Wastin' Time

Even people that have not been in the military have heard the term "Hurry up and wait." I was driving home from a work trip tonight with my boss, who is a retired Marine, and we started swapping stories of all the times we had to sit around wasting time while we were in the military. Wasting time is a common thing that all service members remember. It is inevitable when you have to move or deal with a large amount of people and complex logistical or operational issues. Intellectually I know why it happened but it still didn't make it any less painful. I bet some of the scenarios below bring back some memories for a few folks.

Scene: Barracks/Platoon Office 82nd Airborne Division early 1980's

After being in the field for 2 weeks on some local training our Infantry Company had returned to the barracks and Company area and we were to pull maintenance and clean all Platoon equipment before we were to be released for the weekend.

Platoon Sergeant: Is that weapon clean Private?

Me: Yes Sergeant!!!

Platoon Sergeant opens his desk drawer and pulls out a paper clip. He straightens it out and inserts the straightened end through a small barely noticeable hole located in the front sight assembly. A little cone of dirt/carbon falls out.

Platoon Sergeant: WTF Dickweed!!! Get out of my office and come back when this weapon is clean!!! Next time bring your squad leader and if it is dirty you will both be in the front lean and rest position!!!!

Me to myself: Holy Hell I didn't even know that hole was there, This sucks

Repeat 200 times for every man in the Company and add 7 more hours.

Wastin' Time


Scene: Barracks 10th Mountain Division Late 1980's

As a Cadre member and squad leader in newly formed COHORT unit I had to prepare my squad for the dreaded IG inspection.

Me: Hey dipshit you need to canoe that sleeping bag properly and get all those black marks off your canteen cup.

Private: What is canoeing a sleeping bag?

Me: Good Lord, didn't they teach you anything in basic training? Roll up the sides of your sleeping bag like a canoe and lay all your gear in the middle per SOP.

Private: I tried to get those black marks off the canteen cup but they won't come off.

Me: Well genius that is what Clothing Sales stores are for, go buy a new one for inspections and leave that one for actual field use.

Private: We can do that?

Me: Yes, now hurry the fuck up before SFC T chews my ass for you guys being a soup sandwich!!

Wastin' Time

Scene: Army Airfield 10th Special Forces Group early 1990's

During one of our quarterly Military Freefall refreshers the wind picked up and we were stuck on the airfield for quite some time waiting for it to die down. We had one scheduled jump left to re qualify as Level 1 Military Free Fall parachutists prior to our deployment to the Joint Readiness Training Center in Ft Chaffee AR.

Me: Hey Mark I have to piss

Team Sergeant: If you unrig I will have to JMPI you again

Me: Crap, that means I have to take off my rucksack,weapon and Oxygen bottle just to take a piss

Team Sergeant: Just undo your leg strap and move your kit bag out of the way, then I can JMPI just that part

Me: Ok but when is the Bird going to be here?

Team Sergeant: When the winds get below 18 knots

Me: Can't we just cancel this stupid jump and go drink beer?

Team Sergeant: For the 100th time no

Wastin' Time

Scene: Local Training Area 10th Special Forces Group Germany late 1990's

Doing some local hide site construction and surveillance training, during this team training event our Team Sergeant and Team Leader had a little conversation

Team Sergeant: No, we need to go this way and construct the hide sites along this area over here.

Team Leader: I think they would be much better over here, better observation and fields of fire. More cover and concealment.

Team Sergeant: I disagree, you guys go over here and start constructing your hides. I will be by later to take a look at them and critique them.

Team Leader: Why are they going over there? I just said they would be better over here.

Team Sergeant: Because I have been doing this for 20 years and you have been on a team for all of two years, so your fuck'in opinion doesn't matter!

Team Leader: Oh

Wastin' Time

Scene: 10th Special Forces Group Romanian Hotel Room Early 2000's

Our Company was staging in Romania prior to the invasion of Iraq. The entire Battalion was basically on lock down inside this large hotel on the Romanian Coast. It would have been nice if it wasn't like being in prison.

Sergeant Major: You Team Sergeants need to keep these guys busy and do team training.

Me: SGM we have packed and repacked our gear, we have cross trained and practiced SOP's about as much as we can in a frickin hotel hallway.

Sergeant Major: Well the Major doesn't want to see guys laying on their beds watching "The Nanny" reruns dubbed in German. So do something, get creative.

Me: This is BS, any idea when we are getting the fuck out of here?

Sergeant Major: Nope

Me: Ok more mortar crew drills in the basement it is. My guys are going to love me

Wastin' Time

I spent 22 years in the military. I probably spent 2 years of that waiting for something to happen. Looking back on it now, it is somewhat humorous, at the time it was retarded.

War Dogs

Dogs are man’s best friend so the saying goes. Here in ‘Merica dogs are for a lot of folks part of the family. I have three dogs myself and consider myself a dog person. I am not the only one that feels that way and throughout my military career the different units I was in had an assortment of adopted and befriended canines. We seemed to pick up one of theses furry guys everytime we stopped long enough to make a semi permanent base of operations.

