One Down, One To Go

On Sunday night, I did not study as much as I wanted to and did not get in bed as early as I wanted to because some guests stopped by. Normally this is not a big deal; however, I had scheduled myself to sit for a Cisco Certification test on Monday morning. So I was already off to a bad start.

I woke up Monday morning early and began some last minute studying. I felt great. Unfortunately, I turned on the wrong stove burner and began to melt a plastic salt shaker. When I tried to take the salt shaker off the burner, the bottom melted off and salt went everywhere.

So here I am vacuuming my kitchen at 6:15 a.m. on a Monday morning, two hours away from taking a major test (which costs $150 whether I pass or fail). And while I vacuumed, I did my best not to let this event affect my mood. My brain wanted to say that this was a bad omen, but I wouldn't hear it. I had to pass.

When I let the dogs out, I realized that it would be cold, gray, and rainy all day. Of course it would; why wouldn't it be my least favorite type of weather on such an important day, right? I almost started to believe that there was a divine conspiracy against me, but I am too rational for that. Ahem.

It is 7:30 am: The test starts in 1 hour, but I need to leave in 20 minutes. I am shaved, showered, cologned, creamed--this test is turning me into a metro-sexual this morning. My strategy is to look good and feel good. Therefore, I add a tie to my ensemble for Monday. Ties are rare on me, but today I want to feel professional and intelligent. Man, do I feel good. Nothing can stop me now.

It is 7:45 am and I am ready to go. I am dressed and looking great. I have my coat, my paperwork, my laptop bag, my wallet...I cannot find my keys. Now, this is something that has happened many times in my house: me looking for my car keys. However, it hasn't happened in a long time. Since I began treating my ADD, I have tended to lose items less often; I am more organized and efficient now.

Now it is 7:55 am. I should be driving through rain and traffic to get to my $150 test, but I have the whole family crawling around the house trying to figure out what stupid place I chose to lose my keys on. I am trying not to panic. I am trying not to snap at the ones whom I love. I am close to cursing God. I am on the verge of an stroke. I finally find my keys on my workbench in the garage. I sorta remember putting them there, but I can not remember why.

No, I'm not making this up. This all happened yesterday.

So now I am driving through rain and traffic in a hurry for my test; you know, the one that costs $150 and affects my career. I almost rear-end someone. Someone else is driving at 20 mph in a 35 mph zone....grrrr!

I get to the testing center, find the restroom, find the sign-in desk, and get seated at the testing computer. I am ready. My head is screwed on straight and all systems are "go". The first question (out of 42) is the most complex question I have ever faced. In one question, I have to chose several network elements, select proper cabling, deduce an addressing scheme based on known parameters, and then configure several devices based on what I know of the rest of the network. I need to do math, order my steps, try not to miss anything, and save my work on each device. Holy shnikes!

I know how to do everything in this question, but the math does not come easy for me and I have this nagging feeling that I am going to forget something. The test is timed, and I take a long time to answer this one. I am concerned that the rest of the test is going to be like this: harder than I was prepared for.

I finish number one and click next. The second question is a softball. I knock it over the fence and click next. Most of the test is a softball. There are two more complex questions that eat up time and heat up my brain, but most of the test is exactly what I was prepared for.

After I answer question # 42, I find that there isn't a "Next" button. There is only a button to "End Exam". I am surprised to be finished; I thought I was taking too long and here I am with 30 minutes left on the clock and I am done.

Clicking the "End Exam" button is the moment of truth; you find out immediately if you passed or not. I have been here twice before; both times I clicked the button and found out I missed the passing score my only a few points. This time, I have a Pavlovian-learned fear about clicking the button. Even so, I did my best and I feel good about my performance. I can't go back, so I click "End Exam".

I passed. I beat the odds, subverted the conspiracy, kept my wits, checked my negativity, and I passed. Damn it felt good.

That is one of two exams I need to pass for the CCNA designation. I will probably schedule the second exam for next Monday, unless something comes up. It just feels great to be halfway there, now.

Great Quote

I just ran across a great quote:

"My grandson recites the Gettysburg Address and he's only nine. Lincoln didn't say it until he was fifty."

-Al Okin

How about a word for the day?

Percipient: adj. An ability of, or knack for, keen perception; n. One who perceives readily.

The Post to End the Silence

I have been busy. My life is evolving. I am re-evaluating what is important. I am finding more time with the kids and myself, less time for work, blog, and yardwork. I am very happy; I am proud if this change. I am satisfied with the direction I am taking.

The blog is not going away at this time. I still see its usefulness to me as a journal to develop my thoughts with, a tool to track my thought-life over time, and a method of sharing myself with the world--whether they like it or not. I am not as inspired as of late to write about anything. I actually have three drafts that I have not published because I started with something to say but couldn't complete the thought concisely.

