I have always been amazed by time lapse photography. I remember the first time lapse I saw in school of a plant sprouting. The ability to take something so simple and show it in a different way really caught my attention.

Time Lapse is becoming very popular. It can be seen in almost any nature related documentary, movies, or even Jersey Shore! If the ability to do it isn’t built in the camera itself all you need is a programmable remote. If you can’t afford a remote, one will be appointed to you in the form of a smartphone. There are many full featured apps out there that will do the job as well.

When I started to do time lapse photography I quickly realized there is more than just plunking down the camera where I wanted it and getting the settings right. I was constantly worried about the weather. Is it going to rain? How cold is it going to get? There were many times when I would stay up all night, and basically keep one eye on my camera.

I experimented with a couple different methods but none were very successful. I needed something I could trust to protect my camera from the elements. I was basically at the mercy of the weather, and I didn’t like that. It put a great hindrance on my creativity. My search for products online came up empty. I did find a couple DIY solutions, and that’s when I basically had that stereotypical light bulb going off moment. Ah ha!

It took the normal planning and acquiring materials but I started building my own version of a weather proof housing for my dSLR. After a couple hours and a few Dr Peppers too many I had a working “prototype”. Then there was some testing and adjusting. Finally, it worked as I imagined and hoped it would.

I sent off my project proposal to kickstarter.com and in 24 hours I got an email letting me know I was approved. Initially I was very excited, then the reality of what it takes to do this correctly and hopefully successfully took over. Finding a manufacturer I could work with, patents, etc. I have that pretty well figured out now, and I am back to being excited about finally taking something I have created and making it a reality.

Keep an eye out here, and if you have suggestions for something you would look for in a product to protect your dSLR, smartphone or point and shoot camera from the weather let me know. Maybe you’ll get to be a product tester!

Every day more and more people are taking “pics”, getting digital camera’s and fancying themselves a photographer. Also, every day it is becoming easier and easier for someone to get the “film look” on their photos.

Sadly, film as a medium is getting slowly killed by the ease of use that digital brings. There is a very common misconception that film is expensive to get into. A quick search on eBay, craigslist, or a visit to a camera store will prove that to be false.

I personally picked up a Nikon F100 for $150. At the time this was one of the top of the line film cameras, it is a professional film camera body with an included battery grip, magnesium body and every. The cat’s pajamas with the bees knees. Yes, you have to take your film to be developed, and it costs money. You don’t need to take over a hundred photographs of one subject if you know what you can do with your camera. There is something film makes you do before you fire off the shutter and then review the image on your cameras screen.

It makes you think.

Shutter speed? Aperture or F/stop? Composition? If you don’t know what those things are, you are NOT a photographer. If you fall into this category and you know I am talking about you, let me explain. I won’t even shame you into going to google, cause we both know you wont anyways. You’ll learn something and you can still hold your head up with your left hand.

Shutter speed - The amount of time the shutter is “open”. The general rule of thumb is the darker it is, the longer you need the shutter open. You’ll get a blurry image in low light situations if there is movement of the camera while the shutter is open. The work around is a tripod, breath control, or the ASA/ISO film (or settings in your digital camera). I’ll explain ISO as a bonus later.

f/stop or Aperture - This one is slightly more complicated, so I will go slow. Think of your lens as an eye. If you look at the sun, you squint and not as much light is let through to your pupil. If you are in a dark room you may open your eyes wider to try and see if there is any monsters under your bed, or maybe a spider in the corner above your pillow. The higher the number (f/22) the less light, the lower the number (f/2.8) means more light.

Composition – There are many different thoughts about how a photographer should ideally compose an image. The most basic and easiest to understand is the “rule of thirds”. Imagine a 3×3 box two vertical and horizontal lines over the scene. You want to place your subject along those lines or at the point where the lines cross. You can still get some great photographs without applying this rule, but you must know the rule before you can break it. This will give you a more visually appealing imagine, and you’ll notice the results immediately.

BONUS!! ISO/ASA – American Standards Association and International Organization for Standardization. ASA is the older term used for film, but the most commons now is ISO. This is basically the how sensitive the film is to reflected light. The lower number will give you a crisper and cleaner image but you will need to adjust your shutter speed and aperture accordingly. The higher the ISO, the more “noise”, meaning you will start losing detail in the image.