The first dog I can remember adopting as the unit mascot was when I was stationed in the Sinai Peninsula way back in the stone age of the early 1980’s. This mutt was the typical Middle Eastern yellow skinny dog. The same dog I saw all over the Middle East many many times and in many countries. This particular dog was a permanent fixture at the outpost on the top of the mountain on an island in the middle of the straits of Tiran in the Sinai Peninsula. We used to feed this dog our left over C-Rations and it lived high on the hog. When my Special Forces team was running operations out of a house in the Kosovo town of Kamenica we had another dog. Typical yellow mutt and we feed it left over dog food that we grabbed from the Military Police. They had expired dog food that they wouldn’t feed to the military working dogs but it was fine for our mascot.

When my SF team deployed to Iraq in 2003 we set up a patrol base in the village of Klawkut. We were running reconnaissance missions and calling in airstrikes on the Iraqi military that had formed a defensive perimeter around the city of Kirkuk and its strategic oilfields. On one of our area reconnaissance missions we came upon a complex of abandoned Iraqi trenches and fighting positions. We dismounted from the Land Rover Defenders we were using as transportation and methodically cleared each trench and fighting position. As we got towards the ends of the fortified area one of my medics gave a holler and we looked to see what he wanted. We hadn’t found any Iraqis but he had found three black and white puppies that were all huddled up in the bottom of one of the fighting positions.

It was our best guess that these little guys had been abandoned by their mother or she was killed during the bombing that had happened in the area a few days prior. Being the good SF troopers we were we immediately adopted these furballs as our team mascots and loaded them into the back of one of the vehicles. Our interpreter was also sitting in the back of this vehicle and started to complain about the dogs. Muslims believe dogs are unclean animals and do not keep them as pets as a general rule. Being the culturally sensitive guys we were my Senior Weapons Sergeant told him to shut his pie hole or he, not the dogs, would be walking back to the patrol base.

As we made our way back across country to Klawkut we saw a lone vehicle headed in our general direction. As it moved closer and we could not identify it as friend or foe we pulled our vehicles into a defensive posture. The approaching vehicle stopped and two individuals dismounted in traditional Kurdish garb. They were about 200 meters from our vehicles and made signs for us to come forward and talk. We made the decision to put our crew served weapon on the high ground to our left in an overwatch while our Team Leader and the interpreter moved forward to talk to theses individuals. The rest of the team would also provide supporting fire from the cover of the vehicles.

As our Team Leader moved forward I had my sights trained dead center on the chest of the first mystery Kurd waiting for him to make a suspicious move. As I waited for the little drama to unfold I could hear our new found companions whining and scuffling in the back seat of the vehicle. As it turns out these individuals were just some Peshmerga who were trying to rejoin their unit and they gave us a friendly wave as they got in their vehicle and continued heading east.

We continued on west to KlawKut and our patrol base. When we arrived we broke open some Meals Ready to Eat and some bottled water and fed our puppies. We made them a comfortable little home out of a MRE box so they could sleep in the shade. As the days went by the started imprinting themselves on us and usually would follow the first team member that left the building we were sleeping in. Our interpreter continued to complain about the fact that they were hanging around but we ignored him as the rest of the Kurds didn’t seem to mind. He was a city boy any way from down south and the Peshmerga we were working with didn’t have a lot of respect for him.

Eventually we had to pick up and move on as the mission changed. When we had to haul ass to occupy Kirkuk, our little friends got left in Klawkut and we never saw them again. That is the way of the mascot though, they are interchangeable to a certain degree, although I still think about them and wondered if they made it through the war ok.

Freezefest 5K 2012

The Freezefest is a run I have done annually for at least the last 3 years. I have made it my traditional first race of the year. I knew this year's race had potential to be a good one as we have had a very very mild winter..very "un Freezelike." I had also been running very strong the last few months as I continue to train for some ultramarathons I am doing in the spring. Last week I ran a sub 48 minute 10K for the first time in my post military life (I retired from the military in 2004). I was excited and a little nervous about the chance to run the fastest 5K I have run since I turned 40.

The day of the race was very mild with a predicted temperature in the 40's. To keep with my training schedule I had to complete a 90 minute run on race day so I arrived about 0900 for the 1100 start. I also broke with tradition and did not eat my normal pre race breakfast of honey bun and Gatorade. I picked up my race packet and then returned to the car. I dropped my stuff off and went for a very easy 60 minute run. The race is held in the Squaw Creek park so I explored the trails around the park and finished about 5 miles prior to the race commencing.

After I finished my warmup I visited the portopotty and milled around for about 15 minutes with the other runners until everyone started moving towards the start line. Uncharacteristically and in anticipation of trying to run as fast as I could I self seeded in the front third of the group of racers. As most of you know I usually start at the back but not on this day. Shortly after we lined up the command to go was given, I hit the timer on my watch and off I went.

I started off quickly and thanks to my warmup my knee wasn't stiff as it usually is during my initial start. The course headed east on a paved service road for what I guess was about 3/4 of a mile. I was feeling good and picking people off little by little. After 3/4 of a mile we made a turnaround and as I approached it I was happy to see that I was still in the top third of racers. I glance at my watch and it was about at 6 minutes. The course had no mile markers so I wasn't quite sure of the distance, I just guessed based on previous experience.