I would like to find a way to shorten my posts more. That will be a great benefit from this blog if it teaches me to write more concisely. I will work here on my communication skills; getting my point accross before the other person passes out or clicks onto the "Next Blog" button.

I wrapped up an 8-week class at the Community College, which occupied some time. I am hot and heavy to achieve my CCNA certification, so that occupies a lot of time. My daughter is beginning to discover how enriching books can be, and we are spending a lot of time together reading--that is the best part of my life right now. I also have a lot going on at work to keep me out of trouble. Altogether, life is busy but not to a stressful level. It is a near-perfect level of accomplishment, activity, and stimulation.

In November, I will sell my soul to the corporate devil and begin my MBA program at Baker University. I have already applied and been accepted, it is just a matter of when classes begin. I have put the M.A. of International Studies from KU on hold; for several reasons I determined that this was not the best time to pursue that option. The Baker MBA should be more useful in my immediate future and it will develop my Graduate-level study and research skills for future use. In addition, I think it will affect my family and current job less, which is very important at this point.

I hope to finish my CCNA certification by November. If not, I really need to finish it this year; I am very close to achieving it and it will reap immediate benefits at work. That certification has been on my "to-do" list for seven years, though I have often considered it more of a dream than a goal. Right now, it is a "must-have". If I can check off both the degree and the certification in one year, then 2008 is gonna be unimaginable.

An update on my Organizational Challenge with myself. My office at home and work are improved. My garage is functional. My basement is useful for workouts (and yes, I am using it sometimes.) My van remains highly organized, and trash remains only in the trash-can.

In other words, I have achieved a new standard. I have plenty of room for improvement, but I cannot believe that I used to be such a filthy pig. I am now very careful about my van. My desk at work and home has a tendency to get cluttered still, but that is temporary and I am still much better off now than I was 3 months ago. It is amazing what a little medicine and understanding can do to transform a life.

I am still thinking about Corporate Social Responsibility on a regular basis, and I plan on using this blog to talk more about it. I hope that I can apply my growing understanding of CSR to my MBA studies and perhaps find a way carve my own niche in this field.

Again, I do not know how to conclude here. I am determined to post something on this blog, even if the conclusion is a clunky, sudden halt. Therefore, here it is: the final period at the end of the sentence that concludes my blogging silence.

Unknown White Male

I just watched a fascinating documentary that I have to share. It is called "Unknown White Male". The story goes like this:

Early in the morning on July 2, 2003 some guy opened his eyes in a subway car and did not recognize the landscape passing him by. He had never seen this terrain before. That can be disturbing in any situation, but he had more to be disturbed about. He could not remember where he was going. Then he tried to think of where he was coming from, but couldn't retrieve that data either. Finally, he tried to figure out who he was, where he lived, and what he could do next. To his fear and bewilderment, he had no memory of his name, his life, his past, or anyone who could help him. All he had was his body, the clothes he was wearing, and a backpack.

If this was Hollywood, the contents of his backpack would have been a 9mm Beretta, a 3 carat diamond, and a stuffed animal. If it were my backpack, there would have been at least a wallet with IDs and a cell phone. His backpack had a set of keys, a vile of medicine, and a "Lonely Planet Latin America Spanish Phrasebook". This guy was a blank slate, and he had no idea how to proceed. He played it safe by finding a police station.

The police took him to a hospital. There was no explanation for his memory loss, and only one lead on his identity. Inside the book in his backpack was a name on a slip of paper. He called the person, but they weren't sure who he was and they could not come see him at the hospital because they were caring for an elderly parent.

At some point, he was asked by a nurse to sign a document. Without thinking, he scrawled out his signature. It was almost completely illegible, but it proved that there was still some piece of him left. It also told him that his first name started with a "D".

The person whom he called has a daughter. She told her daughter to check this out and see if it was someone she knew. The daughter called the hospital and after speaking with him for a minute told him his name was Doug, he lived a great life, and she would come get him in 30 minutes. And that is where Doug Bruce began a fascinating journey.

As it turns out, Doug lived in New York, in The Village in a large, nice apartment. He was in his thirties, apparently came from money, and had retired after making his own money as a stockbroker for several years in New York. Doug began to videotape his experience as he rediscovered his life all over again. As fortune would have it, he had a friend who made movies and wanted to make a project out of Doug's experience. The two of them together made a fantastic documentary.

The movie explores some basic existentialist, philosophical problems. When Sartre or Camus discuss Existentialism, they are speaking in theoretical or fictional terms. Doug Bruce examined existentialism, epistemology, and every other category of philosophy firsthand as he examined life itself and who the historical Doug Bruce was with a blank-slate mind. In the movie, they compare him to a newborn baby with a mature brain.

Doug re-experiences snow, fireworks, and the London "Changing of the Guard", all of which he had no recollection of. Early in his experience, as he began to question who he was and where he came from, he wondered about his family. He discovered he had a Father and two sisters who were very loving. Unfortunately, he also discovers that his mother passed on some time ago. He had already mourned his mother at the time, but with his memory loss he was forced to mourn his mother's passing again. Of course, now he was mourning someone he had not known. I guess he was mourning that inherent desire in all of us to have a loving mother.

