT
PEC Course at Camp Robinson
Lima
Nasca Lines
Huancayo
Sillustani
Taquile Island
Cusco
Puno
Bus Ride from Cusco to Puno
Machu Picchu
Lake Titicaca
Trip to Peru
152nd CSSB
2007 - Major Transformation of the SDARNG
Glacier National Park
Old Works Golf Course - Anaconda
Yellowstone National Park
R and R - Montana and Wyoming
92A Course - Helena MT
June 2006 - Golden Coyote AT
Most Embarrassing Moment of my Life
42A ANCOC - Camp Parks
2005 Golden Coyote AT
881st Troop Command
Camp Parks Wildlife

Immediately after 2005 Summer Camp, I flew to Camp Parks, California, to attend back-to-back Phase Two and Three of ANCOC (Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course) for a month of "fun in the sun".  Actually, it wasn't much fun, but there was plenty of sun and temperatures over 100 degrees. 

 

I couldn't wait to be done with the course, not only because of the heat, but because of some other things as well, including one of the instructors, a few students, living conditions, periods of extreme boredom and some stressful situations.  

 

I tried to stay positive during my entire stay.  I participated in group activities and went exploring, both on and off post, alone or with a friend during off duty hours.  Unfortunately, I didn't have a vehicle there and taxi service was unreliable, so I often had to walk for at least two miles from our barracks to get off post to the nearby town of Dublin, CA. 

CAMP PARKS WILDLIFE 

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