Random Start: Lose Control, Stellar Kart

Honestly, I don't see much in Stellar Kart. They were one of a couple bands (along with Hawk Nelson, Sanctus Real, and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus) that I picked up pretty much on the basis of "I-liked-their-single-on-that-Christian-radio-station-so-let's-get-the-whole-album-for-Christmas." Basically, it's sub-par Christian-y punk rock that I didn't delete because I paid money for it.
That is all.

Christmastime...

This year was my first Christmas without the comforts of family and friends from home. Understandably, it was very different and kinda hard to get used to. So many traditions, like lighting the advent wreath candles, decorating the house, tree, shoveling the sidewalks and driveways, etc., went by the wayside. I tried to at least do the tree thing, but I didn't have my ornaments from home, and it didn't seem right to just buy a bulk pack of indiscriminate decorations. So the tree sat bare in the middle of the room, looking (and feeling, I'm sure, if the fairies in Fern Gully were right) pretty awkward there by itself. It's potted, so it could potentially last until next Christmas, if I remember to water it. Maybe I'll put it out on the balcony so it can get some sun and cold weather, like I'm sure a pine tree would like it.

But it wasn't all loneliness and no traditions this Christmas. I learned (more or less) this season that you're as merry as you want to be, and one of the best ways to make yourself merry is to make other people happy. I found that out when I gave out gifts of homemade jam to my friends and coworkers. The genuine surprise and happiness on their faces surprised me more than it did them, and it was nice to receive the gift of giving to others. I hope I remember this for next Christmas, so the gifts can be more personal and it won't be just my passing on gifts from my family. I think I will still get requests for my mom's jam next year, though. :P

Anyway, I still don't have plans for New Year's. Hopefully I can find a party that doesn't exclusively involve alcohol, like the last party I went to with people from the unit. We'll see, I suppose.

Inception

Seriously, Nolan? (Christopher, that is).
How can you be so gosh-darned talented at storytelling? It's not even fair.


SRSLY

Today was really weird

Do you ever have times where you're just sitting there at your computer, and you zone out, and then it seems like time just warps out of its natural frame and starts running away from you? And you want nothing more than to stop it from happening, but it's totally out of your power to do so?

I definitely had something like that happen to me today. I got back to the office after a hour-long drive back from Brussels for training, and was looking through some article or something on the Awesomer (which is a fun site in it's own right, and definitely not the cause of the time warp) and suddenly everything my NCO said warped into hyperspeed. I was unable to look away from the screen, or really move from my desk in any way, when out of the fog came an old joke Sgt. Karbowski and I hashed over a dozen times. I laughed, and that seemed to break the spell, only to send me into this weird mood swing where I could tangibly feel myself gyrating from manic to depressive and back again, the urge both to belly-laugh and to cry my eyes out ebbing and flowing, all with an undercurrent of anger that I wasn't in control of the situation.

I really have no idea what caused it. My best guess is that I had had an unusually large amount of coffee before, during, and after the drive back, and that maybe the excessive caffeine in my system may have triggered the "trip". Other than that I have no idea.

So that's what I did today.

Random Start: Under0ath: I'm Content With Losing

Early 2000's me was, in a word, angsty. As such, I listened to a lot of music like this.
Given that Under0ath has progressed the way they have the past couple albums, I regret nothing.

Arrival in Italy (Hurry up and Wait)

So, I've been in Italy almost a week now. The unit I was supposed to go to (683rd Support Detatchment) is in need of a Staff Sergeant Chaplain's Assistant, rather than a private. Therefore, I'm getting orders re-cut, and according to my old 1st Sergeant, I may very well end up in Bamburg, Germany. 
In the meantime, I'm trying to get to know the post a little bit, as well as work up the courage to head off post and see a little bit of Italy while I can. It's silly to think that I, an American Soldier, would be afraid of going out in a friendly city, but I am. I don't really have anyone I can go out with, and I'd be a little nervous about going out alone. I don't much care for the post, that much is certain. You could walk across the whole thing in about 10 minutes if you wanted to, the PX is pretty small and the only thing for entertainment is the standard bowling alley and movie theater-combination. 