He meets all of his old friends, a network that is large and spread across the globe. He sees old movies of himself. He examines his keepsakes and reads letters he wrote. Nothing jogs his memory, but it helps him develop a fascinating perspective on life.

Everyone who Doug meets expects him to act like the old Doug. Most of the people I know guide their lives by other people's expectations. Almost everyone I know has made major life decisions such as where they live, their occupation, their spouse, their religion, and their political affiliation based on the expectations of their parents, firends, co-workers, employers, and the prevailing zeitgeist.

However, he is approaching life with a blank state and treating it as an opportunity to discover the axiomatic truths of life. Over a year after his memory loss, Doug tells an old friend that he does not feel pressured to recover his old memories. It is apparent that he is comfortable knowing that the old Doug was successful and loved by many people; therefore, the new Doug can be successful and loved too. If anything, it seems that memory loss has propelled Doug closer to the pinnacle of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Without the burdens and pressures built up over thirty years of life, he is free to take his possessions, wealth, friends, and inherent skills to a point of self-actualization.

Doug was lucky in some ways. He did not have to worry about a spouse and offspring, which freed him to take an adventure rather than desperately recover and fit back into the old mold. He also had wealth, so he did not need to worry about how he would eat and pay for electricity and retire--that was all taken care of. He also did not have to come to terms with being an asshole in his former life, as Hollywood loves to portray in Amnesiac movies. He simply had to take life in, let life happen, and draw his own conclusions.

Was he still Doug Bruce? Could he be held responsible for the bad things he had done (if any)? Was he obligated to like the people whom he had been close with in the past? Would he still have the same interests and preferences?

To boil it all down, Doug is an experiment in how much of our character is chemical/genetic and how much is shaped by environment. His friends and family did not get to hold a funeral for the old Doug, but since his molecules were still walking the earth with his voice and features, they never had to experience total loss. Two of his friends mentioned how they were quickly forgetting the old Doug and getting used to the new one.

One interesting thing that bridged his two lives: He had left Wall Street to learn photography. He had two years of school under his belt prior to the memory loss. Now after the loss, he wished to continue his studies. Legally, he was the same person and therefore was entitled to claim his transcripts. However, even though he paid for, attended, and completed the courses in his transcript, he no longer retained most of that knowledge. Therefore, his school required him to either prove he had the skills of a third-year photography student or begin his studies again. Within two months, he was able to re-learn two years of skills and enter the third year of photography studies.

One of his professors discussed how Doug demonstrated that much of his knowledge is contained under the surface, somewhere. He also talked about how Doug was now a more serious student and a more profound artist behind the camera. I suspect that they could have filled 90 interesting minutes just with Doug's re-introduction to photography and his transcendence of his former abilities and passions.

I can't say that this movie will change my life. I am not sure any movie has. However, this movie did something that is rare among movies: It excited by brain and made me consider new thoughts. For me, that is often the best way to spend a couple of hours. Just the process of thought can be invigorating. If that process leads to a new conclusion or idea, then all the better. Sometimes, it is nice to belly-laugh and suspend rationality. However, a movie that makes you think can make you feel like you accomplished something while being entertained.

Here is a trailer to the film:

Corporate Social Responsibility? Never Heard of It.

I have been studying business in one form or another since I was a teenager. We received lessons on finance, economics, and market-based realities starting in junior high school from Junior Achivement. I also learned a lot from my business-minded father. I found business interesting and understandable.

That education never really ceased over the years, but it took on a new dimension in the summer of 1997 when I took my first college course, "Business Math". For the next ten years, I would be employed in the business world by successful companies, including two Fortune 500 companies. I would take required and voluntary training offered by those companies and read the emails sent out by managers. I would also attend four colleges that all cater to the business community. I would be exposed to an immeasurable amount of marketing messages through the TV, Radio, print, billboards, and Internet. I often read business headlines and news. I listen to books on tape, many of which are business-oriented. In other words, I am well-versed in popular business messages and ideas. Or, so I thought.

In the second to last class required to attain my Bachelor of Science in Business Management degree from Baker University, a well-respected school in the local business community, I had a paper to write. The class was "Multi-National Management" and the requirement of the paper was vague enough: almost anything having to do with managing a company with operations in several nations. I was interested in Russia at the time and knew that there would be many resources describing the sticky situation of doing business there amidst the infamous corruption, the remnant paradigms of communism, and the rampant xenophobia in Russia. Among other relevant articles, I found an article that argued for teaching the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to Russian managers. The authors briefly explained what CSR was, why Russians would likely be responsive to the message, and where the biggest opportunities would be in their society and economy.