If you are able to apply these basics, you are well on your way to becoming a photographer who understands the genuine meaning of what it takes to capture a moment the way you saw it. I will guarantee you will not regret it.

Take your camera off “Auto”, educate yourself and become legitimately passionate and the results will speak for themselves.

Since the original Occupy Wall Street march I have come to the realization that this generation is what I can only think to call the “pity me” generation. You spend more time complaining and whining then getting off your ass and fixing what is wrong in your life. Yes, not everything can be fixed by just one person. If you are capable of helping yourself, the rest will follow right in line. If you are able to think you have it bad, then you don’t.

Camping for months at a time causing the local government an obscene amount of money is not the solution. Let’s face it, that’s what you are doing. Camping. In Portland, Oregon you ruined what was once a beautiful park, and Oregon is not the only place this happened. Your “occupation” is unequivocally to blame because you were too damn greedy and lazy to do what it takes to properly maintain where you were living. This is something an adult would not have a problem doing. It would be second nature. All that you accomplished in the long run was turning the public against you. Oh and yes kid, I called you greedy.

Greed. That’s a huge part of what people will say the movement is about. Asking for more is human nature. I understand it. We all could use a little more. A little more money, a little more time, a little more love. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world. Those “evil” corporations are led by men and women who put themselves in the position to succeed. You will not get everything you ask for. If you want more, you have to work for it. It will not be given to you. You are not that lucky, remember?

Educate yourself. Seek out information. Take responsibility for your actions. Treat people how you want to be treated.

If you are able to do just one of the those things I suggested your life will become a much better place to live.

If you read my blogs, you know I was in the Marine Corps. Well, after five years of active duty I was Honorably Discharged on September 18th, 2010. When given the opportunity to reflect on my five years in there are many things to think about. I joined the Marines because at the time I wanted to feel like I had given something back to the country I was fortunate enough to be born in. I come from a long line of military men and women, and I had no problem carrying on that tradition (nor did my sister when she joined in 2006). I had the opportunity to live in Okinawa, Japan for two years, went to Indonesia on a humanitarian mission after an earthquake and volcano eruption, and was deployed to Afghanistan. I won’t forget teaching kids how to play Go Fish in Indonesia, or eating some of the best food I’ve ever tasted with members of the Afghanistan National Army.

When asked the question, “Do you miss it?”, my answer is always the same. No, I do not miss it. One thing you learn fairly quickly is that it is always cooler in the movies. However, I do miss my friends. What most people who only are able to look from the outside in do not seem to realize is, probably since World War II the men and women of the military might not really care about the “why” we are at war. All we care about is our buddy to the left or right of us, we live the politics that most only read about. We also are humbled every day by the civilians who are so supportive. Although, if you are just supporting the troops because it’s trendy, do yourself a favor and stop. You’ll live a better life that way anyways.

That being said, I am lucky to have been able to serve now, as opposed to when my Dad and his peers served in Vietnam. I would get handshakes, free meals and a thank you for my service. They would get spit on and called names, and mostly by coward draft dodgers. That’s not to say I haven’t had my fair share of run ins with an angry civilian, but those are few and far between. I guess in that aspect our country has progressed. Everyone is allowed an opinion, but I don’t have to like their choices, just as much as they might not like mine.

This blog is going to progress as well. In the past I documented my missions, and life in the Marines. In March I was accepted by the Art Institute of Portland and have already completed one term in my quest for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Design. The transition from Marine to art student is a strange one, but I haven’t been this happy in probably 6-7 years. I know I made the right choice. I hope to better myself as a photographer, and eventually land a job as a documentary photographer.

If you came this far along with my on my journey, stick around. It’ll only get better.

Joe’s Camping Trip – October 2nd 2009 – April 26th 2010.