We headed back west on the same road , passing back by the long line of runners that had not made the turn yet. I knew we would have to run back past the start and then continue on for about another mile before turning again and heading back to the finish. It was during this long section that I concentrated on maintaining my pace. I kept telling myself to run tall and keep turning over my feet. It was also during this section where people started settling into their pace. I would pass and be passed several times by the same two people for the rest of the race as we pushed each other. At one point during this section I actually felt like I was running downhill on the flat course.

Eventually we curved back east on the road and passed the "cowbell guy" who every year at CVRA events cheers on the runners with his boombox and cowbell. We continued on east to the turnaround when we headed back towards the finish. I was starting to smell the barn as I could actually see the finish line off to my right as the road curved back around the park. I looked at my watch and it read 20 minutes. Based on the distance left I was pleased to discover I was going to beat my goal time of 24 minutes by a pretty sizable margin. I just didn't know by how much. The course turned right into the parking lot for the last .1 mile to the finish. I could see that the official timer was reading 21 something so I really pushed it hard up the small incline to the finish in hopes of running the race under 22 minutes. Unfortunately it was not to be as I finished in 22:03.

I was very happy with my time and thought it was a post military PR, however after I arrived home I discovered I had run the CC Rider 5K in 20:37 back in 2004. Oh well it is definitely the fastest 5K I have run in the last 7 years. Looking forward to a definite PR at the Hawkeye 50K coming up next month

Extracurricular Activites #3 :Reserve Deputy Sheriff

As I have written before besides my regular job I also work/volunteer at a few other activities. I officiate high school sports and work as a Emergency Medical technician. Another activity on my ADD inspired list of tasks is I am a reserve deputy sheriff in a rural county in northeastern Iowa. How I got hooked up with this activity was a somewhat long process. I happened to be talking to one of the security officers that works for my company and he mentioned he was a reserve officer in this county and that they were hiring reserves. This interested me for several reasons. This county is the county where my family is originally from and I used to visit it quite a bit when I was young. I have always been interested in law enforcement and I also thought it may give me a more well rounded approach and add some credibility to my day job as operations manager for a contract security company.

So I obtained and application and turned it in. And I waited and waited and waited.. eventually I forgot about it entirely. One day over a year after sending in the application I got a call from the reserve captain inquiring if i was still interested. Although I had forgotten all about it I told him sure. He arranged an interview and once that was done, I completed my processing,fingerprints,background check etc.. Then I was a provisional deputy. In the state of Iowa to become a fully qualified reserve deputy you have to finish the reserve officer academy in 18 months and attend and pass weapons training. Each individual sheriff then can designate how he wants the reserve deputies used in his county.

At this point I am one module from completing the reserve academy and I have completed the weapons training etc.. The sheriff in my county allows reserves to augment regular deputies for special events such as fairs, rodeos etc.. I have participated in several of these events. He also allows reserve deputies to operate independently once they are qualified and have a certain number of hours spent as a rider with a regular deputy. I currently am still conducting my ride time and may get on my own sometime this summer. Honestly I am not in too much of a hurry as I enjoy riding with the other deputies and  seeing how they operate.

As I mentioned the county I operate in is rural and it has the normal rural law enforcement issues. Animal versus car accidents,speeding,OWI,drugs etc.. There are only two towns in the county that have their own police forces, the rest of the small communities contract with the Sheriff's Office to patrol their towns and provide law enforcement support. So much of my time on duty consists of patrolling these towns or checking for speeders on one of the two highways that bisect the county. I try to work 2-3 times per month and so far I really enjoy it. Eventually I may try to get on as a reserve in a department a little closer to home but for now I like where I am at

Triple D Winter Race

So the Triple D Winter Race is the first race in what I have named my Winter/Spring of Awesome. I was looking for a January race and it came up on a Google search. It is held in Dubuque Iowa which is only about 90 minutes from where I live.Not sure why they call it the Triple D but it sure is a cool race. I choose to run the Half Marathon (13.1 miles) because frankly I was a little apprehensive about running a trail race in the winter, would I need snowshoes or what? The Triple D is actually 4 events there is the Half Marathon, Full Marathon and Ultra Marathon and a 100KM Mountain Bike race. All these races where held on the Heritage trail system which is a rails to trails system that follows the valley made by the Little Maquoketa River in Dubuque County Iowa. I was a little worried the week prior to the race that it wouldn't be a true winter race as it hadn't snowed yet this year. Not to fear though, we got about 6-8 inches dumped on us the Thursday prior to the race so there was plenty of winter for everyone.

So I got up early the morning of the race and made the 90 minute drive to Dubuque. On the way I did my traditional crappy job of fueling up by eating an egg mcmuffin and a small coffee. One of these days I will do things right but why mess with tradition? Packet pickup was at the Grand Harbour Resort in Dubuque and I arrived about 0815, early enough to pick up my packet and get dressed prior to the pre race briefing at 0900.  This was a self supported race so what I carried would be what I had. I was dressed in layers, long sleeve tech shirt, running pants, stocking hat, gloves and my old Army PT jacket (hey it is free and it works) with a GU Gel and some GU shots in my left pocket, and my iphone, emergency numbers and inhaler in the other. On my feet I had my gators and Yak Trax.I was also carrying 2 hand bottles full of diluted Gatorade.