This was the first time I had heard of CSR. The concepts show up all over the place in religion, ethics, morale stories, common sense, and business practices. However, I had never heard of this singular business concept that provided a framework and philosophy for social concerns, with data to prove the financial benefits of socially-responsible actions. I was floored; I was interested; I was born again.

Where was I during all that education, corporate training, and real-world experience? Was I sleeping through the CSR modules? Why was it that with over 120 credit hours in American business schools, plus twelve years of grammar and high school, I had never seen the three words "corporate", "social, "and "responsibility" put together in that order and context? After thousands of dollars, hours, books, papers, test, lectures, emails, phone calls, and conversations, I am just hearing about CSR now, from individual research, with only a two months to go before I graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management?

The last class that Baker required for my degree, it turns out, was a class that included the topic of CSR. However, the course did not use CSR as the religion, philosophy, framework, or guiding principle within which to define business ethics and community response; CSR was simply a topic in a chapter. It was downplayed as another definition to learn. For the students in that class who had not had a religious experience when they learned of CSR, it become another term to throw around in conversation and look smart.

I will never be the same. The article about CSR that was one of several sources for a paper that barely matter in the grand scheme of things has become my gospel. It is the good news I have been searching for. It helped me re-merge my splitting personalities, one which hated the monstrous and evil corporate ideal and the other that waved the banner of capitalism and saw no other way to live.

This is a link to the article that introduced me to CSR and got me excited about the future of business and America. If the link ever breaks, you can look on Ebsco-Host, Lexis-Nexis, or other periodical database for the following article:

Professors David S. Harrison and Patsy G. Lewellyn: "Russian Management Training Programs: Do Corporate Responsibility Topics have a Place?" Management Accounting Quarterly, Summer 2004: pages 25-36. I found it at: ABI/INFORM Global (PROQUEST) via Collins Library on 09 June 2007.

CSR? Why?

There is no doubt that capitalism has an ugly side and corporations can do great harm to communities and individuals. That always gnawed at me. I was raised on Christian ideals of charity, generosity, and the benefits of providing for needy people. I was also raised in the cold war and knew the evils of socialism and restricted markets. That is the source of my split personality.

The article that introduced me to CSR explained how Russians who were raised with communist paradigms could come to terms with capitalist principles by learning about CSR. This would allow them to seek profits while keeping the community in mind. In fact, it can be shown that including your stakeholders (employees, vendors, communities, governments, and special interests as well as your customers and shareholders) in your decisions can often make you more profitable, reduce your costs, improve your marketing efforts, and prevent many costly liabilities. According to the authors, who are American professors with extensive experience among Russian companies, this is a message that many Russians are waiting for. It is a message I had been waiting for as well.

Is it possible to be a company that really cares about people and remains profitable? Is it possible to insist that your employees, vendors, and customers all embrace certain ethical and environmental standards without losing your competitive edge? Is it possible to gain a competitive edge by being a good employer, a community partner, and leaving a soft footprint on the planet? CSR says yes.

If more companies said yes to the principles of CSR, we would have cleaner air and water, we would have more people gainfully employed and less cut loose after years of loyalty, we would have more employees who loved and were loyal to their company, and we would have safer products. The benefits of CSR-embracing companies never end.

Best of all, we would have an answer to America-haters. People once looked up to America and spoke of us in respectful awe because our freedom and prosperity was so rare. As democracy and globalization spread, people began to see America as a greedy, oppressive profiteer. I don't think that the military actions of Truman, Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton, and the Bushes are to blame for most of the ill-will towards America. I do not think the CIA is to blame. I think that the actions of so many corporations headquartered in America, sending American managers to foreign cultures to produce at low-cost and high-productivity and then send all of the wealth back to America is the cause for 99% of the ill-will aimed at us today.

If my generation, known as X, were to begin exporting socially-responsible policies among the multi-national corporations that we are gaining control of from the baby-boomers, then Generation Y (my kids) would get to know America as the baby-boomers did: the prosperous and high-minded nation that makes the planet better for everyone.

The authors of this article, Professors David S. Harrison and Patsy G. Lewellyn, spoke of how Russians lost that sense of purpose and working for the good of the community that they had under communism, a void that could be filled by the principles of CSR. I think that we, the western half of the Cold War, lost something too when communism fell.

America stood for democracy; we were the beacon of freedom. Now that freedom and capitalism is almost commonplace around the world, what do we stand for? Are you satisfied to be the leader against Islamic-fundamentalist terrorism (the so-called Global War on Terrorism)? Somehow, that isn't as sexy as opposing communism. What will we stand for once we have evidence of bin Laden's demise and the terrorist networks are rendered ineffective? What if the whole Muslim world decided as one to liberalize tomorrow? What would America stand for if we didn't have Terrorism to oppose?

Do we need to stand for anything? I say yes. If we are the leader, then we have more control over our destiny. Do we want to be Mexico or Canada and have people snicker when we assert ourselves? If we do not lead, then we will lose ground in the global market and will attract much less Foreign Direct Investment--in other words, there will be less money in America to go around. Are you willing to make do with less? How much less?