October 7th – Well, we arrived in Camp Leatherneck the day before yesterday. The C17 flight from Manas AFB to Camp Bastion was about 2 1/2 hrs long and very uncomfortable. We had to wear all of our Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and it was a crowded flight. For those that don’t know, PPE is our flak jackets with the ceramic bulletproof plates installed, kevlar helmet, eye protection, ear protection and gloves. But if there is one thing Marines can do it is sleep no matter what the conditions are. So, we slept. We landed around 0800 and my first impression was “Wow, it really is cold.” Which made me happy, because I love the cold, and hate being hot and sweaty. We walked off the flight line, and then took busses to Camp Leatherneck. Old, Mercedes Benz tour busses. It made me think just about the journey those busses made and how I came to be riding on one. We got to our temporary tent, grabbed all of our gear and at that point were just on our own program until 2100. A few of us went to the deli and ate.. the food is amazingly good and the rumor is the chow hall on Camp Dwyer is the best in the Marine Corps in Afghanistan. We’ll see. Yesterday we got classes on the types of homemade explosives and different types of military mines the insurgants are using as well as our rules of engagment. Basically what the enemy has to do before we can “engage” them. I can’t go into detail about specifics, but basically I learned one thing. War is over. At least, War as my grandparents and parents know it. Somehow this “war” has turned into a winning of the hearts and minds, and everyone is so scared of hurting someones feelings we are not able to do our job the way we should. This isnt new news… As of now it seems no one has really come to grips that we are here. It’s been a short road, but a long one nonetheless. We have already had about 5 explosions outside the base, but thats the only indicator that we are not on a normal field op. We are supposed to head out to Camp Dwyer on the 9th, so unless anything amazing happens I will update you all then. When we arrived on Camp Leatherneck our platoon commander took all Non Commissioned Officers (NCO’s) and gave us the worst attempt at a motivational speech I had ever heard. This is a man who had no real knowledge of security or what our job really entailed, however, he was popular with the officers and given this it helped him get his billet. He capped it off by saying to make sure “the Marines get the most out of this training.” We had already done months of training, we were done training. We were in Afghanistan, on a base that just earlier that week had been attacked by a suicide bomber. I had already had questions rolling around in my head about this man’s ability as a leader, but that little speech answered them all. I knew I was going to have to watch out for his judgement calls.

October 8th – More of the same. Yesterday I spent about 4 hours of my life sitting in a bathroom charging my PSP, iPod and netbook because our tent has no power. Hopefully when we get to Dwyer this wont be a normal thing. If so, I might have to invest in some solar powered chargers or something. Other than that I hung out with the guys, watched an episode of curb your enthusiasm and played my PSP. With this much downtime it makes sense to spend it relaxing as much as possible. As of now though time is actually cruising by and I hope it continues to do so.

Oct 11th – We arrived at Camp Dwyer last night via AC-130 around 8pm. The flight was only 25 minutes or so, but I was able to sleep and had a good dream. I always have good dreams during air travel for some reason. Anyways, after getting off the plane we were greeted by our first enemy. Moon dust. I had seen videos and talked to people who had experienced it before, but there is nothing like being in it to get a good understanding. Imagine a dust with the consistancy of baby powder… sometimes so deep it swallows your entire boot. It gets on everything, and sticks there. It also has a very good way of staying in the air once kicked up. Sleeping conditions are the same as on Leatherneck, but will change for the better in less than a week. Big tent, cots, lots of dust and no way to charge anything electrical. This morning we woke up at 0400, geared up in full PPE and then hiked about 2 miles out to a range so we could sight in our weapons. The “nature hike” was fairly miserable, about 100 Marines all walking in a line and kicking up all that dust. We were covered head to toe from it. Our desert digital MARPAT designed cammies were just straight desert brown. While out there at the range we were given a brief from a Sergeant who was about 2 weeks away from leaving. He informed us that out of his company 100 Marines were being awarded Combat Action Ribbons (CARs) and two Purple Hearts. You can be awarded a CAR for either being hit by an IED, or by being fired upon. Only two were being given for being fired upon. That should give you an idea about the kind of enemy we are fighting. They are a brave enemy, and also intelligent enough to harm us without being present. They will push us just to see how we react. They are ready and willing to die for their cause. Am I? No, I’m not. In the evening we met with the Marines we are going to be relieving. They detailed what jobs they did, things they learned and other general knowledge. It was very helpful, and despite being told that it’s not a matter of “if” we are going to be hit, but “when” I wanted to get out and do my job. I think that is another reason why Marines are pretty successful at their jobs. We know what the odds are, we know its not looking to good, but we still want to go out and give it a shot. That might go back to the cockiness aspect of us. Since my recent promotion I was tasked to get to know my Marines. Not a problem for me because I have been trying to do that since I joined. I think it brings people closer if you are able to indentify with them and know their background. It helps me understand why they react the way they do for one. Not an amazingly deep belief, but its something I have been doing for over four years now. Unfortunately because of the my rank the higher ranks believe it is easier to lead by not having that bond with the Marines. It puts me in a moral delimma. Not so sure how I am going to keep everyone happy on that one. At one point myself and another newly promoted Corporal were pulled aside and this “detachment” from the younger Marines was further emphasized by a Sergent. At that point I told him in no uncertain terms that I believed the only way to get respect from someone was to earn it, and as I stood now I had earned their respect. Going back on my ways because of my rank would cause me to lose that respect and would eventually make it harder to get the job done. I respected his leadership qualities, but everyone is different and I was not going to change how I was. Of course, for a little while I got the stink eye from some other NCO’s, but I didnt care. Eventually they got over themselves. Mostly.