After the pre race briefing we loaded on the Half Marathon bus which would shuttle us to the start point out near Farley Iowa. The trip to the start took awhile, long enough for me to take a little nap. Eventually we turned off the highway and down a gravel,snow covered road. I wasn't sure the bus would make it up a few of the hills but it was fine. The bus dropped us off at a point where the trail crossed the road and we all piled out. There was probably about 20 runners in our group. In front of us heading back towards the east was the start line spray painted on the trail.

So we all kind of milled about for about 10 minutes or so and I took the opportunity to relieve myself in the woods.

Finally someone yelled " Is there any one from the race here?" No one answered, we were on our own. See what I mean about self supported? After figuring out there was no official starter we all just hit our watches and started down the trail.

The race itself was pretty uneventful. I was listening to metal tunes on my iphone and every 5 minutes my running app would inform me of my current distance and pace. The snow got a little slushy in the sunny areas but I found if I took smaller strides and turned my feet over quicker the traction was improved. Since the course followed the river bottom, winding in an out of the large bluffs in the area I think it was slightly downhill the whole way with only one uphill in the whole race. Snowmobiles also used this trail and if you kept on the spots they had packed down the traction was pretty good.

About mile 7 I started bonking a little due to my lack of nutrition but the Gu took care of that issue pretty quickly. I stopped a few times to take pictures and pretty much decided to just enjoy the scenery and the nice sunny winter day. About mile 8.5 we passed the base of the Sundown Ski area and seeing all those people waiting on chairlifts got me daydreaming about when my Special Forces team was doing winter training near WinkleMoos in Bavaria. We were ski touring around the area and one night we stopped at a Hutte and drank way to many Weisbieres. We then had to ski back in a blizzard a couple of kilometers to our hooches (tents) that were set up in the woods on the mountain. Good times. I wasn't really passed by anyone and I didn't pass anyone else after the first few miles. Everyone just kept moving it down the trail. There was one poor guy who  was using cross country skis but the gravel base on the trail was messing them up as well as the snowmobile tracks. He also had to take them off everytime we crossed a gravel road. He made it though about 15 minutes after I came in. 

Towards the end as the temperature rose to about freezing I started getting hot as I was just a tad overdressed. I took off my hat and unzipped the ventilation ports under the arms of my jacket ( reason I wore the jacket). I quickly cooled back down. The finish line was just as unceremonious as the start, we crossed a bridge and stopped in the parking lot of a bar. You walked inside told them your name and they wrote it down. There was a bar tab established for racers however which was a plus.

Unfortunately I couldn't stay to long as I had a family event going on later in the afternoon, so I grabbed the first shuttle back to my car. All in all this was a good race and fun. I finished in 2:16:49 which is not a PR but is 15 minutes faster than the last half marathon I did. That last half marathon was also on dry pavement so I felt pretty good about my time. I think next year I will probably do the Marathon.

Wrestling: Opportunities to Succeed

University of Northern Iowa Assistant Wrestling Coach Mark Schwab wrote an excellent article on winning themes in the 2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Check it out here   http://theguillotine.com/wp/?p=4638 .


As I read the article it came to me that theses themes dovetailed nicely with my theory that wrestling is the sport that causes us to achieve the most in life no matter our level of expertise or ability. I have borrowed Schwab's 10 winning themes and expanded them to regular life.

10. Stance Mobility and Discipline- Schwab makes the point that those who win are those that stay in an athletic stance and employed correct repetition. This is also true in our everyday life..winners employ good habits and keep themselves positioned to win at all times. Losers let themselves relax and get out of the correct position. Life's winners keep their eye on the ball.

09. The winners moved forward or circled- Controlled but not reckless, successful people show relentless forward progress in their affairs. Winners continue to set goals for themselves on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis. When you quit moving forward you lose.

08. The winners have a defense that is rarely penetrated- Our defense means a strong financial situation, family, and faith life. Being able to fall back on these strong defensive measures in bad times will separate the winners and the losers.

07. The winners wrestled through the period and kept their butt to the center- Essentially this is telling us to fight to the end, never quit and always look to go on the offense. If you get knocked down look at it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Quitters never win.

06. The winners attacked the bottom position- When you are down you need to explode from the bottom. You need to be aggressive and persistent in facing life's challenges.Make it hard to keep you down.

05. The winners kept their opponent down- Once we have surmounted an obstacle or problem we need to keep it from reappearing. keep the pressure on and learn from your mistakes so as not repeat them.

04. I cannot tell you how many points were scored on the edge of the mat or in the closing seconds - Once again never quit. Also never relax until the problem is solved don't let your guard down and get an unpleasant surprise.

03. The athlete who tried to hold on to or protect a lead often lost- Relentless forward progress. Everyday is a job interview as I like to say. You cannot rest on your laurels because our society is very much what have you done for me lately. Prove yourself everyday.