Went to see Salt today, which wasn't too bad. There were almost as many plot twists and betrayals as there were gunshots, but it was entertaining enough for a couple hours time. 

My roommate is quite the party animal, apparently. Normally I wouldn't mind, except he seems to prefer to host these parties, which is pretty annoying when he's blasting his country music at max volume on his stereo and I'm trying to sleep or watch 24 or what have you. 

Anyway, I should know my unit in a few more days. Updates will follow as they happen. 

The Ballad of the Green Beret

Fighting soldiers from the sky
Fearless men who jump and die
Men who mean just what they say
These are men of the Green Beret. 

Silver wings upon their chest
These are men of America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win a green beret

Trained to live off nature's land
Trained in combat, hand to hand
Men who fight by night and day
Courage takes from the green beret

Silver wings upon their chest
These are men of America's best
One hundred men will test today
But only three win a green beret

Back at home my young wife waits
Her green beret has met his fate
He has died for those oppressed
Leaving her this last request

Put silver wings on my son's chest
Make him one of America's best
He'll be a man they'll test one day
Have him win the green beret.

What the Soldier/Sailor/Airman/Marine might be thinking...

Honestly, I don't look forward to complete strangers approaching me in the airport because they want to thank me for my service. I don't really want anyone to thank me for my service. I don't want military discounts on my food, my rent, my dishwasher, or my pimpin' rims. You know what i really want? I want to be left alone. The Army is a means, not an end. I joined to better myself and serve my country, not cut to the front of the line to board the aircraft and receive tumultuous applause upon deplaning. 
My Corps motto is "For God and Country". That means my primary service is to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as a minister of hope from him to the Joes in my unit. If I serve him by serving others and being Christ to them, I have done my work for the day. Whether that means supplying the chapel with Bibles and Q'urans or refilling the Kool-ade bowl so it doesn't run out, or just sitting and listening to SPC Garcia talk about his family problems, I am being the image of Christ, a "little Christ" in their life. 
THAT is what my military service is about. I serve the people of the United States (especially it's soldiers) and live the Army values. 

Italy!

Yes, I realize this is two "new" posts in one day, but frankly I don't care, since the other post was actually like three weeks or more old. Besides, i have great things to write about! my permanent duty station is Camp Ederle in Vicenza, Italy! I am most pleased with this duty assignment. I do not know what unit i will be a part of, since all my orders say is Vicenza, but there is a good chance that i will be assigned to a batallion of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, which is a pretty sweet deal. Just being part of an airborne unit is cool enough as it is, but the brigade is deploying to Afghanistan in August, which would be exciting to say the least. Yes, it would suck to go play in the sandbox shortly after becoming part of the unit in Italy, but i am looking forward to the excitement that comes with going new places and actually being part of the "real army", the part that goes out and DOES STUFF.
as my good friend Chris Sedgewick says, "DO WORK SON". Good stuff. I may not be an infantryman, but i can DO WORK and i fully intend to when i get there. i have had more than enough rest time here at home, spending good quality time with mi familia and am kinda itching to get on to the next great thing. Even if the next great thing really sucks.
All the way, AIRBORNE!