October 29th – On the 15th we left for our first mission, in fact it was the first mission of our company being ran solely by us. We were tasked with security while Engineers and Heavy Equipment operators made a road. The first day was a complete disaster. We were supposed to leave around 0900 and didnt end up leaving until 5 that afternoon. Meaning our first convoy was a night convoy. The most dangerous kind. I started the convoy out in my normal position as the gunner. We were rolling in a 6×6 MRAP and I had the 240G. At one point we got stuck, and the convoy left us. Our driver with the aide of his infared camera and our A-Gunner were able to catch back up, but not after literally barrelling through the desert in a area that had not been swept for IEDs. Lucky does not begin to describe it. After it was all said and done our convoy of 24 miles took 10 hours. The next day we left. On the way there we encountred children asking for food and water. The gunner in front of me tossed out a MRE and a few waters, but there were lots of kids so I tossed out a couple MREs myself. One little girl in pink will always stick with me. In the desert her clothes stuck out obviously, but everyone else was dressed in drab dark clothes. She didnt get a water and we didnt really have the waters to give away, but she kept running right beside the truck. I ended up throwing her my extra water. She caught it on the bounce, kept running, smiling and waving. Eventually we arrived at our destination. Our job is simple. Provide security. In this mission that security means sitting in a gun turret in a truck providing overwatch while the Marines did their job. We stood 4 hrs of watch and had 8 off. It wasnt bad really. I had the noon to 1600 and midnight to 0400 shift. Our camp site was a bermed up area with one security truck with a 50. cal. As I mentioned earlier because of my promotion to Corporal the higher ranks wanted to see a seperation of myself from the lower ranks. After a few days I figured out a way to do it my way while attempting to keep both parties happy. On a majority of my off time I spent it with the other NCOs and our LT, but every other day I would eat with the troops and BS with them. The troops know I am being told to separate, I can only hope they realize the steps I am taking to stay close to them. Time will tell on that one. Sadly I didnt take very good notes while I was out there, so this mission will be short as far as entries go. One night our translator bought a sheep from a farmer and cooked it in a stew. Ive never been a fan of lamb before, but wow was it good. Right after we finished eating about 2 miles away a 240G started firing from a distant outpost. All us security guys were excited, cheering and standing up on the berm, I looked over my shoulder and the engineers were getting fully geared up and basically cowering in the corner. It was comical to me for some reason. There are so many different jobs and walks of life in the Marine Corps and that was a prime example. Shortly after a helicopter joined the fight and took two strafing runs at the area the machine gun from earlier was firing on. We heard later they captured four suspected terrorists. The next day EOD found an IED in that same area and detonated it. It felt like someone kicked me in the chest. I was on post around 0200 when I saw a huge fireball, followed by small explosions and then another huge fireball explosion. It lit up the sky and was a good three to four miles away. Turns out it was two Marine helos. They were caught up in a hunt for some terrorists on the ground and collided with each other. 14 Marines died, two survived. Throughout the time there we interacted with the children more so than the adults. I took the opportunity to wave at the adults and was greeted with mixed results. Sometimes a smile a nod, or a wave and thumbs up. Other times a very cold stare. I understand why though, so I dont hold it against them. The children are the best though… since this is a “hearts and minds” mission the kids are the key to winning. All the kids want something for free, and some want to make a little money on the side. Soda, smokes and the hats off their heads are what they are selling. I got hustled once buying a pack of smokes for a friend, but I imagine some of the kids get a beating for not making money from their parents, so whatever. We ended up spending a total for 14 days outside the wire and came back today on the 29th. We rode in on a CH-53 helo which was a nice little exclamation point to the end of the mission. We have moved into much smaller brand new tents equipped with power outlets between the cots as well as AC and heat. There is a chow hall just a 2 minute walk and showers less than that. All in all, it is pretty nice. I was also greated with my first package which came with my Contour HD helmet cam. I can write about our job until my fingers fall off, but now, you guys will get to see it in video format.