02. The winners are physically strong and conditioned- Keep yourself in shape both mentally and physically so that you can handle issues as they arise.

01. Strong Body language- Those that appear confident and expect to win often do. Mental focus and a strong desire coupled with the confidence to realize our goals eventually result in victory.

Wrestling instills these values. Winners in wrestling and life attempt to use them constantly.

Last Post of 2011

2011 turned out to be a good year. Many races were run,money was raised for charity,emergency medicine was performed. Athletics were officiated,work was completed and weight was lost. Some goals were met,some were not and some changed from the original concept. However positive forward movement was made in all areas. To all my friends,family and anyone I interact with make 2012 another good one. I plan on it.

New Widgets

Hey it is a two fer Thursday. I was recently contacted by a student at UC Santa Barbara named Evan Thomas. Evan is working on a few online projects to benefit veterans.

The first is a Medal of Honor Data Base

Find the Best Medal of Honor Recipients

The other is a Veteran Grave Locator

Powered by LocateGrave

Check them out and help a young person out with some feedback. I have added them to this blog in appreciation.

De Oppresso Liber

Former Action Guy By The Numbers:2011

n Ok in what I have officially named The 2nd Annual By the Numbers Post, I now regale you with...numbers

 Officiating by the numbers
Football games officiated-50 ( this is down from last year. Didn't have as much time to officiate Lower level games)
Baseball games umpired-75 (see above)
Wrestling matches officiated-100-150 ( Roughly the same as last year)
Top Ten Athletes or Teams officiated-20
Hall of Fame Coaches whose hand I shook- 1 (Butch Pedersen Football West Branch, Iowa High School Coaches Hall of Fame )
Number of Coaches that told us good job- Can't remember any this year, was a bad year for grumpy coaches

Running/Biking by the numbers 
Ultramarathons complete- 1 (Dances with Dirt 50K)
Marathons complete- 1 (Rockford Marathon)
1/2 Marathons complete- 1 (Soaring Wings 1/2 Marathon)

Marathon Relay Complete 6.6 Miles-1 (Quad Cities Marathon)15K run complete- 1 (Muddy Monster 15K)

10K run complete( Passionately Purple Quest for the Cure 10K)

8K run complete- 1 (Return of Turkey Trot 8K)
5K run complete- 2 (Alliant Energy 5K,Freeze Fest 5K)
Mountain Bike races complete- 1 ( Sylvan Island)
Miles run in 2011-1025 ( I still have a week left so add about 45 more to that. Those are scheduled miles)

Social Media by the numbers

Social media accounts-16 (twitter,facebook,myspace,linkedin,dailymile,google+,blogger,tumblr,youtube,posterious,instagram,foursquare, gowalla,getglue, pinterest,flickr)
Tweets-10691 (yep I have no life..still)
Blogs started-1  (Former Action Guy: irun iowa www.mikemac356.posterous.com)
Blog Posts-  tumblr-1107

                   google+- 57  

                   posterous- 62

                   instagram- 38

                   flickr- 137

                   pinterest-17

                   blogger-33 ( again no life..still and I like to talk about my favorite subject..me)

Emergency Medicine by the numbers 

Ambulance Services working for-2
Number of calls-100
Number of ratings taken and passed- 2 ( EMT-Intermediate and Advanced-EMT

Law Enforcement by the numbers 

Agencies working for-1
Hours worked-108 ( still new at this)
Number of Reserve Deputy Modules taken and passed- 5 

Fandom by the numbers

Times I saw the Troy Trojans football team - 5 (ESPN3 is awesome)
Times I wished I hadn't-5
Times I watched the Iowa Hawkeye football team- 12
Times I I wished I hadn't-5 (was a bad year for football at the old homestead)
Times I saw the Minnesota Vikings live at the Metrodome-1 (even though we suck this year the game was still awesome)
Times I disowned the Chicago Cubs-Everytime

Random Numbers

Years since Army retirement-7
Years since joining Army-29
Years since graduating Airborne School-28
Years since graduating Ranger School-23
Years since graduating Special Forces Qualification course-21
Time I miss Special Forces -Everyday
Kids graduated this year-0 ( next year will be the last)
Anniversaries-24
Birthdays-48
United States Practical Shooters Association Matches competed at-4

So there you have my year in numbers. Some things different from last year, some quite similar.  I hope I can maintain the status quo and keep things steady for next year as well.

See ya in 2012

How Do I Feel?

Ever since our administration announced the end of the war in Iraq I have not been sure how I feel. As I have talked about a few times on this blog I was part of the initial invasion of the country in 2003. It could even be said that Operation Iraqi Freedom was the culmination of my military career, it was the last time I would lead men in combat, it was the last time I would deploy on a real world mission, and it was the last time I felt truly in charge of my own destiny. Many people try to analyze how soldiers in combat feel, trying to get inside their heads and ascribe there own feelings and desires on to the members of our military. Killing is bad right?So those that kill must be screwed up when it is over? We have to think that way or the whole house of cards falls down.

