After a long month in the field with virtually no time off we return home at the end of a 25 mile road march. Sort of a grand finale. Incidentally that's further than a lot of you might drive in a day or two. SO here I am, weight down from not lifting and not eating enough. I did more this last week between the hours of midnight and 8 than most people do all day. Sometimes I really like the army and below you can see some pictures to prove it. Sort of makes you want to talk to me more, right?

and here it is, hopefully there will be a better one soon to come 

and this ladies and gentlemen is what it's all about. THis is my surrogate family and the group of guys I trust my life to. I'm smack dab in the middle with the shot gun in one hand and a rifle in the other.  

so I'm not sure about the expression on my face but this is me and the other team leader in my squad after chow out in the field this last week 

the memorial angle 1 

the memorial again 

road trips: a lost art

Two great friends of mine, Lauren and Megan, came to visit me over Labor Day weekend. They drove like 11 hours to see me and were turned away from the first gate they tried to enter because an alleged explosive device had been delivered there. At this time Lauren and Megan are not suspected to have been involved in this incident but investigations are still in progress. Seriously though, I love them for coming up here to see me. YOu can see a few of the pictures from the weekend below.

contrary to what this may look like, I am not in danger of being run over by this tank as it is stationary and has been out of order for some 50 years or so 

yea, ummmmm we were real bored and I apparently wasn't allowed to take a nap so furniture jumping was the best we could come up with 

she's a goofball 

if you look closely at this one, you'll see that the expression on my face is one of curious pensivity