November 1st – Well, yesterday was the first really bad day for us here. It was all a very surreal thing how it all played out. I woke up around 0800, went to the head and on the way back ran into a friend of mine. He was all geared up and he said the other section in his platoon got hit, so they were headed to the motor pool. About 20 minutes later we were told anyone with O positive blood needed to head up to give blood. After that rumors started flying and we werent sure what to think.We knew it was an IED hit, and the Marine was on foot when he was hit. Around noon we were told the news. Sgt Ruiz was on a sweep team, searching for IEDs when he stepped on an anti-personal mine. Everyone did the best they could, but the damage was too extensive and he died. He left behind a wife and a 14 month old son. He was an IRR Marine, meaning he served his contract and when Bush did the “back draft” he was recalled back to duty. Sgt Ruiz was a great man, and very well respected. I really don’t think anyone could say anything bad about him. When we came back from our mission he was the first person I saw from Security Co. He greeted us with handshakes, saying how glad he was that we made it back, asking how it was, etc. I never saw the man not with a smile on his face. A memorial is planned for next saturday. Less than a month, and one Marine dead. Six months to go? We had the memorial for Sgt Ruiz and the whole thing was very surreal. They were recording it so that his son when he got old enough would be able to see it. It was also determined later that all the recalled Marines were not even supposed to be in Afghanistan. They were only supposed to take the empty spots from Marines who were deploying and stay stateside. After the memorial I was talking to a friend and told him if anything happened to me I wanted the theme song for Curb your Enthusiasm to play and if it wasnt played I would haunt him.

November 5th – It has been a few days since I have written anything, but we havent been too busy. We had a mission the other day up to a place called Deli, just a simple one day escort mission. Big 31 truck convoy consisting of us security trucks and the rest were Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Brits. As always we were rear vic and I was gunning with the 50 cal. I had mounted my helmet cam, so I was pretty excited to get some sort of good footage. The first 30 minutes were pretty slow going, so I switched it off. Not 5 minutes later I hear “ROLLERCOASTER” from my driver. I was facing to the rear of the truck and by the time I realized it, it was too late. We hit the bump at the bottom of the gulley just as I grabbed the 50 cal with my left hand and my M4 with my right. I flew up, came down on the 50 itself and knocked the wind out of myself. My left leg was killing me as well as my elbow. I dropped out of the gun and the Assistant Gunner got up there. A little bit down the road I got back up, and could tell my pants were wet from blood. When we got to Deli I had Doc check it out and it was a big fist sized abrasion. Hurt like crazy, and I have no idea what I hit it on. We hung out while the ANA did their resupply and talked to a British soldier. Its always cool to get to work with other countries armies. Anyways, we headed back to Dwyer around 1800, and got back around 2330. Our LT likened taking the ANA on a convoy to hearding cats through a minefield, which is pretty accurate. Of course, if they hadnt been smoking hash on the stops it is possible that they wouldnt be getting stuck all the time. After the walk back to the tent I took my pants off and checked out the damage. Imagine a 8 inch by 6 inch bruise on the back of my left thigh. Doc checked it out and said I needed to go to the BAS so they could look at it more. So, the next day I limped up there with him. Pretty much everyone looked at it, and they determined it was looking infected where the abrasion was, and it was possibly showing signs of cellulitis, which is a infection in the muscle. If it gets bad enough I will have to medevac out to Camp Bastion. Doc scrubbed it out and I was given a shot in the butt, to hopefully stop the infection. If I have to miss any missions or get medevaced I will lose my mind.

November 6th – Yesterday the same section that was out when Sgt Ruiz was hit got hit by a 200 pound IED. They were in the 2nd security vic and it exploded near the rear on the passenger side. It launched the truck 10 feet up and rotated it 180 degrees. The axle was found 150 yards away, the tire, 300. No one was seriously hurt amazingly. I saw the gunner in the chow hall and he had some scratches on his face and his knees were messed up, but overall he was fine. He said when it happened, he heard the explosion and thought it was off in the distance. Pretty lucky all in all. Other than that it was same old, same old. The bruise on my leg has gotten bigger, but the color is going away. However it still hurts to walk, so whenever possible I don’t. We are on standby today, but the chance of us going on a mission is slim to none. I’m hoping we dont go out on a mission because I don’t want to miss any missions our section goes on.