My vision for America is that we stand for being socially responsible and profitable. As Generation X retires and Generation Y takes the helm, let America be looked up to for her prosperity and her benevolence. I hope that 30 years from today, as I may be retired or close to it, that America will not be known as a has-been but as a must-be.

Our schools are not preparing our kids to compete with Asia and Central Europe. Our companies are losing their dominance. America is losing its bragging right as the most benevolent, free, and prosperous nation. The environment has certainly been affected by the actions of humans and may jeopardize our future health and happiness.

Maintaining the status quo is not an option. We need a change. I vote for free markets dominated by socially-responsible corporations. Do you have a better idea?

$1 million sent to Iraq

The federal fiscal year ended on September 30th, Fiscal year 2008 (FY2008)started on October 1st. As they tallied the books for FY2007, a unit in the Marine Corps ended their year with a $1 million surplus. That is news by itself; I am sure you have heard it said of organizational budgets, "Use it or lose it." The unit's bean-counters probably knew several months ago that they would end up with approximately $1 million unspent. Therefore, we can assume that this was a planned event and that the General in command here is a risk-taker.

Lieutenant General Richard Zilmer, Commanding General, Third Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF)

To provide some context for you: The III MEF is a large unit. It is an infantry division, an Air Wing, and a logistical support group (supply, food, medical, communications, transportation, etcetera.) That equates to tens of thousands of people. When I was a fire team leader in a Marine rifle squad, responsible for four Marines, the Commanding General of III MEF was eight levels of bureaucracy above me.

When I read about how the III MEF is relinquishing $1 million of their budget to provide for the safety of Marines in Iraq, I got a warm, fuzzy feeling at first. Believe me, the III MEF could have spent that money in Okinawa at headquarters in the blink of an eye. There is never enough money to go around in a Marine Unit; many units have to trim their training schedule due to lack of funds. When you have thousands and thousands of Marines, aircraft, buildings, acres, vehicles, and assorted other military possessions, a $1 million can get spent in a heartbeat. Moreover, the budgetary powers that be may view this move as a signal that they can send III MEF $1 million dollars less in FY2008 since they didn't need it in FY2007.

The warm, fuzzy feeling did not last long. I got pissed, quickly. It is calendar year 2007. We entered Iraq on March 20, 2003. We still do not have enough protective equipment in Iraq? We are still begging for vehicles that are less susceptible to Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's)? Marines in Iraq have to rely on the charity of other Marine Units in order to be safe and effective?

I do not agree with the sentiment that BushCheneyPowellRumsfeldRice should have anticipated the insurgency. It should not have caught them by complete surprise, but I can understand if they did not send thousands of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles on the first wave to Iraq. Even so, it should not have taken long for them to realize the value these vehicles would provide.

When did the insurgency start? At what point should we have realized that IED's detonated during convoy would be the greatest threat our military would face in Iraq? I will bet both of those events occurred in FY2003, prior to October 2003. In FY2008, we should be wondering how we are going to get the hundreds of un-needed MRAP's out of Iraq because we sent too many.

I re-read the article again. I noticed a few more words, clarifying the situation. The $1 million is not going to purchase the MRAP's, it is going to fund the transportation of the vehicles from the manufacturer to Iraq. The way I interpret this sentence, the vehicles were not going to get to Iraq as quickly before the $1 million; the III MEF has simply sped up the delivery of the vehicle's.

According to the CIA's World Factbook, the United States spent $2.66 trillion in 2006. I am sure we spent more than that in 2007, if I know my President. God only knows how much we will spend in 2008, regardless of our revenue (we will spend hundreds of billions of dollars more than we receive--don't try this at home.) We have thousands of our finest men and women dying in vehicles unnecessarily, thousands more lose eyes, arms, legs, functions, and capacities; a better vehicle design will preserve lives, limbs, and potential.

WE ROUTINELY RUN BUDGET DEFICITS, WE WRITE BUDGETS IN THE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS. WE CANNOT FIND $1 MILLION DOLLARS TO SPEED THE DELIVERY OF VEHICLES THAT SHOULD HAVE ARRIVED FOUR YEARS AGO? WHO IS RUNNING THIS CIRCUS?

I think that General Zilmer is sending a message. A unit giving up $1 million dollars is rare; I would venture to say it almost never happens. You don't make 3 stars by being a generous altruist. It takes a savvy political mind, ruthless strategy, and a warrior's spirit. Therefore, his decision is so far out of the ordinary that it will require people to take notice. The message I think he is sending is that if no one else will do the right thing, he will risk his budget and career to do the right thing. I hope that message received in the Pentagon shames them into spending more on safety and less whatever they are wasting our money on this week.

