Just prior to 09 September 2001 I had submitted a package to return to Active Duty...after being approved, as a Ordinance Officer, Logistics,  I attend the Captains Career Course in Petersburg, VA at Ft. Lee. 
 

My next assignment was with the 19th Support Center Battalion, 3rd COSCOM, Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Wiesbaden, Germany. My duties included time as the Aviation Maintenance Officer, Electronic Maintenance Officer and the Chief CSSAMO (Automation Officer).  Honestly the best thing about this assignment was being stationed in Germany. And during this time the presence of Muslim immigrants was minimal but growing. We sent our girls to an international school which was awesome and much much better than the DoD schools in everyway. We got to know people throughout the Wiesbaden area and spent a great deal of time on the economy instead of on base. I always encouraged my Soldiers to get out, learn the language and make friends with the locals.

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We deployed to Balad Iraq, know as LSA Anaconda or Motaritaville, in 2003-2004 where I was the Class IX Battle Captain. This was not the warfighting experience you are looking for! We basically opened our section of the LSA in that we worked on cleaning, repairing & opening all the buildings. We had rationed water, no AC or power, ate MREs, washed our clothes in tub by hand and hung them out to dry and sometimes only to have them fall back into the sand due to the windy days. Everything was coated with sand, even after washing, and I still have a book that you can feel it on the pages no matter how many times I've wiped it down. I lost about 30 lbs in the hot dry desert heat with minimal food and water.  During this time, I think because they thought we were going to be heading home soon, they handed out awards.  Because of my rank I got a bronze star, which I ask if I had to take it or could give it back and was told I had no choice.

 

Once the buildings were open and all the equipment moved in we began the endless days of preparing briefings for the 3rd COSCOM General & Staff. Yes, I earned my "Power Point Ranger Tab" as a result! 

I nearly lost my sh*t with my boss when getting yelled at for correcting a G4 O-6 who didn't know what the hell he was talking about regarding numbers. I actually saw my hand grabbing this boss's neck and punching him repeatedly while he was yelling at me...his face disappeared and this was all I could see! I got sent to Mosul to clean out an excess equipment yard as a punishment of sorts but it was a good thing. Got to see a friend I hadn't seen for years, he was now a SF team leader. What a strange place to meet someone you hadn't seen for a long time. I got the yard cleaned out, sending dozens of convoys out across Iraq.

As the IX Battle Captain I redesigned the entire 27 hour plus process of culling numbers from all the units into a briefing package, because I was being slammed during my 50-60 slide briefing section,  into a 3 hour process! So instead of a panicked 5 min or less time to read the slides prior to brief I end up having 4-6 hours to prepare,

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In May 2005 my Son was born, and maybe 3 months later we deployed again to Balad in mid 2005-2007. I was the 3RD COSCOM HHC Company Commander. This turned out to be an even greater sh*t show. 

Our unit had $3-5M in missing equipment on the books. In my honest opinion our supply SGT was a hot mess and the G4 Contractor who did the the books in Wiesbaden wasn't trust worthy either. An example, every time I tried to clear a piece of rolling stock, a big crane with out tires that hadn't been used in years, off my deployed property book, literally 5 times or more just a couple of hours before we had to leave, it kept reappearing.  I got a good portion of the equipment  located and dealt with but the rear detachment COSCOM XO decided he'd take up the process. He got a write in the newspaper about the great job he did. But of course I was getting daily calls from them while I was in Iraq about where things were. Naturally, every time I told them where to look, they found something they should have been able to already locate, Example, where is the General's secure phone at - umm... its in their residence bedroom stupid...and it was!  This doesn't even begin to explain the stress this BS caused. I was so stressed about the property book BS that I conducted quarterly 100% inventories on each of my 3 different property books while in Iraq.  Have I said how much I hating being in logistics yet?

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During the 2005-2007 deployed I became promotable and was selected to switch over to Information Operations (IO/S7). Following command time I subsequently attending the IO Qualification Course at Ft Leavenworth, KS after which I went to Airborne School at 45 yrs old because I had been slotted to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

 

The 173rd ABCT was located in Vincenza, Italy at Camp Ederle at that time and the 173rd ABCT was deployed to Jalalabad, Afghanistan 2008-2009 where I was the S7 or Information Operations Officer for the Brigade. 

 

​more specific details on my experiences & reasons for my medical retirement coming soon... my DD-214 & ORB are below.