Dec 20th – Well, it’s been a loooong time since Ive written anything. Its been more of the same, mostly just recovery missions. All of the months of November and December were just recovery missions. Meaning, an infantry unit would get stuck out in the desert, or one of their trucks would get blown up. I preferred these missions over most others because they were quick in theory. We would have one or possibly two tow trucks attached to our section and just drive out, get them un-stuck and head home. Of course, that sounds simple and in turn we would end up out there for a few days. On Christmas eve we were the Santa Clause convoy. We took out packages that had arrived for Marines who were out on route presence missions as well as supplies. While we were out a infantry unit needed us, and what was supposed to be an out and back in a few hours ended up being a out and back in 4 days. I spent the last night of 2009 on duty watching the trucks. We did have sparkling cider we stole from the chow hall and crappy cigars though. It was a very memorable New Years Eve/Day.

April 2nd – Ok, yeah… it’s been a REAL long time since I wrote so I will get you up to speed.

My section was put on camp guard for 60 days to give us a “break”… we had done the most missions in the company, so this was our “reward”. We didnt see it that way because it kept us from going out and doing missions. I was post-NCO on a post with 2 other Marines. We were there for 60 days and worked 24hrs, then had 24 off. It was very boring, but did help to speed the deployment along.

On March 3rd we were relieved by another section from camp guard, the next day a truck with a couple friends of mine got blown up by an 80 pound IED, the driver got hurt the worst with a broken back, he will be fine with time though. The gunner got a real bad wack to the leg which they thought was broken at the time, but he just ended up with a deep tissue bruise. His weapon ended up getting launched from it’s mount and ended up on the back of the truck. Since that section was down a truck team I , along with two other Marines got picked to go replace them.

The mission was providing security for Engineers while they fixed or made roads. It was in and around the town of Marjah which just saw the largest helicopter invasion in the history of the Marine Corps. The Taliban still had a strong presence in the area, so for once we actually had to pay attention to what was going on around us. The first night we were on the road an 80 pound IED was found and detonated. The next night we stayed the night on the route. Our truck was a 7-ton diesel with a truck bed and a mine roller. The mine roller is an attachment designed to set off any pressure plate detonated IEDs and hopefully harmlessly blow up before we ran over them.

Anyways… that night we slept on the truck. The next morning we took off and the truck behind us stopped after seeing wires leading from the berm. We slept on an IED… so, as far as cats go, that was one life down. It ended up being a 40lb IED of unknown substance with 5lbs of gasoline.

The next night we were headed back to base to sleep for the night. It had been a long day and the sun had already set. I was going back and forth using my night vision goggles (NVG) to look in the fields and for any out of the ordinary heat signatures. If you use NVGs for too long you end up with a huge green spot in your vision, as if your stared at the sun or something. About 2 miles from base we got a call on the radio telling us to stop. Turns out 10 feet from where we stopped a Marine using a very high powered camera system called the GBOSS had watched a group of insurgants dig a hole, and put down the pressure plate and the explosives. That night we slept 20 feet from a house that was known for random RPK (heavy machine gun) fire and for firing RPGs at convoys. It was the first of many nights where I was literally terrified. The fact that a cute little dog ran right by our truck, and then stopped in front of the door of the house and started growling and barking did not help. There was no way I was going to sleep that night. The idea of having my head cut off and shown on the internet isnt too appealing to me.

EOD (Explosive Ordance Disposal) showed up the next morning and found 80lbs of explosive. It would have been a bad day to say the least. We never did find the insurgants who planted it. About two weeks later the other section in my platoon was driving past that same area and hit an IED. The gunner ended up with a screwed up knee and was busted up pretty bad. They were in the same style truck we were. The truck was blown skyward and when it slammed down the driver side door which is heavily armored was ripped off its hinges and the driver was thrown out of the truck. Somehow the door ended up on top of him and he had compound fractures in both legs. The gunner was obviously in shock, but he jumped out of the turret and lifted the several hundred pound door off the Marine. The crater left by the explosion was large enough to swallow any mid-size car without trouble.