I am going to be brutally honest here folks and realize that this statement applies to me and me alone, others have their own opinions. Ladies and Gentleman COMBAT IS FUN!!! Yes there are many moments where bad things happen and you wish you were far far away, but when you are in the heat of the moment and you are closing with and destroying the enemy as you have been trained to do all your adult life that is fun. By fun I don't mean ha ha funny I mean satisfying. The adrenaline and the intense feeling of being part of a hardass team of proven professionals cannot be replicated.

So how do I feel? Somehow I feel like a part of me has gone missing. During my career in the Infantry and Special Forces I went many places that the public never heard about or barely remembers. The Sinai Peninsula,Bosnia, and Kosovo where all real world missions where we braved the threat of hostile fire but these did not have the gravity of Operation Iraqi Freedom. So somehow the ending of the war in Iraq has officially closed my connection with the military 7 years after my retirement. As the years go by the phrase " I was in Iraq" will be said less and less as other conflicts supercede the one that once dominated the headlines. Eventually when I am an old old man  they will start doing countdowns of how many of us still survive.

I guess I just miss my teammates. De Oppresso Liber

Tandem

Standing on the ramp of the CASA 212 aircraft I couldn’t see anything but the red glow of the jump lights on the ceiling and the full moon as it slid in and out of the wispy clouds. Everything else was blocked out by the 6’3’ 230 pound Navy SEAL Lt I had strapped to the front of my harness like so much luggage. At 5’7” I was standing on my tiptoes to keep him from lifting me off the ground like a rucksack. Even though it was summer in Arizona the temperature at altitude was chilly and the wind swirled through the small two prop aircraft. The glow of the jumplights turned to green and the Jumpmaster gave the thumbs up signal to standby and I placed my googles over my eyes as we awkwardly shuffled to the edge of the ramp.


Our instructor/evaluator grabbed the lip on the edge of the ramp and swung himself out into space, hanging on by one hand like a human meat flag in the relative wind outside the aircraft. The jumpmaster swept his arm pointing out of the aircraft, in the signal to GO. Myself and my passenger rocked once, (he rocked, I was just along for the ride) and we tumbled out of the aircraft into the darkness of the desert night.

I attended the Military Tandem Master course in 1997. It was conducted at the Military Freefall School and was instructed by PO1 (SEAL) Shane H. and current United States Parachute Association President Jay Stokes. At the time Jay was a Special Forces Warrant Officer and the Chief Instructor/Safety Officer at the MFF School. I was an instructor in the Advanced Military Free fall course and was attending this training during a break in classes. Military Tandem was in its infancy and we were some of the first students to undergo the training. The concept was to train special operators to deliver cargo, either animate or inanimate via parachute into areas that may be denied more conventional methods.

We had spent the previous 3 weeks packing, inspecting and jumping the military tandem rigs manufactured by Strong Enterprises. We had started out conducting ground training and then progressed to “Hollywood” jumps with no passenger, passenger jumps, equipment jumps etc… Our last training evolution was to be a night, combat equipment, oxygen, weapon jump. To be more specific I and my passenger would both be equipped with a 60 lb rucksack, oxygen mask and bottles and a M4 rifle to simulate infiltrating a combat environment via High Altitude Low Opening Tandem parachute jump. I had swapped between two partners during my training a 5’2” 130 lb Filipino named Jonny and the aforementioned SEAL LT. Guess who was to be my partner for this jump? Well it wasn’t Jonny.

As we exited the aircraft I kept my head up as I felt the familiar wave where the relative wind coming from under the aircraft attempts to flip you over. Riding the wave is easy if you keep your head and feet up during the transition to stable freefall. If you don’t you can go for a ride ,as the wind will catch your extremities and send you tumbling across the sky. As we transitioned belly to earth something , perhaps part of our equipment, started pushing us over on our side. I panicked slightly as during training the terminal sidespin was the one malfunction that was shown to be the most difficult to recover from. I immediately reached for and deployed my drogue even though we were not entirely stable. I was taking my chances with a drogue malfunction versus the sidespin scenario. Fortunately the drogue deployed as designed, I immediately checked my primary, secondary and tertiary ripcord devices. I also checked my cutaway pillows in the event of a malfunction upon parachute deployment. I then tapped the Lt for him to come out of position one. Basically up until this point he had been in a ball as so much cargo. When I tapped him he went into a freefall arch to assist me in stabilizing our two bodies.

I checked my altimeter and we were approximately 9000 feet above the deck. I tapped the Lt again and we initiated a turn so that we were oriented to face the landing area on the drop zone. As usual the landing area was marked with an opened based triangle or wind arrow made of beanbag lights. From our altitude they looked like softly glowing points of light surrounded by the pitch black of the desert floor. As we turned, we started to rock violently or buffet. This was fairly normal in Tandem operations and signified that basically something was catching the wind unsymmetrically and there is not much you can do about it except for try and relax. As we fell though the buffeting became more violent and it started to push my oxygen mask up over my eyes. I had to keep grabbing it with one hand and push it down while trying to maintain stability.