The U.S. Defense Budget was $439.3 billion for FY2007. That does not include money earmarked specifically for the Global War on Terrorism, which was $67.9 billion in FY2006. Therefore, III MEF's $1 million is just a drop in the bucket; that moeny could have come from anywhere with little effect on the big picture. The cost of the MRAP's, especially if you spread it out over four years, is just a few drops in the bucket.

Were the MRAP's too expensive when compared with a tin-foil Humvee. What does it cost when a Humvee is blown by an IED, versus the cost if an MRAP suffers a similar fate? Is it really cheaper to just operate unarmored or after-market modified Humvees?

Obviously, the Humvee contained people. Try to calculate, in dollars, what our nation lost when those people encountered an IED. For the ones who die, we lost the investment we made in their training and education. We also lost the tax revenue they would have generated over a lifetime. You need to factor in tranportation and burial costs, plus payment of benefits to survivors. We won't even try to calculate the potential loss of their talents, ideas, and what their offspring might have accomplished.

For the ones who survive, we need to calculate the cost of their rescue (medevacs are expensive), medical treatment over years, the cost of their VA entitlement, the cost of their lost productivity during recovery and after, and any lost tax revenue we may expect from their new handicap.

Why wouldn't we have Iraq over-run with MRAP's right now? I can only assume it has something to do with money. I guarantee that if you made any conservative estimate on the figures above, you could justify the cost of MRAP's easily. Many city budget have included various armored vehicles which will probably (hopefully) never receive a scratch and only see action in training and parades. Why can't we do the right thing in Iraq? Why do Marine units in Okinawa have to send money to expedite equipment for Iraq that should have been delivered four years ago?

One more set of questions, in case you still think that our military and political leaders are doing a great job. Are the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles a new technology? Were the IED's a new technology when we first encountered them in Iraq? No, this is a threat that America has been prepared to deal with since World War I, and the technology of protecting troops has not advanced all that much over the years. You have newer allows of steel, but they existed in 2003 when the first IED blew up. You have newer research to calculate the ratios of space, armor, and angle, but we could have done well with the data available in 2003.

Iraq is a safer piece of real-estate in 2007, just as the MRAP's get "expedited" there. These MRAP's will get someone promoted, and maybe the administration will convince some people that this late gesture was, in fact, a great step in securing Iraq's future. I think that is a slap in the face to every spouse, child, and parent of a military hero who lost limbs or lives to IED's in unprotected Humvee's. The arrival of MRAP's in Iraq in 2003 would have meant that we lost much less than the thousands of Americans who died in a vehicle from IEDs. MRAP's in 2003 would also have rendered IEDs almost ineffectual; the insurgents would have had to employ a different tactic. If we had MRAP's as the primary mode of transportation in Iraq in 2004, we would be talking about the war in Iraq in the past-tense. It would be all over now, and we would have Iran cowering at the thought that they were next.

The article that got me all riled up:

III MEF returns $1 million to fund Marines in Iraq

Oct. 5, 2007; Submitted on: 10/05/2007 12:30:34 AM ; Story ID#: 200710503034

By Lance Cpl. David Rogers, MCB Camp Butler

CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan (Oct. 5, 2007) -- When III Marine Expeditionary Force ended up with an unexpected budget surplus at the end of fiscal 2007, MEF leaders quickly found a great way to spend it: invest it in the safety of Marines in Iraq.

III MEF returned $1 million in operations and maintenance funding to Headquarters Marine Corps recently to help fund transportation costs to expedite the shipment of new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to Iraq.

The MRAP vehicles are built with a special V-shaped hull and raised chassis to provide improved protection from mines and improvised explosive devices, according to Marine Corps Systems Command.

“Getting armored vehicles to Iraq is an urgent requirement that’s got to happen,” said Col. Kevin King, the III MEF comptroller. “This is a bill the Marine Corps must pay, and that trumps plasma screens and other less-essential items. We also had our Regional Contracting Office operating essentially at capacity with existing contract requests without dropping another million dollars on them at the 11th hour.”

III MEF received $4.6 million in late fiscal year 2007 as reimbursement for money spent on Joint Chiefs of Staff and Pacific Command-directed exercises.

“We weighed several options, but it came down to executing against an identified Global War on Terrorism bill vs. identifying new requirements and quite possibly being unable to obligate those funds, certainly not on anything as important as the MRAPs. This issue was discussed with the MEF CG and Chief of Staff and the guidance was that it made sense to give up the funds for a higher priority,” King said.

U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, Jr., spoke about the importance of getting the MRAP vehicles to Iraq during a congressional proceeding March 28 in Washington D.C.

“That statement that these MRAPs provide four to five times more protection than up-armored Humvees is not my estimate,” Biden said. “That is the judgment of our military leaders.”

Biden added that Gen. James Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps, wrote a message March 1 to Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, discussing his requirements to have MRAP vehicles in Iraq.

“Multi-National Forces – West estimates that the use of the MRAP could reduce the casualties in vehicles due to (improvised explosive device) attacks by as much as 80 percent,” he said.