March 19th -This is a day that I doubt I will forget as well. We were headed out of Marjah with a convoy of EOD who were travelling in front of us. The lead truck hit an IED… after a couple hours we pushed past their convoy. Less than 500 meters down the road our lead vehicle hit an IED. Everyone was fine, but the truck was destroyed. After EOD came up to check it out they found evidence of another IED. Three IEDs in less than a half of a mile. After the third IED was detonated we dug in for the night. When nightfall came FOB Marjah began taking in-direct fire (mortars)… to the left side of us machine gun fire could be heard as well. We were stuck on the road, totally exposed.

To make things that much more exciting there was hardly any light from the moon so my night vision goggles were of little use to me. However, it was totally quiet, so quiet that the sound of me trying to get a couple Altoids out of the metal tin sounded like a plane taking off. I was very relieved when the sun started to poke up over the horizon.

After that we had about six days where little to nothing exciting happened. On the trip over to another small base we took fire from a insurgant on a motorcycle with the infamous AK-47. I was unable to fire back because he was riding in between houses with innocent families in them. To say I felt helpless is an understatement. Not to mention pissed off. All I could do was stare at him and flash him the internationally known hand signal for number 1. He wasnt in range to do any real damage so I just watched him ride off. I had an earbud from my iPod in one ear and will also always remember what song I was listening to: Incubus – Wish You Were Here. We had already had problems in that same area, so it didnt come as much of a surprise that something happened.

We arrived back on Camp Dwyer 23 days after leaving. A lot can happen in such a short time, and I can safely say that if I have about 2 of my 9 lives left. Call it luck? The rumor is April 14th we will leave this base for Leatherneck en route to Manas AFB… I should be back in the states around the 20th of April.

I am in the process of buying a 1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille, and that coupled with getting to see family and friends has me thinking about nothing else. This deployment can be summed up in a couple words in no particular order: miserable, exciting, boring, terrifying, fulfilling, etc. I wouldnt give it up for much, and when I get back to the states Ill have less than 5 months left in the Marines.

It’s been a long five years.
That’s where I stopped my journal. Of course, the volcano put a damper on our trip and we ended up sitting around Leatherneck a few more days and then a couple more on Manas AFB. The look of relief and sheer joy on the faces of the Marines when we took off from Afghanistan was priceless to say the least. Unfortunately, there are quite a few of my friends who are there right now. I look forward to the day when no one I know and no more troops period are fighting over there.

I went to: California, Missouri, Japan, Indonesia, California, Ireland, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Portugal, and finally.. California.

Indonesia was the best place by far, and then probably Kyrgyzstan. They filmed the SAW moves in Bulgaria I am pretty sure.

I cannot wait to see what the next 1,825 days brings.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

The last time I posted here I was in Afghanistan with a couple months to go. If I could go and talk to the bored version of me who was complaining about not seeing any action I would tell him to chill out. The last month or so of my deployment was pretty exciting. Myself and two other Marines ended up getting called out to replace a gun truck team that had been blown up. Not the most confidence inspiring thing in the world, but it was better than being stuck on base. We spent about a week going up and down a road posting up security while engineers built a road. The local farmers were very upset about it because the road was ruining their irrigation ditches. If you have watched anything on Afghanistan you know that if the locals are mad, they are far more likely to look the other way while the Taliban does their thing.

For the most part, that is just what happened. This “war on terror” is a popularity contest in that, if the locals like us, it’s good for us. Unfortunately, the Taliban is much more persuasive. If I was told “Let me plant this bomb in front of your field, and I won’t cut off your nose/ears/fingers/head.” or, “We will give you seeds to plant!” I would have to go with the first choice. If you put yourself in their shoes, it’s rather easy to see why they side with the Taliban. I can’t blame them one bit.

My job was machine gunner in a security truck. I sit in a movable turret with either a 240B (7.62mm), a M2 .50 cal, or MK19 40mm grenade launcher and look for “suspicious things”. Paranoid is my middle name. However, no matter how alert or paranoid you are, you can’t see everything. Especially when sometimes the IEDs are buried under 6 inches of dust. Luckily for our truck, we all had 9 lives. I’d say now we all have about 2 lives left. One night we posted up security for the night, and in the morning we pushed forward to another position. Our truck was parked on an IED and for whatever reason, it did not go off. Another day we were traveling back to the FOB (Forward Operating Base) we were staying on and were alerted by another unit of a possible IED. We stopped roughly 30 yards from it. If it hadnt been for them, I would have had a shorter deployment.

I also found out first hand what it feels like to be shot at. As well as how it feels when you can’t shoot back. Not to mention how it feels when you are the one who gets shot at, and people who were no where near you claim they got shot at also. The round fired from a AK-47 travels at about 2,300 feet per second. You’ll really know it when it hits something, to say the least.

One good thing about the deployment was I thought I knew what the being “terrified” meant. Turns out I had no idea what being terrified felt like. I will try and paint a picture. Three IEDs had went off in less than a mile and we set up security on the road for the night. Behind us one of the FOB’s was being hit with in-direct fire by the Taliban and we did not know what lay ahead down the road. We were unable to get out of our 7-ton because the condition of the road was in question. Two Marines would sleep in the cab of the truck, whilst the third stood watch in the turret for 4 hours. It was a very dark night, and in order for the fancy night vision goggles to work you need ambient light. On the right side of the truck, a group of trees and to the left a group of compounds. In these compounds were the same people who had sat and watched while our trucks drove over the previously mentioned IEDs. To say we were on edge would be putting it lightly. I’ve never been happier to see the sunrise as I was that morning.

Now that I think about it, no one in our platoon came back with nine lives. The relief I felt when I came back on base for the last time; knowing I had finished the last mission and all the Marines with me were done as well is indescribable.

The trip home took longer than expected thanks to the volcano in Iceland erupting. Eyjafjallajokull. (Yes, I had to look that up.)

As funny as it sounds, once we were on the buses the first thing I was struck by is the colors. Cars were shiny. Buildings were all the hues I hadn’t really seen in 7 months. It was strange. Afghanistan and the word “drab” work well together. It wasn’t too tough of a change to get the hang of, being back in the US. Although, for awhile large crowds made me very nervous.

I was one of the lucky Marines who had family and friends waiting when we got back to Camp Pendleton. You’d be surprised how many did not have one person waiting for them. Yes, supporting the troops is indeed a very trendy thing. It’s still better than how Korea and Vietnam era troops were treated, so we are lucky there I suppose.

I am out of the Marines now. I was discharged (honorably) at the end of my five year contract. I saw a lot of stuff, went some great and not so great places and made amazing friends.

Now, I have five years of catching up with my family and “civilian” friends. I’m not one of the over 11,000 in the “War on Terror” who aren’t able to play catch up.

I’m lucky.

While on post I was sitting and I thought, “Why do Marines have a “tough” reputation?

In my opinion, it basically boils down to the simple fact that we have no choice, and everyone is counting on that. I mean, we do, but the choice to not do what is asked does not actually seem like an option. Call it being brain washed, but I think it is more pride than anything else.

Now, if you are a civilian, and you wake up and decide, “You know, today I don’t feel like going to work. The beach sounds more appealing…” you can call in sick and it’s no big deal. Marines don’t have that choice.

If I get told I have to be somewhere at 4 in the morning, I have to be there at 3:45 or face consequences that could last weeks, if not longer. Now that is just the start of it.

There are stories from all the wars and conflicts Marines have been in about how against all odds they were able to get the job done. The Marines in the island hopping campaigns during WWII had no choice but to take Iwo Jima, to take Quadalcanal, and after months of shelling to take Okinawa. When it came down to it, the Marines were picked because the government knew they would be able to get the job done. When the Army was run out of Fallujah, it was reported that that city was impossible to take over and hold. Marines were told this and within days the city had fallen and it was owned by the Marines. They had no choice, and everyone was counting on that.

On a personal level, I have done and do stuff that I really shouldn’t be able to do. Not because I am tough, I just don’t have a choice. Sure, sometimes I get an order an think to myself, “Ya know, that could be done so much easier a different way”… but I do it anyways because I have no choice.

Of course, cockiness might help too.

Peeling paint, broken windows/doors, stained carpets and ceilings. Sirens. Helicopters flying over head. Kinda sounds like the projects or the ghetto huh?

Nah, it’s my barracks!

Yep, I have no AC in the summer and a broken heater for the winter. I don’t enjoy taking a shower too awful much because there are at least 3 layers of paint and I end up with paint all over myself afterwards. It could be because the shower head is broken and stuck on full blast hose mode. They recently pulled out all our carpets to replace them…. by recently I mean 2 months ago. Of course, that carpet was hiding the tile floor that looks like something dark and sad happened on, but ohhhh well! I did get a new smoke detector put in not too long ago.

And all this for $850 a month!!!!