At 7000 feet I tapped the Lt and he once again assumed position one. I visually cleared the airspace above me in preparation to deploy our canopy and at 6000 feet I waved my arms over my head to signal anyone above they were about to get a face full of F111 fabric. Due to our severe buffeting issue I then located and grabbed my primary ripcord, keeping my eyes glued on the altimeter until we reached 5000 feet. I timed the pulling of the ripcord so we were at the peak of the buffeting, this way our drogue would not entangle with our feet or any equipment when it was released.

The sensation you get from deploying the tandem canopy is different than the one you get from a normal freefall parachute. Normally when you deploy your pilot chute this, small parachute will pull the deployment bag containing your parachute out of the pack tray on your back and as the parachute elongates and fills with air you slow down from terminal velocity quickly and sometimes violently. I always packed a “snivel” into my chute so the opening was a little slower but softer. However during a Tandem deployment you actually speed up prior to canopy deployment. Once you pull the ripcord it releases the drogue that you had been trailing, this drogue acts as your pilot chute and deploys your canopy. When the drogue is released the tandem pair feels a “trapdoor” affect as suddenly for a few seconds you are back up to terminal velocity.

When our canopy deployed I immediately checked it for any holes or discrepencies. I then unhooked the straps at waist level that had been cinching me to my passenger, we were still connected by shoulder straps. I tapped him and he was worked his leg straps farther under his buttocks, so he could sit more comfortably in the harness. As he did this I located and gained possession of the steering toggles. I turned our canopy towards the landing area. I handed my passenger the lower set of toggles so he could assist in steering our huge canopy.

I pulled the googles off my eyes so I could see better, and we executed a number of slow,lazy S-turns upwind of our targeted landing area. Keeping our eyes out for other jumpers we kept our heads on a swivel as we and the other tandem pairs formed a stack up wind of the target. At 1500 feet we headed downwind and past the target landing area, at 1000 feet we turned to the right and went cross wind. At 500 feet we turned back into the wind and headed into the open legs of the wind arrow. At 100-150 feet we released our rucksacks and I felt the old familiar tug as they reached the end of the 15” lowering line and started swinging in the air. As we neared the ground may passenger lifted his legs in almost a sitting postion, approximately 15 feet above ground I heard our rucksacks hit the dirt and I flaired the canopy dynamically to slow our forward progress. Due to the limited visibility and the extreme height differential between myself and my passenger, I had no intention of trying to make a standup landing. When in doubt feet and knees together and execute a Parachute Landing Fall. We hit terra firma in a cloud of dust and basically slid forward into the wind arrow. Our rucksacks came bounding up behind us, hitting me in the back of the legs with their momentum. Members of the drop zone party came out to assist us in untangling ourselves and recovering our equipment. As we walked towards the bus that would take us back to the hanger, I breathed a sigh of relief. One down, one to go, I was to be the passenger next.

Wrestling-What Men do during Boys Basketball Season

Where I come from the sport of Wrestling is as popular as any other with possibly the exception of Football. The average wrestling fan in the state of Iowa is probably one of the most knowledgeable of any "casual" fan you might meet. We live and breathe wrestling at all levels like those in Texas do Football. In my room at my parents house I had two posters on my wall. John Wayne in the movie "Green Berets" and the above picture of Dan Gable, multiple Iowa High School,NCAA,and Olympic Champion. One defeat in his High School and Collegiate Career. Unscored upon in the 1972 Olympics, and legendary coach of the University of Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling team.

As a high school wrestler honestly, I wasn't very good. I was unbeaten at the Junior Varsity level and about .500 at the Varsity level. However this didn't keep me from dreaming big. I would get up in the morning and run the 10 miles to school in a rubber suit (most of this stuff is frowned on, if not illegal for High School wrestlers now.) I would lift weights every day with the football players, I would run home. I would go days without eating trying to make weight. I would do things differently if I knew then what I know now but who wouldn't? But I was going to be like Gable. I knew that I was going to be an Olympic Champion. I believed it with my entire being. The year I failed to make the District tournament was one of the most devastating of my life.

But look what wrestling taught me. It taught me you had to be tough to realize your goals. It taught me everyone doesn't always get what they want. It taught me that you can push yourself farther than you think you can.It taught me to make a plan, to drive on to the objective and aggressively take what you want. All these things I used and still use.

During my 22 year career in Army Airborne  Infantry and Special Forces units I readily credited my wrestling experiences with giving me the edge to take on and pass the challenges of Ranger School,The Special Forces Qualification Course, Military Free Fall School and many other special operations courses.Wrestling gave me my first taste of what I was made of and what I was capable of doing.

When I retired from the military and moved back to Iowa, the epicenter of wrestling, I decided to give back to the sport. I knew I wouldn't have time to coach but I thought I could officiate, so I became a wrestling offcial and have been one for 7 years now.Officiating has its ups and downs, the fans in this state cut no slack when it comes to the sport. At any given high school meet in this area, 20 miles from the University of Iowa, you might see any number of former state champions, NCAA Collegiate Champions or even the odd World or Olympic team member acting as a coach or even just sitting in the stands as a parent. Everyone in this state has wrestled or knows someone that did. The pressure is intense even at the High School level and the Iowa State High School Wrestling Championships are televised statewide and have a rich tradition.