III MEF is scheduled to receive five of the MRAP vehicles for training purposes in the near future.

http://usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/377C5192A08EF2968525736B0018C591?opendocument

3/3 In Iraq: October 2007

Below is the message from LtCol Nastase, the Commanding Officer of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines. Again, Nastase nails a great message that demonstrates progress, hope, and high morale among our nation's finest. These words need to be read by every American, to counter the negativity that we are bombarded with.

When I listen to Bush, I get the feeling that his perspective changes on a weekly basis, depending on who has been to his office the most often. When I listen to the news or read the headlines, I get the feeling that all is lost and America would be wise to tuck tail and run like hell out of Iraq. I feel like Nastase has given us a more balanced view. It is optimistic and upbeat by design, but I also think it is informative and realistic. The message below is not a PR job, it is a well-written message from a Commander to his extended family. I think his words provide a balanced message that admits to hard times and plenty of work to be done, but also describes progress, improvements, and a building momentum among the grass roots in Iraq to live peacefully.

3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines

From the Battalion Commander

1 October 2007

Hello to Friends and Families of “America’s Battalion”,

We’re approaching two months into the deployment and I want bring you up to speed on what's happening. I am well aware that a lot of Americans are now throwing "Al Anbar" around in casual conversation like it’s a new sitcom. We have certainly had our share of attention of late. I guess it’s because everyone is beginning to see the progress that is being made out here. I'll tell you (from someone who has more than a few trips to Al Anbar under his belt), that things are better than I could have ever imagined. Let me try to put what your Marines and Sailors are doing into perspective because a lot has changed over the years.

What's changed? Mostly Iraqi attitude. And the surge has helped.

Attitude. The people out here have simply decided "enough's enough". They've had it with Al Qaeda in Iraq’s (AQI’s) brutality on fellow Iraqis. I'm not exaggerating when I say AQI has literally been terrorizing Iraqis for too long. Most every Iraqi I talk to these days has had someone, sometimes many members of their families killed or kidnapped by AQI. So we are riding the wave of the "awakening" started by Sunni tribal leaders over the last year or so (with no small amount of work by the Marines). This more than anything has changed everything. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" kind of thing. The realists among them, I think, foresaw the stark difference between a Taliban-like future dominated by AQI versus one of potential prosperity with the help of the Americans. And they’ve turned toward becoming part of the solution.

The manifestations of this in our area really just sprung up in the last 3-4 months and we have worked to expand it. But AQI wasn't giving up without a fight. The Area of Operations (AO) we assumed was only partly "pacified"--with the Sheikhs standing up and their men volunteering to secure their own neighborhoods and joining the police and army. We also inherited areas that remained AQI sanctuary, from where they continued to attack and tried to roll back the clock. What we have essentially done in this first month and a half was clear out those areas, hold them, and allow the fledgling (yet eager) volunteers and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) to step up. Which brings me to the surge.

Surge. While Baghdad got all the early press, we had a Marine surge in Al Anbar as well. This has allowed us to finally stay in those areas we cleared, and in so doing, give confidence to the fence sitters that we would not leave them hanging as events in the past years forced us to do. Ironically, the "new" strategy is not new for us. What General Petreaus has advocated in Baghdad--get out and protect the populous--is exactly what the Marines did when we first came to Al Anbar in 2004 ("No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" was and remains the motto). Unfortunately, what started out well back then, soon was overcome by events such as Fallujah I, Fallujah II, and the Samarra Mosque bombing which required us to move forces from cleared areas to address these hotspots. In those early years we didn't have the ISF to maintain security in great enough numbers. The areas we left became sanctuary and killing fields for AQI and eventually we had to go back in and clear again. The extra forces we've had over the last nine months, combined with the awakening of the Sunni tribes, has allowed us to clear, hold, and build. The build is truly key because with the improved security situation, we can now put resources (ie. Money) against the basic needs of the people so that they can actually see tangible results. This gives them incentive to keep standing up and remain a part of the security solution. It has also provided a security and economic umbrella under which the ISF have been able to further grow and mature. In addition, it has led to a resurgence of local governance to manage the daily processes of life here. Still strongly organized around the tribes, we are leveraging that historic organizational framework to forge government institutions you'd be more familiar with (mayors, city councils, etc).