Airborne School

Marking another milestone in my military career, I write to you, dear reader, from the bowels of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. After all my grandstanding, showboating, and calling Airborne cadences at the top of my lungs, I am sitting with roughly 40 other non-airborne personnel ("legs") waiting for my doom to be decided. Well, maybe not necessarily my doom, but that seems to be the prevailing attitude around here. Formerly high-speed, fired up, motivated, damn near suffocated privates that were on their way to earning their wings are now resigned, unmotivated soldiers spending their days watching Avatar over and over. Frankly, it's hard to maintain a high level of motivation with that kind of crowd. Jokes that were formerly hilarious at Airborne School receive dead stares and mutters. I think you get the point.
What I really should be sharing with you is Airborne School itself. Dang, I highly recommend that to any soldier that wants to do something with their career. Not only does it give you so many opportunities in the Army, it is DAMNED GOOD FUN. Jumping out of an airplane with only a chute on my back and a reserve on my chest is a singularly exhilarating feeling. The terror and nervous energy that rushes through your bloodstream when you board the bird and take off is tremendous, and only surpassed by the commands, "Stand by... GO!"
I don't know if you've ever been near a prop-plane when it's about to take off, but it's loud. And a C-130 is even louder on the inside, because it's designed to keep the sound inside. So every rumble, every roar, every ping is multiplied inside the bird. And when you finally reach the door, hand your static line to the safety, and jump... the following silence is deafening. Then the shock of your main parachute opening, and you look up and you see the most beautiful thing a paratrooper can see: no holes, blown sections or gores, or broken suspension lines. A picture-perfect canopy. Cue hysterical screams of joy at the fact that you, Sir, are AIRBORNE! It's a one-of-a-kind experience.

So, as you might expect, being two jumps in and hurting your shoulder so you can't control your parachute, is frustrating. I'm supposed to be keeping my right arm in a sling right now so the silly thing can heal, and typing with it on is a weird thing, so it's coming off and on a lot. Pills are swallowed two or three times a day, along with periodic icing when the pain twinges more than usual, and attempts are made to console oneself that one will return to Ft. Benning, Georgia, the home of the Infantry, and earn those coveted wings. In time, you're convinced you'll be back, after all, your career just started, right? You have all the time in the world to make it back. And chances are, you'll be stationed with an Airborne unit and you'll get sent back in 6 months or so, once you're all healed up and good to go.
Until then, keep your head down, and your spirits up!

Pro Deo et Patria

So I was planning on getting back into this blog-writing thing after basic, but it's taken me some time to get used to the fact that I actually have regular and predictable computer access again. (Never mind the fact that I'm writing this on my iPhone.) 
Basic was a really good experience for me. I know that kinda sounds like I'm trying to put a brave face on what happened in the nine-week process that turned me into a Soldier, but it was actually rather enjoyable. If you were to ask some of my classmates in AIT, they could vouch for me that there are actually times I miss BCT.  I miss some of my Drill Sergeants, the people I lived with for those weeks, and the awesome combat-related stuff we learned. I definitely wish I had learned more combat skills than I did, but there is only so much you can cram into those weeks. 
At the same time, I'm glad I've moved on to Advanced Individual Training. I like having my phone available, if only during personal time. I like being able to fall asleep to my iPod and not have to get up on Sunday mornings. 
I also really appreciate being around (for the most part) like-minded people who understand what it is a Chaplain's Assistant does and why our job is in the Army. While the MOS of Chaplain's assistant is a mere 100 years old, the Chaplain's Corps is the second oldest corps in the Army, second only to the infantry, and that only by a couple months. Ours is an old and proud profession, and I'm honored to be a part of it. My class visited the Chaplain's museum yesterday, and to see the kind of memories made by chaplains and their assistants, medals of honor won, platoons saved from disaster, or even just a worship service at an altar made from local wood, 99mm mortar shells, and a Chaplains Assistant's ingenuity, it was both humbling and thrilling to think that I would be a part of said tradition. 
So while I'm doing these silly access guard shifts where I have to stay up for two hours doing absolutely nothing, I'll be recounting some of my experiences during AIT, and when I head to my first duty station I'll maintain it when I finally get situated and settled. Hopefully it'll be an awesome unit like the 101st Airborne or the 193rd infantry brigade. I dunno if I want to be part of anything crazy like an Army Ranger batallion or Special Forces, but if that's what they require I'll suck it up and do my duty. All I ask for is the capability and mindset to do my job and do it well. 
That's pretty much what's on my mind right now. The people I got to know while I was waiting for my class to pick up are in the field for the week, so the bay is a bit quieter and access guard happens a little more often, and tomorrow we'll actually get started in earnest on our classwork. (Our access cards wouldn't let us onto the computers until today). 
Until next time, may God bless you as I know he will in his wisdom, and remember that everything happens for a purpose. 
For God and Country!
Ron Chausse'