I enjoy everything about the sport and as the season starts for another year I have started officiating once again. When I am out on the mat seeing two young men and even a few young women these days, I am intensely watching as they grapple with each, trying to bend the other to their will and assert physical dominance. Sometimes I look at these athletes and wonder which one of them will be the next Olympic Champion, the next Ranger, the next Green Beret. Or which one of them will always remember when they were simply just a "wrestler."

The Return Of The Turkey Trot 8K 2011

So once again I laced up my running shoes for my monthly race. The month of November it has become tradition for me to run the Return of the Turkey Trot 8K. This would be my third year running this race. The race is held in the next town over so it is also convenient.

So the morning of the race as per my usual pre race ritual I hit my snooze alarm until it was too late to hydrate or eat anything. Once I finally got out of bed I had just enough time to change into my running gear and drive the 9 miles to the start. Temperature was in the low 30's so beside wearing my running pants and a long sleeve shirt I brought a stocking hat,jacket and gloves for the race. Besides the temp however the sun was shining and the weather was good for running.

They had moved the start of the race about 2 miles south to Marion High School from its former location in front of the middle school. This was due to some major road construction around the former start. Said construction also made it difficult to get to the start since a lot of roads were closed. Parking was at a premium and I ended up parking in the back of the high school on the grass as all the lots and streets were full. As a mentioned last year http://mikemac356.blogspot.com/2010/11/return-of-turkey-trot-8k-2010.html this race has gotten bigger than most local 5K. I think they said there were 1800 runners/walkers registered this year.

One thing I did like was that they actually took over 50% of the suggestions I had to make the race better this year. They staggered the start times for the races, changed the routes for all the races and added chip timing. However probably because of the location, porto potties ( I didn't see any) were still at a premium and water stops were still only 2. But I can see they are trying and it is overall a fun time. So once I parked I decided to ditch the jacket and gloves but I kept on my stocking hat. I walked in to the school to use the facilities and on the way out got to see the race mascot.

The reason this race is so popular is that they really make it a community event and there are a lot of school kids on "teams" running the 4K. The kids love the turkey. After hanging out with Mr. Gobbler I moved to the start line and waited for the signal. Right about 0900 at race start the mayor gave us a few words, they played the National Anthem and gave a benediction. Due to the staggered start the 4K runners would start after us so there were many people milling around when we got the READY,SET,GO!!!!

Once the race started it took me about 30 seconds to get to the actual start line due to the crowd and the fact I always start at the back. We ran slightly down hill for about .5 miles until we took a left into a residential neighborhood and started heading up hill. All of the route for about the next 1.5-2 miles was familiar as the course in prior years had run by the high school so in reality we were running the same course from a different start point. I was feeling pretty good and like always I started out fairly quick (for me) until I settled into my natural pace assisted by the adreneline of racing. The first two miles we ran south and east away from the start. The neighborhood also had some fairly significant ups and downs which tested my endurance as I don't run a lot of hills. I was really concentrating on trying to run upright to keep my lungs open and keep a quick foot turnover. I passed the first mile in 8:33 watch time and 9:00 gun time. I was breathing hard but easy as we headed back north and west.

At this point we joined the 4 k route for about a block and then turned back on our own. This was uncharted territory as this was the part of the route that had changed since last year. This part was fairly flat to rolling and somewhere about mile 3 I passed Kris T. who is married to Brian T. who I ran with in the Muddy Monster 15K. I asked where he was and she said he was up ahead somewhere. I continued on pace trying to run easy. We turned west and where now running past the old start point. It was somewhere in this area that I met up with my old nemesis from last year "little guy who runs." He is a year older as am I but you gotta have alot of intestinal fortitude to run like that as a 9 year old. I wished him luck as I passed him, there would be no back and forth today I was feeling too good.

The route continued west on a long fairly flat straightaway. I hit the 4 mile point in 33:21 and I knew I was on pace for a 8K PR. Looking ahead I recognized Brian about 500 meters ahead of me. I decided I would just keep running and if I caught him so be it.As it happened we turned back south towards the finish line and I steadily gained ground on him. Just about the time I caught him we headed into the cemetary. I had forgotten about the cemetary since in the last few years it was at the beginning not the end of the race. The route through the cemetary starts with a steep downhill and finishes with about a 200-300 yards steep incline to run out of it. Deviously they had kept it as part of the route. I passed Brian on the downhill and waved and remarked how the hill was going to suck, he agreed. I powered up the hill, passing many, but it took a lot out of my legs. Brian caught me shortly after the crest and we ran together for about a mile. As we turned back south and uphill for the last .5 miles to the finish my legs were still feeling the cemetary hill and Brian pulled ahead. I kept up my pace however and crossed the finish line just behind him.

Gun time was 42:03 and my watch time was 41:46. I had run a PR and beat my time from last year by over 2 minutes 30 seconds. As a bonus since I had started out at the back and he had started in front of me I had actually beat Brian by 6 seconds..sweet. Its fun having somone to run against even if its not really a competition. Now I have to find a December race.