While the enemy continues to try and test us, it has largely been ineffective. But I continually remind the Battalion not to get complacent—there is still some fight left in our foe, although thankfully, it is a fraction of what it was only months ago, and certainly nothing like what we experienced in the last three years. Even the youngest Marines in the Battalion walk this fine line between being ready for anything and treating the Iraqi people with respect everyday. I am very proud of their ability to grasp the fundamentals of counter-insurgency--no easy task despite how much we trained for it. We spend a lot of time patrolling the towns, villages, and farms--a lot of it on foot, up close and personal. The heat is oppressive still (we have yet to have a daytime temp below 100)! But we've had very little problem adapting due to good leadership and planning at the lowest levels. I am repeatedly impressed with the maturity and attitude of our Marines and Sailors. I've watched them enter countless Iraqi homes, collect information, ask about their needs, hand out sweets and school supplies, and treat people with respect. The response from the locals is overwhelmingly positive...they are so thankful that it is us knocking and not AQI. The true sign that we are winning is the kids. I have been all over this area in past tours and rarely saw a kid outside, and even more rarely had any adult male do so much as glare back at me. Now everyone waves, barefoot kids line every street and road when they see us approach--clapping, giving thumbs up and dancing. Even young girls in their flowered dresses are out. Boys (and men too) can often be seen swimming in the canals in the afternoon. I've been invited to more meals than I could ever accept...even from the poorest of the poor. Marine patrols are routinely served tea in Iraqi homes.

Despite the positive atmospherics, it remains sad to see how poor a lot of these families are. Open sewage, mud floors, and limited electricity are still common. It is a very basic existence for most. But life goes on...”In sh'allah”...it is God’s will...as they say.

But for the first time, many Iraqis have told me they finally have hope for a better future. No one expects even a fraction of what you and I enjoy in America. But they see some light at the end of the tunnel. And I guess that's what counts.

Our Marines and Sailors, and especially our leaders spend an inordinate amount of time doing "engagement". That is, meeting, greeting, and sometimes eating with our local tribal, government, and security counter parts. It is harder work than it sounds and there is always heavy security in support. There is much talk, plenty of drama, but always with the best Arab hospitality. It is time consuming but it is really the only way to build the kind of relationships with the people we need to build to be successful. Trying to figure out who's who and what their agendas are, while shaping things appropriately for the future, is the biggest challenge we face. Marines are still doing Marine things, but embedded in each infantry mission (to include the hundreds of squad level patrols) is economics, governance, human relations, city management, agriculture, essential services, census operations, police work, etc, etc. We’re relying some on the counter-insurgency training we've done, but mostly on the fundamental knack Marines and Sailors seem to have for seeing every challenge as a problem to be solved. They thrive on cracking the case, seeing behind the curtain, and winning. It's too early to say how this will all turn out in the end. But, for now, it is promising and we'll keep moving the ball down the field as best we can.

We’ve had to send a few folks home for some unfortunate non-battle injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with those Marines and their families for speedy recoveries. We’ve also celebrated more than a few new baby arrivals—congratulations to all! And by all accounts, all of you back home continue with your unending support which is immensely appreciated. Take care of each other and we will do the same. Thanks for all that you do for us.

Semper Fidelis,

LtCol Nastase

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Last updated 2 October 2007

Another Funny Sign

In Hanauma Bay, Hawaii there is a path that leads to a lesser known Hawaiian attraction known as "blow-hole". Here, the waves come in to the rocky shore and force water into a hole in the rock. When the tide is coming in, the rock resembles a whale's blow-hole.

Further down this path there is a depression in the rocks that is the size of a hot tub. You can sit in this spot as it fills and drains with water. This is cool for kids and old people. The stuff for 20 year-old Marines full of testosterone and addicted to adrenaline is just a few feet to the right.

I cannot remember what this spot was called, but I still shiver when I think about it. It is a tunnel through the rock about 3 feet wide and about 20 feet long. It leads to the hot tub. When the hot tub fills up, the hole fills up. If you timed it right, you could enter the tunnel head-first as it began to drain again; the power of the ocean would pull you through the tunnel and into the hot tub. It took a matter of seconds to travel the tunnel, but it really had an affect on your adrenal system.

Now if you are really brave, you can try to enter the tunnel from the hot tub. The timing is trickier, the angle is more difficult, and you have to do more steering, but the payoff is worth it. It felt like an accomplishment, especially since there were those of us who would swim it backwards and those who wouldn't. We, the initiated, were made of better stuff I guess.

There were several times that I got too anxious and didn't time my push with the tide. When this happened, I stalled in the tunnel for a second and then began to be pushed back the way I came. Luckily, I had the lung capacity to wait it out and the mental capacity not to panic.

When the tide was weak, you could swim either way through the tunnel without resistance or assistance from the ocean. One time, I traveled halfway down the tunnel from the hot tub and bumped into someone coming from the hole. I was able to back up and pull her out, and we both had a nervous laugh. I shudder to think about how that could have turned out.

Kansas is a good place to live and raise a family, but I often miss Hawaii. There were holes to swim through, cliffs to jump from, sunsets that invented new shades of red and purple, rainbows on a regular basis, mountains, sweet air, and Mother Ocean. In Hawaii, I felt alive on another level.

Anyhow, on that path to blow-hole, the hot-tub, the tunnel, and oblivion, there was a sign. I like signs that are unusual. This one made me laugh every time, so I finally snapped a picture: