My First Chief (Part I)

After I graduated from USNA, I was assigned to the Surface Warfare Office School (SWOS) in San Diego. In addition to navigation and some seamanship stuff, it also gave us brand new Ensigns an idea of what the real Fleet was like. How to order equipment using the supply systems, how to write personnel evaluations, some basic overviews of the different weapon and engineering systems on the ships.

At the end of the 16 weeks of training, we had a one week Navy Leadership class where they brought in the COs (Commanding Officers) of some of the ships homeported in San Diego. It was interesting to hear their perspective on what our life was about to become, what they were looking for in new Ensigns at their command, and their recommendations on how to succeed once we hit the Fleet. Their number one piece of advice: “Listen to your Chief (Chief Petty Officer). Trust him. He’s there to help you be a success.” The next day we had the Command Master Chiefs from several of the ships. As the senior enlisted on board the ships, they had a good perspective as well and they also had some advice. “Trust your Chief. Learn from Chief. Your Chief is there to help you.”

After SWOS, I stuck around San Diego for eight more weeks of Engineering Officer of the Watch (EOOW) school. The USS Reeves was a steam ship, so I was learning about the intricacies of a M-class boiler, the main engine turbines, the generators, evaporators and all of the various support systems that not only move the ship through the water, but provide electricity for the ship, the weapons systems, etc, and also air conditioning, fresh water, etc. The engineering plan on a ship is amazing and quite complicated. I graduated from EOOW school in late December and got to go home for Christmas before flying out in mid January to meet my ship which was homeported at the time in Yokosuka JA.

The trip itself was a bit of a haze, a long, tiring, haze. Colorado to LA. LA to Tokyo. At Narita, we found the bus to take us to Yokosuka. The bus dropped us off at the Personnel Detachment on base where we ended up taking cabs from there to the ship. It was mid afternoon by the time I walked up the gang plank, turned to the ships stern and saluted the US flag (called The Ensign) and reported aboard USS Reeves. I hauled my sea bags into the wardroom and a few minutes later, the Chief Engineer (CHENG) came up to greet me. He was also the Senior Watch Officer, so he was in charge of assigning officers staterooms, etc. He helped me to my stateroom and told me that I would indeed be working for him, but that he wasn’t sure what job I would taking. It would either be the M Division Officer (M for Main Engines) or the B Division Officer (B for Boilers Officer). After dumping my bags in my room, he took me up to meet the CO who welcomed me onboard. The CO mentioned that the ship was having their winter party the following night and that I should attend. I said Yes Sir and that was that.

The next AM, I went to the Engineering Department’s Officer Call which is a meeting for all of the officers and chiefs in the engineering department. The CHENG introduced me to the team, but I’ll be honest and tell you it was just a blur. I can’t remember names to save my life and I was still jet lagged beyond belief. Since the winter party was that night, the plan was for the ships crew to only work a half day. I also figured out why a winter party. The ship had come back from deployment in late December, just before Christmas, so there was no time for a Christmas party. So a winter party instead. I had also gotten teamed with a LTJG (Lieutenant Junior Grade) who was supposed to be my running make (aka mentor) on the ship. He came by and picked me up to go to the Winter Party.

Have you ever been at a party and not know anyone? It was like that. Oh I had my running mate who ditched me to be with his girlfriend. And I can’t blame him. I had seen the CHENG go by and the CO, but that was pretty much everyone I knew. So I sat there by myself at one of the tables. I knew I couldn’t leave. Leaving early from a ship’s function is just not right. So I sat there sipping my Coke. I was jet lagged and getting drunk, or even tipsy, at a ships function on Day 2 is not a good career move. So I sat there watching the festivities. Alone.

Until a very large man came and sat down with me. He looked familiar and I remember that he was one of the chiefs at the Engineering Officer’s call meeting we had that morning. But his name, no I didn’t remember that. He started talking to me, asking questions. Where I went to school? Did I go to EOOW school? Things like that. Innocuous, but going somewhere and I wasn’t sure where. He had finished one of the two beers he had brought over and I could tell that he a little more than tipsy. With a slight slur to his words, he asked me what I was going to be doing on the ship. I told him that the Chief Engineer had mentioned either M or B Divisions but he hadn’t decided. “You should be the B Division Officer,” he said as he opened his second beer. I responded that I probably wasn’t going to get to provide any input on the decision. But he didn’t listen to me. “B Division is a great division. Great group of men. Lots of good stuff going on in that division. You would do great in that division.” He kept on rambling about B Division and the benefits of me being the B Division Officer and I responded with the “Oh really?” or “Interesting” comments to keep up my end of the conversation. He was really trashed at this point and after awhile he stopped talking and was just looking at me. I smiled weakly. Trying to be friendly but also trying to figure out an escape plan that didn’t offend this Chief. The silence hung in the air for a bit, and then he spoke.

“Do you know why I want you to be the B Division Officer?” he asked. I shook my head no.

“Because I’m the M Division Chief and I don’t want to train another fuckin’ ensign.”

I looked at him. I can’t remember what I said. But I got up as gracefully as I could and left. I took a cab from the club and went back to the ship.

At the next morning’s Engineering Officer’s Call, the CHENG announced that I would be taking over the M Division. I looked at the Chief from the night before (in uniform now I could tell he was a Senior Chief), my new Senior Chief, and he didn’t look at me at all.

Emotional Ketchup Burst

So I snapped yesterday at a meeting with my customer. During a heated exchange, I said, "The problem is that I can't reconcile what you tell me to do and reality." Umm. Not a good thing to say. I did manage to turn the conversation around when they were joking about unauthorized use of funds and I said, "I'm too pretty for prison." Which is so true. Unless I'm going to the same prison as Jack Abramoff. He's so dreamy.

Anyways, after the meeting the rest of my team was just astounded that I had snapped. The frustration level is very high and I'm not handling it well. And I'm starting to get to the point where I don't care who knows it. Which I know is bad.

As a leader, when things are going bad, you need to appear positive, strong, supportive. Regardless of your setting. So me walking around the office scowling at the insanity or unreasonableness of my custeromer is not the image I need to project. And I know that. But who long do you wear this mask. And when can I take the mask off and just let my frustrations out?

I'm not a vulcan. I do have emotions. And again I do think a good leader needs to have a sense of calm and serentity around him, but not be catatonic. When there's a crisis, you need to be engage and active, but not crazy. When there's a personal problem, you need to be empathetic and sympathetic, not board stiff. So why isn't it okay to sometimes express those emotions? Isn't bottling up those emotions bad.

In his book, Generation X, Douglas Coupland called it the "Emotional Ketchup Burst." It's "The bottling up of opinions and emotions inside oneself so that they explosively burst forth at at once, shocking and confusing employers and friends-most of whom thought things were fine."

The next time, I'm afraid there's going to be ketchup everywhere.

Priscilla: Queen to Whole Foods

The Center hosted a screening of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert tonight at Stead Park. Since I hadn't eaten dinner yet, I thought I would zip over to Whole Foods to grab a bite to eat. After I had picked up a sandwich, I went to the express line only to find out that the cashier's name was Priscilla!

So I said to her: "I'm going to see your movie." She looked at me confused for a moment and then smiled. And then it hit me, yeah, I'm sure she's heard that joke a thousand times today. Oh well, I guess that makes a thousand and one!

An Analogy

Them: "How much does it cost to build a building? We need to know so we can ask for a budget."
Me: "What kind of building do you want?"
Them: "I'm not sure. Come up with something that makes sense."
Me: "Okay, we'll build this type of building (insert requirements) and it will cost $5M."
Them: "That's too much. It needs to cost less."
Me: "Okay, what don't you want in the building?"
Them: "I want it all. It just needs to cost less."
Me: "Well I can probably cut some of the requirements and get it down to $4M."
Them: "That's still too high. We'll just ask for $2M."

A month goes by:
Them: "Okay, here's your $1M to build the building."
Me: "Um, thanks. But we need to re-plan since that's less that what we said it would cost."
Them: "Just develop a plan and get going. We need this right away."
Me: "Um, okay."

Another month goes by:
Me: "We're on track for the building. It will have 5 floors and will be an office building."
Them: "Does it have a cafeteria?"
Me: "Um, no. We didn't plan on a cafeteria."
Them: "It needs to have a cafeteria."
Me: "Is there additional funding for a cafeteria?"
Them: "No."
Me: "Okay, I'll see what I can do."

Another month goes by:
Me: "We're on track for the building. It will have 4 floors and have a cafeteria."
Them: "I thought you said it was going to have 5 floors."
Me: "I needed to work in the cafeteria, so we lost the 5th floor."
Them: "Who told you to do that? Who made that decision?"
Me: "I guess I did. I was told there was a requirement for a cafeteria."
Them: "Well that was the wrong decision."
Me: "What should we have not done so we could do the cafeteria within the budget."
Them: "You should have done everything and the cafeteria."
Me: "Ummm???"

Another month goes by:
Them: "We're going to be using the building as an apartment building. Does it meet all of the housing codes?"
Me: "Well we built it to be an office building."
Them: "But we want to use it as an apartment building. Will it pass all of the housing codes and inspections?"
Me: "It will pass code for an office building, but I'll need to check on the housing code."
Them: "What will it take to change it to meet code?"
Me: "I'm not sure. I need to check. But we're in the final stages of the building, so if we make changes it's going to effect the schedule and there will be additional cost."
Them: "No we need this building on schedule as an apartment building and there is no more funding."
Me: "Umm, okay, even if I can make some changes to pass the housing code, it's a 2 month wait for housing inspectors, so it won't be ready by the original due date."
Them: "Well your failure to deliver this building on time will look bad on your past performance history."
Me: "Ummm??"

Everything I Know I Learned from Madonna

Yep, last night was Madonna-rama at Nation. One of my friends told me that if I didn’t go, my gay card would be revoked. So I gave in to peer pressure and went. But going to Nation at my age requires planning. You just *can’t* get to Nation before 1130, it’s simple not done. Plus, the main dance hall doesn’t open till midnight, at the earliest. So after a power disco nap Saturday afternoon, I was ready for my night of clubbing. Dressed in cargo shorts and a tank top (the requisite circuit boi uniform) I picked up my friend and we headed to SW DC.

The place was packed and I did see some “Boy Toy” belt buckles a la “Like A Vigin” and some cowboy hats a la “Don’t Tell Me.” Personally I liked the “Kabbalist Do It Better” t-shirt.

Nation on Saturday night is predominantly gay, but last night it was very mixed. And it had a great vibe to it. I will say that most of the time Nation doesn’t do it for me. The music is good, but there are usually no, or very little, words to the music. The endless techno beat is good if you are rolling on X, but for those of us who are not flying, some words are nice. And that’s what makes Madonna-rama so great. Not only are there words, but everyone knows the words. Everyone is dancing and singing and just having the best time.

It was hot and sweaty in the big hall. Shirts were off and sweat was rolling off everyone’s bodies. You bumped into someone and you felt your sweaty back slide across theirs. And everyone was moving to the groove.

So Everything I Know I Learned from Madonna:

1. “Music makes the people come together – Yeah!” – Music
2. “Nothing really matters - Love is all we need” – Nothing Really Matters
3. “You're so consumed with how much you get, You waste your time with hate and regret” – Frozen.
4. “Don't want to grow old too fast, Don't want to let the system get me down, I've got to find a way to make the good times last, And if you show me how, I'm ready now.” – Where’s The Party
5. “Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free” – Into the Groove
6. “You deserve the best in life, So if the time isn't right then move on, Second best is never enough, You'll do much better baby on your own.” – Express Yourself
7. “It makes no difference if you're black or white, If you're a boy or a girl, If the music's pumping it will give you new life, You're a superstar, yes, that's what you are, you know it.” – Vogue
8. “I think when love is pure you try, To understand the reasons why, And I prefer this mystery, It cancels out my misery” – Rescue Me
9. “I traveled round the world, Looking for a home, I found myself in crowded rooms, Feeling so alone.” – Drowned World/Substitute for Love
10. “Why's it so hard to love one another, Why's it so hard to love” – Why’s It So Hard.

Ugly Hot

It's just awful here. Like a mad, Englishman, I went out during the noon-day sun to run some errands. Okay, not so much "run", but maybe more like walk. Or casually stroll. The air was just thick with humidity and just walking I could feel the sweat starting to bead on my skin and then slowly roll down into my eyes. Lovely. After that little escapade, I spent the rest of the day inside.

STSW: Green Day Rocks! I've loved a lot of the songs of their latest album even though the punk thing isn't my usual thing. But I saw their video for "Wake Me Up When September Ends" on VH 1 and it's just so powerful. Crooks and Liars has a link to it. I highly recommend watching it.

Mad Max DC: Beyond K St

Okay I will admit that I have one of the easiest commutes in the DC area. DC has the third worst traffic in the country and I cannot even fathom having to drive from Fairfax into the city much less Herndon, Leesburg or even, dear God, West Virginia. I live in Dupont and I drive to Rosslyn. So that's maybe three miles one way? And I drive because I'm at the beck and call of my customer who is not metro accessible. But I digress. Yes I am very lucky to have a really short commute. Not I-66, 395, or the beltway for me. But that doesn't mean that I don't have to deal with the bonehead drivers that love to come into the city. And today was a beauty. I had not one, not two, but three guys who were in the right lane make a left turn in front of me. I had one guy decide that one lane wasn't good enough for him, he needed to use two. One guy who not only cut me off, then decides to park in a non-parking lane.

So it's times like these that I want my Volvo (back off!) to be packed with weapons. Not weapons of mass destruction. Not rocket launchers or big ole machine guns. Nope, I want to push a little button in my console a la James Bond and have a paint ball gun pop out of the hood. It would come with a heads up targeting screen that displays on the front windshield and when some idiot cuts me off, I'd blast them with a couple of paint balls. So, how's that black paint looking on your precious red SUV Mr. "I Own The Road"? How's a little blue paint on your yellow cab Mr. "I'll Pull A U-Turn Any Time I Want"? Go ahead, make my day!!

Spinning The Subject Wheel (STSW): What's with guys in business suits and flip flops? Did I miss a memo? Again? The last couple of days I've seen a couple of guys in like dress slacks, dress shirts, tie a bit undone, and flip flops on walking down L St after work. Today I saw some guy in a full suit with flip flop? Okay I can understand women wearing tennis shoes going to/from work. But guys wearing flip flops? If your dress shoes hurt that bad, they you've bought the wrong kind.

STSW: So I'm at the gym tonight doing the bike and watching the news. Appparently Jack Abamoff finally got indicted. They showed a picture and all I can say is YUMMY! Tall, a bit older, very professional looking, good build, and looking damn good in that suit. So is it bad that I've got the hots for a guy who's been funneling money to Tom DeLay and is probably going to jail? Wait, don't answer that.

Gen McCaffery's Report

I’ve got a guy in Kuwait right now. He’s coming home on Saturday and then heads to Ft Bliss for training before going into Iraq. He’s going to both Baghdad and Mosul. I’m not happy about it at all. My boss sent me a copy of GEN McCaffrey’s trip report from Kuwait and Iraq. It’s kind of long, but here are the parts that concern me:

2nd - The point of the US war effort is to create legitimate and competent Iraqi national, provincial, and municipal governance. We are at a turning point in the coming six months. The momentum is now clearly with the Iraqi Government and the Coalition Security Forces. The Sunnis are coming into the political process. They will vote in December. Unlike the Balkans-the Iraqis want this to succeed. Foreign fighters are an enormously lethal threat to the Iraqi civilian population, the ISF, and Coalition Forces in that order. However, they will be an increasing political disaster for the insurgency. Over time they are actually adding to the credibility of the emerging Iraqi government. We should expect to see a dwindling number of competent, suicide capable Jihadist. Those who come to Iraq--will be rapidly killed in Iraq. The picture by next summer will be unfavorable to recruiting foreigners to die in Iraq while attacking fellow Arabs.

The initial US/UK OIF intervention took down a criminal regime and left a nation without an operational State.

Is this one of those reports that’s targeted for a specific audience? This has the sounds of the “insurgencies is in its last throes”. And yet the death count, both US and Iraqi keeps rising.

January thru September 2006 will be the peak period of the insurgency --and the bottom rung of the new Iraq. The positive trend lines following the January 2006 elections (if they continue) will likely permit the withdrawal of substantial US combat forces by late summer of 2006. With 250,000 Iraqi Security Forces successfully operating in support of a government which includes substantial Sunni participation--the energy will start rapidly draining out of the insurgency.

3rd - The Iraqi Security Forces are now a real and hugely significant factor. LTG Dave Petreaus has done a brilliant job with his supporting trainers.

169,000 Army and Police exist in various stages of readiness. They have uniforms, automatic weapons, body armor, some radios, some armor, light trucks, and battalion-level organization. At least 60,000 are courageous Patriots who are actively fighting. By next summer--250,000 Iraqi troops and 10 division HQS will be the dominant security factor in Iraq.

Is this really accurate? There are lots of reports of phantom troops, people on the roles who collect a check but never show up to actually do anything.

However, much remains to be done. There is no maintenance or logistics system. There is no national command and control. Corruption is a threat factor of greater long-range danger than the armed insurgency. The Insurgents have widely infiltrated the ISF. The ISF desperately needs more effective, long-term NCO and Officer training.

Finally, the ISF absolutely must have enough helicopter air mobility (120+ Black Hawk UH 60's) --and a substantial number of armored vehicles to lower casualties and give them a competitive edge over the insurgents they will fight. (2000 up-armor Humvee's, 500 ASV's, and 2000 M113A3's with add-on armor package)

Yep, I’ll agree with that. And who’s going to pay for all of that equipment?

4. Top CENTCOM Vulnerabilities:

1st - Premature drawdown of U.S. ground forces driven by dwindling U.S. domestic political support and the progressive deterioration of Army and Marine manpower. (In particular, the expected melt-down of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve in the coming 36 months)

Wow. That’s a pretty honest assessment.

2nd - Alienation of the U.S. Congress or the American people caused by Iraqi public ingratitude and corruption.

Yep.

3rd - Political ineptitude of Shia civil leadership that freezes out the Sunnis and creates a civil war during our drawdown.

Yeah, this could get much, much uglier.

4th - "The other shoe" - a war with North Korea, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, or Cuba that draws away U.S. military forces and political energy.

My bet’s Iran! Any takers? Any guesses on a timeline? I’m thinking in time for the 2008 elections.

5th - The loss or constraint of our logistics support bases in Kuwait. Clearly we need constant diplomatic attention and care to this vital Ally. If Kuwait became unstable or severely alienated to US Military objectives in the region-then our posture in Iraq would be placed in immediate fatal
peril.

6th - Open intervention by Iranian intelligence or military forces to support rogue Shia Iraqi insurgency. (Assassination of Sustani-armed rebellion by Sadr)

Yep, if Iran steps up, this could go from bad to worse really quickly.

7th - Continued under-manning and too rapid turnover in State Department inter-agency representation in Iraq.

8th - Lack of continuity in CENTCOM strategic and operational senior leadership. The CENTCOM military leadership we now have is a collective national treasure.

5. The Enemy Threat:

1st - The Iraqi Insurgency threat is enormously more complex than Vietnam.

There we faced a single opposing ideology; known enemy leaders; a template enemy organizational structure; an external sanctuary which was vital to the insurgency to bring in fighters, ammunition, resources; and relative security in urban areas under Allied/Vietnamese Government control.

Iraq is much tougher. The enemy forces in this struggle are principally Sunni irredentists-- but there is also a substantial criminal class determined to murder, rob, kidnap and create chaos.

We also face a small but violent foreign Jihadist terrorist element. These terrorists do not depend on foreign sanctuary. They can arm themselves with the incredible mass of munitions and weapons scattered from one end of Iraq to the other.

Finally, Iraq is encircled by six bordering nations -- all of whom harbor ill-will for the struggling democratic Iraqi state.

We must continue to level with the American people. We still have a five
year fight facing us in Iraq.

FIVE YEARS!!!! And we're going to start pulling troops back next summer? How's that for a little bit of a disconnect? Is anyone in the adminstration even talking about this?

7. SUMMARY:

a.. This is the darkness before dawn in the efforts to construct a viable Iraqi state. The enterprise was badly launched --but we are now well organized and beginning to develop successful momentum. The future outcomes are largely a function of the degree to which Iraqi men and women will overcome fear and step forward to seize the leadership opportunity to create a new future.
b.. We face some very difficult days in the coming 2-5 years. In my judgment, if we retain the support of the American people --we can achieve our objectives of creating a law-based Iraqi state which will be an influencing example on the entire region.
c.. A successful outcome would potentially usher in a very dramatically changed environment throughout the Middle East and signal in this region the end of an era of incompetent and corrupt government which fosters frustration and violence on the part of much of the population.

We got into this war for the wrong reasons. We need to finish this war for the right reasons. And I think we are trying. But we just seem to keep shooting ourselves in the foot with the lack of planning and lack of honesty. We need more troops, not less. We need to be honest with the US people and ask them to sacrifice their morning latte to help make a difference in this fight. We really have no choice. If we fail in Iraq, it will only become another Afghanistan hosting scores of radical Islamic jihadits who will threaten the moderate Arab countries in the region. Guess how much your gallon of gas will cost then!

Waiting For The Rain

All weekend I was waiting for the rain. It's August in DC. The dog days when it's just unbelievably humid. Most days, late in the afternoon, the humidity will peak, the clouds will roll in, and a nice little thunderstorm will entertain us for a few minutes. Well I guess it's entertaining if you aren't outside and getting wet. But I love thunderstorms. And I really wanted one this weekend. It was hot and humid, but apparently not hot and humid enough. And I sort of wanted an excuse to be inside on a weekend when I was just basically a slug and needed some downtime to recuperate.

The rain came today, twice. Once while I was at work. Which does me no good. I like to be some place relaxing during a thunderstorm. I want to be laying in bed and watch the rain dance across the windows. I want to see the quick flash of lightening and then count for the thunder. But this afternoon it was just a good solid rain and then it went away and it was still hot and sticky. Just after I got home from the gym, we had a good rain. A pretty decent downpour, some lightening, some wind, some thunder. I was curled up on the couch watching the movie "CAMP." So I finally got my thunderstorm. It was perfect.

Spinning the subject wheel:

So our Director of Process Improvement comes into my office and says to me: "How do you get your arms so big?" I could have kissed him. This was on Friday and I was wearing one of my gay shirts where the shirt sleeve is kind of small so it accentuates my biceps. And it obviously worked. I told him that my personal trainer was punishing me.

Spinning again:

I've got really bad stubble burn. I like facial hair, it's kind of sexy. But guys, I know this is girly, but you need to use conditioner on it or it will get hard and stubbly like a brillo pad. Anyways, I'm kissing this guy, maybe a little bit too passionately, and his goatee was just killing me. So now I've got really bad stubble burn on my lips. Which is NOT sexy, and it really hurts. I've been using Carmex like crazy. Hopefully it will go away soon. It's just killing me!

Iraq 2006 = Afghanistan 1989?

So the Bush administration is starting to talk about pulling out of Iraq. This isn’t committing to any time table, which is something they have beaten every democrat who has dared to ask that question. No, this is based on some analysis that by the next elections in Iraq (which coincidentally are about the same time as our elections), the Iraqi forces will be able to police more of the country, so our troops won’t be needed. We’ll be able start bringing our forces home.

After we’ve declared “Mission Accomplished” a couple of times now, we’ll finally start to pull our forces back. This is great news for the GOP since the complete mishandling of the war will be ignored by images of our brave soldiers coming home. The Democrats won’t be able to complain about the war since our troops are coming back. So it looks like a win-win scenario.

Except if you’re an Iraqi. Let’s see, even the most optimistic information says that the Iraqi police and military are not nearly ready to take over and provide the security and stability that a new democracy will need. Without the help of some outside forces, they will not be able to stop the insurgency. Now add in the fact that there are reports of militants infiltrating the police and the military and you’ve got a grade “A” recipe for disaster.

After invading Afghanistan, the USSR fought a ten year war against the insurgents. This fight drew every hard core Muslim to the country to help fight the invaders. The US provided support to the various rebel groups fighting the Russians since this was the cold war. After 10 years and 15,000 dead soldiers, the Russian’s finally declared success and left. Their puppet regime lasted a couple of years before the country imploded and then became the breeding ground for the Taliban and Al Queada.

Will Iraq turn into the next Afghanistan? Without long term military, economic, and political support from the US, I think the chances of Iraqi democracy taking root and flourishing are slim at best. The insurgents, the Sunni-Shiite-Kurd issues, and not to mention the rampant corruption are all obstacles to a safe, secure, democratic Iraq. And that’s if it’s left alone. There’s no doubt that Iran is already pulling some strings in Iraq and with the US gone, they will probably become more active in Iraq. A destabilized Iraq, influenced/controlled by Iran, is not a good thing. With every psycho Islamic jihadist going through the advanced course that is Iraq these days, once the US leaves and the Iraqi government crumbles, where does a hard working jihadist go to achieve his martyrdom? What about Saudi Arabia? The close ties between the US and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will make it a natural target for the jihadists. And can you imagine how the world economy will react to that?

Yes this is all speculation and more than a bit negative. But we got into Iraq and pulling troops out by a specific deadline is just stupid. We don’t have the troops on the ground as it is to secure the stability of the country and allow for the reconstruction. We need to be putting more troops in, not taking them out. Yes an Exit Strategy needs to be devised. But let’s make that something hard and concrete and something that isn’t a shell game. X number of trained and equipped police units. Y number of trained and equipment military units. Z number of elections. You need to identify good, hard, measurable metrics for success. And lying about the metrics isn’t going to help anyone. Not the US or the Iraqi people.

Sea Stories

Well I've decided to write up some of my tales of adventure from the Navy. Why? I guess a couple of reasons. A week or so I found some old letters that I had written while on deployment and it made me think about my old Navy days. My life now is so different from then and I just want to try to capture some of that. I'm also trying to determine why the Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, and all of the Iraq stuff is bothering me so much, but doesn't seem to phase my USNA classmates. Anyways, I'm still working through that so expect some interesting, hopefully funny, sea stories from me in the future.

However, while the Navy world seems very familiar to me, I guess it can be pretty confusing and I probably left some info out that I shouldn't have. So for my first sea story, I guess I should provide some context:

My department head had been standing Tactical Action Officer in Combat when the ship took position on the wrong ship. While this is primarily the OOD's (Officer of the Deck's) fault, the team in Combat didn't do him any favors. When the Captain got the flashing light memo, he went off. He relieved the OOD, and not trusting the Combat Watch Officer who didn't catch this mistake either, he put the TAO on the bridge. Apparently the Captain pulled the relieved OOD and the Combat Watch Officer out onto a bridge wing and flamed them to the point were there was just a burnmark on the bulkhead (wall).

The Captain did trust me. Which was odd as we didn't exactly get along great (and more sea stories about that later). He trusted me enough to have me stand the bridge watch for the rest of my time on board the ship. Which was good, and bad. But more on that later.

We Call The Monkey Jack

Yep, had another one of those days. How bad was it? I personally think it's bad when you want to call the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Hotline on your own customer. Sure I'd lose my job, but shouldn't there be some justice in this world?

Nearly had an aneurism after trying, unsuccessfully, to convince my customer that it made no sense to send one of my guys to Kuwait for a week, the bring them back to attend a week of training to support going into Iraq, and then sending him back to the Middle East so he could go install a system there. What was the urgent, pressing, requirement to support that couldn't wait for one single trip? Because he said so. I'm not sure what pisses me off more: the fact that we're just going to fuck with my guy's personnal life for 3-4 weeks or the money that is being wasted by lack of a real plan.

Had to bring our graphics guy over to meet with the customer today. Met with him and spent a good 20 minutes deflecting the random spears and missiles, the incorrect technical comments, and just insane schedule ideas he had. We got kicked out of the meeting and sat in the lobby for awhile. My graphics guy nailed my customer's personality in under 20 minutes.

"Interesting guy. He's kind of all over the place. And it's all about power with him." My other favorite comment from my graphics guy was, "You know, you get more bees with sugar."

I looked at him blankly. I'm just so used to the twist reality that is my life. I looked at him and responded.

"You've got the wrong management technique. His motto is: "I've never stood so high as when I've stood on the backs of my fallen contractors."

The Phone Rings . . . .

“Come up and take the Deck.” The voice said. As I slowly woke up, I realized it was my department head’s voice. But I was still out of it. It had been a long day and I was just too tired to really think.

“What?” I replied. Looking at the clock in my darkened stateroom, it was about 2100. I had the mid-watch in Combat and didn’t have to get up until about 2300.

“Come up and take the Deck.” He said again. But it still didn’t register.

“Sir, I’m not on the bridge this watch rotation. I’m in Combat. I’ve got the mid-watch.” I replied. Still groggy and confused.

“Come up and take the deck, NOW, LT X.” He responded quite forcefully.

The only appropriate response?

“Aye, Aye, sir.”

I fell out of the top rack. Threw my uniform on. Splashed some water on my face. My stateroom was on the 01 level aft, so I went down to the main deck, forward, and then started climbing up to the Combat Information Center (CIC) or Combat for short. After standing watch on the bridge for what seemed like forever, I was excited about standing watch in Combat. Sure I had done enough time in Combat to get qualified enroute to my Surface Warfare Officer qualification. But as soon as I got my SWO pin, it was back to the bridge. But for this cruise we were going to be doing a lot of anti air warfare exercises with the USS Abraham Lincoln, so I was pretty psyched to be back in combat where the real action was going to be.

I made it up to Combat and stepped into the overly air-conditioned and dark space lit up only green fluorescent combat system displays and focused red lights over navigation charts. It was dark to my eyes, but not that bad.

“Watch Sup?” I called out.

“Watch Sup’s on the bridge” someone replied.

“Watch Officer?” I tried again.

“The Watch Officer’s on the bridge,” came the reply.

“TAO?” I asked. My department head was standing Tactical Action Officer duty, so he should be here in Combat.

“TAO’s on the bridge,” came the response.

“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” I asked in sarcasm and frustration. One of the first class petty officers came over to brief me before I went up to the bridge.

My ship, the USS Reeves (CG-24), was stationed out of Hawaii. We were assigned to the Lincoln battlegroup, but the USS Abraham Lincoln was out of Everett Washington, while the rest of the battlegroup (except for us) was out of San Diego. So our battlegroup exercises were conducted in the SOCAL OPAREA (Southern California Operational Area). However, San Diego is also home to two aircraft carriers. And one of them, the USS Nimitz, was conducting operations in the same OPAREA.

Aircraft carriers follow the wind. It’s all about the wind across the deck to support flight operations, so whatever course the carrier needs to maintain flight ops, the carrier gets. And at some point during the day, the Lincoln and the Nimitz began to operate in relatively close proximity. As the sun set, the Reeves was assigned plane guard position behind the Lincoln. The plane guard position is 2000 yards behind the carrier at 170 degrees. The plane guard ship is there in case there are any problems with the planes landing. At 2000 yards astern, we would be in a good position to recover any pilots who might have to eject from a bad landing.

Apparently as the sun set, the Officer of the Deck got confused and took station behind the Nimitz, not the Lincoln. And then to make matters worse, the Nimitz sent a flashing light message (which is typically used for Commanding Officer to Commanding Officer type personal communication) which said, “Who are you and why are you following me?”

Needless to say, this sent my commanding officer (who we lovingly referred to as the Anti-Christ) into the overhead and apparently heads were rolling.

“Sir they are calling for you on the bridge.” One of the enlisted guys said to me. I wasn’t fully prepped, but I headed out to the bridge. I stepped through to the bridge and then stood against the bulkhead for a moment. The bridge was dark. Pitch dark. I needed a few minutes to get my night eyes.

“LT X come up here now.” Said my department head. Relying just on memory alone, I stumbled up to the center gryo where I thought I had heard my boss. I still couldn’t see anything.

“You are on course 237, we’re at 2000 yards and 170 from the Lincoln. Flight ops will end at approximately 2200.” He said to me in a quiet voice. I started to ask a question when he said loudly, “This is LCDR Y, LT X has the deck.”

I wasn’t ready yet. I had questions. I still couldn’t see things very well. I could barely make out my boss handing me the binoculars that symbolize assumption of the watch.

“This is LT X, I have the deck.” I said loudly to the rest of the bridge team. And then he was gone. I looked at the gryo. We were still at 237. I needed to look at the radar, but I didn’t want to stumble over to it in the dark. I’d get my night eyes in a minute.

Then suddenly I sensed something behind me, and then a soft whisper in my ear:

“Do you know where you are?” the Captain asked.

“Yes sir” I responded.

“Then don’t fuck up.” He said. And then he was gone.

“The Captain has left the bridge.” The bosun announced seconds later.

Gee, this is going to be fun I thought. I never did make it back to Combat. Not on that cruise, or ever.

Class Warfare

No one really talks about it, but it's there. In the concrete and the abstract. If you want statistics, there are plenty that talk about the widening gap between the haves and have nots in our society. The rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.

I asked a friend of mine in San Francisco where was a good area to stay when I go there in September. His response is eloquent and poignent:

"Union Square West would be your second choice, but it is a distant second because the further southwest you go from the Square the more you enter The Hood. Seriously. Crack available on most street corners, 24 hours a day. Look for the miscellaneous little Hispanic woman, who frequently employs a little 12 year-old brother as delivery man. Sad on the one hand, but also pretty incredible that six blocks from the Westin St. Francis is a segment of our population whose quality of life leaves much to be desired, and whose poor life choices only make things worse for them. In America today there does not seem to be quite the opportunities to escape one's economic heritage, and some people whose skin is the wrong color appear to be just giving up--without actually killing themselves. Meanwhile, at the Cheesecake Factory on the roof of Macy's, Marin County residents in the city for a shopping day at Tiffany's and Neiman-Marcus have parked their Mercedes-Benzes in the Union Square garage, and are unwrapping the boxes and bags that were so carefully wrapped for them just minutes before. They are comparing what they got compared to what their friends or family members already have. And they are talking about the 2006 model of some luxury automobile. And they are wearing real designer sunglasses, confident that their Visa card can solve just about any problem."

Living where I do, I see that same disconnect between the haves and the haves not. I realize, and am very thankful that I'm in the haves category. But as I walk by the latino day workers who are sitting along the wall of the McCormick paint store waiting for a chance at some work, I realize that this is really a problem.

Is it the government's responsibility to help these people? Maybe not give them jobs, but what about job training? Stuff like that? Basically, the government shouldn't make it harder for them. And the government shouldn't be making the difference between the haves and the have nots even larger. Can someone please explain to me the HUGE tax breaks for the oil companies in the Energy Bill that was just passed? Exxon/Mobils profits (profits! not revenue!) jumped 32% in the second quarter of this year. 32%. And they need tax breaks? Or this is just the government helping the rich get richer? Or should I say, the ultra rich get insanely rich?

*okay, the next post will be up beat and funny. I promise!*

Quivering Mad

Have you ever been so mad that you almost start to physically shake? I'm there now. I surfed to Andrew's website and saw where some of the JAG Memo's on the "Military Interrogration Techniques" had been declassifed. I found the actual memo's here. Here's the first one:

DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, OFFICE OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL,
Washington, DC, February 5, 2003.

MEMORANDUM FOR SAF/GC

From: AF/JA

Subject: Final Report and Recommendations of the Working Group to Assess the
Legal, Policy and Operational Issues Relating to Interrogation of Detainees
Held by the U.S. Armed Forces in the War on Terrorism (U)



1. (U) In drafting the subject report and recommendations, the legal opinions of the Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel (DoJ/OLC), were relied on almost exclusively. Although the opinions of DoJ/OLC are to be given a great deal of weight within the Executive Branch, their positions on several of the Working Group's issues are contentious. As our discussion demonstrate, others within and outside the Executive Branch are likely to disagree. The report and recommendations caveat that it only applies to "strategic interrogations" of "unlawful combatants" at locations outside the United States. Although worded to permit maximum flexibility and legal interpretation, I believe other factors need to be provided to the DoD/GC before he makes a final recommendation to the Secretary of Defense.

>>So this was DOJ, probably at the request of the WH, trying to stretch definitions and push the limits and the Services pushed back. YEAH!


2. (U) Several of the more extreme interrogation techniques, on their face, amount to violations of domestic criminal law and the UCMJ (e.g., assault). Applying the more extreme techniques during the interrogation of detainees places the interrogators and the chain of command at risk of criminal accusations domestically. Although a wide range of defenses to these accusations theoretically apply, it is impossible to be certain that any defense will be successful at trial; our domestic courts may well disagree with DoJ/OLC's interpretation of the law. Further, while the current administration is not likely to pursue prosecution, it is impossible to predict how future administrations will view the use of such techniques.

>>So some of the "techniques" could be construed as criminal. Let's just skip the legalese and the word "violations". If you used these techniques, you would be breaking the law and could be tried by the US court system or the UCMJ. I like the concern for the interrogators. I think that was added because the JAGs probably realized they were going to lose this battle but that they needed to put up a good fight.

3. (U) Additionally, other nations are unlikely to agree with DoJ/OLC's interpretation of the law in some instances. Other nations may disagree with the President's status determination regarding the Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF) detainees; they may conclude that the detainees are POWs entitled to all of the protections of the Geneva Conventions. Treating OEF detainees inconsistently with the Conventions arguably "lowers the bar" for the treatment of U.S. POWs in future conflicts. Even where nations agree with the President's status determination, many would view the more extreme interrogation techniques as violative of other international law (other treaties or customary international law) and perhaps violative of their own domestic law. This puts the interrogators and the chain of command at risk of criminal accusations abroad, either in foreign domestic courts or in international fora, to include the ICC.

>>This has been one of my sticking points about this whole fiasco. This policy can put US service members at risk if they are ever capture. And I know the whole arguement that Al Queda isn't going to respect the Geneva Conventions so why should we? Because we're better than them damn it!

4. (U) Should any information regarding the use of the more extreme interrogation techniques become public, it is likely to be exaggerated/distorted in both the U.S. and international media. This could have a negative impact on international, and perhaps even domestic, support for the war on terrorism. Moreover, it could have a negative impact on public perception of the U.S. military in general.

>>Gee, you think? It's kind of hard to win over the hearts and minds of these people if we are going to treat them worse than criminals. Has this been exaggerated and distorted in the media. Oh hell yes. But then this policy puts us in this position. We've always argued that we are the good guys. I don't believe that this was just some crazy people on the night shift. And there are more pictures coming out soon that will prove that unfortunately.

5. (U) Finally, the use of the more extreme interrogation techniques simply is not how the U.S. armed forces have operated in recent history. We have taken the legal and moral "high-road" in the conduct of our military operations regardless of how others may operate. Our forces are trained in this legal and moral mindset beginning the day they enter active duty. It should be noted that law of armed conflict and code of conduct training have been mandated by Congress and emphasized since the Viet Nam conflict when our POWs were subjected to torture by their captors. We need to consider the overall impact of approving extreme interrogation techniques as giving official approval and legal sanction to the application of interrogation techniques that U.S. forces have consistently been trained are unlawful.

>>THANK YOU! This isn't how we are supposed to operate. Please don't put us in that position. Becuase if you put us in a position where our morals can be compromised (well, it's just a little bit of torture), then it's a dangerous slippery slope that leads to pictures of piles of naked prisoners taken late at night.

JACK L. RIVES,
Major General, USAF,
Deputy Judge Advocate General.

Each of the service JAGs wrote similar memos. These are the wise men trying to put the brakes on a really bad idea that got rammed down there throat. I hope one day we can correct this insane policy. But it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon. Apparently some of the Republicans on the hill delayed the Defense bill because McCain (who KNOWS what torture is) tried to add an amendment that looks into the interrogration and treatment of our enemy combatants. Nice.

How can these people sleep at night?

Too Busy to FCUK

French Connection United Kingdom. And don't tell me you haven't see those t-shirts.

But seriously. Back from vacation and I'm deep into the full work mode. Get up, work, go to the gym, come home, shower, work some more, and then go to sleep. Repeat. Even on weekends.

I did go on a date last weekend. So I do have a social life. But it's on life support. The date? Not so much. But we did hit the Phillips Museum to see the very cool Japanese wood block print exhibit. Very cool and apparently the artist really impacted a lot of the European impressionists. They did a couple of side by side arrangements where you could really see the similarities between the two artists even though they were separated by a hundred years, and thousands of miles apart.

Anyways, I've been reading some interesting blogs recently and I while appreciate the insight into other people's lives, they seem so disconnected from me, even when we have certain things in common. I read from several gay blogs and some of them just don't resonate the way they should, or the way I think they should. Yes I was G*A*Y while I was on vacation: shopping, tea dances, etc. But now that I'm back in the real world. I'm just gay. Or maybe I'm post-gay. Or maybe I'm just hung up on labels recently.

I wonder when we'll start to apply the concept of meta data to people. Or do we do that already and I just don't recognize it?

18th and K St NW

I went on a bike ride on Saturday. Across Dupont, down Rock Creek Parkway, then into Georgetown and onto the Capitol Crescent Trail. Up, up, up I rode to Bethesda. Then turned around and came back. This was all before my session with my trainer and NOT a good move. My legs were like big block of stiff rubber by the time I made it to the gym.

On the way home, I decided to stay on K St coming out of Georgetown, go straight down K till I get to 15th and then it's just a short ride home. The lights on K St are timed, but not for a bike. So I stopped at 18th and K St waiting for the light. I normally don't go down K St. It's just ugly during the weekdays, just too much traffic and all of the buses, plus you can't take a left off K St onto 15th. But there's another reason I don't like to go down K St. At the corner of the 18th and K there is a sign that shows how many US service members have been wounded in Iraq (over 13000) and how many have been killed (1945 as of Saturday). It's a grim, and depressing, reminder of the huge human toll this conflict is taking on our country.

And it makes me mad. It's a small little sign on K St. Do any of the major newpapers show the currently tally of wounded or killed on their front pages (and I mean the print edition, not the online version. The Wash Post has a good online section)? No, there are stories about 2 killed, 4 wounded, etc. And unfortunately we've now become used to this slow attrition of our soldiers. It's easier to think about when it's a handful, when the number is small. Oh it's bad, but it's not that bad. And that's just WRONG! The number of soldiers killed is almost half of a small town where I once lived in Missouri. Imagine waking up one day to find out that every other person you knew in a town was gone. The number of wounded is close to a third of the population of that county.

As a veteran, I'm just appalled at what is going on. I have no doubt that we got into this war for the wrong reasons. But we are there, and leaving is not an option. We need more troops, better equipped troops, more allies, etc. And yet I don't see it happening. The Pentagon has decided to not just drink the kool aid, but they are bathing in it. They recently put out a report that things are looking good in Iraq. Admittedly my view and knowledge of the situation on the ground is limited, but using one very important metric: the number of American lives lost in the last few months, I have a hard time accepting such a rosey picture.

And as much as I am frustrated with the senior decision makers at the Pentagon, I'm more furious with our political leaders. Can someone please tell me why this sentence:

"I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky" is an impeachable offense, but:

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." which was patently untrue or
"Mission Accomplished" which was patently untrue or
"Bring it On" which invited the insurgents to attack US forces are not?

Clinton's actions discredited the White House and soiled a blue dress. Bush's actions continue to discredit the White House and led to the deaths of over 1900 US service members.

When will there be some accountability? When will we make the changes necessary to really win this war?

The Republican Diet Program

I’ve been on the Republican Diet Program for almost a year now and I have to tell you it’s just AMAZING!!! Yep, a year ago some heathen, liberal, socialist, and probably gay Democrats were making ugly, unpatriotic comments about my weight, so I decided to declare a War On Fat or WOF, for short. My WOF would show them all that my love for my body is only surpassed by my love of my country. So I started on the Republican Diet.

The Republican Diet Guidebook (aka the WOF Bible!) described this great weight loss program. And the beauty of it, was that I wasn’t hungry at all. The Republican Diet Guidebook program lets you eat as much as you want while you are on the diet. Cookies, cakes, hamburgers, etc. It’s great. You’re never hungry. The secret to the program is that in future all of the food I will eat will have less calories and I’ll be burning the calories faster. So I can eat more now, since in the future food will have less calories. In fact, I need to eat more now since the food my children will eat will have no calories at all. I really love this part of the WOF!

The WOF Bible also recommended that I combine my diet with an exercise program for it to be really effective. Despite the fact that there are many gyms in my neighborhood, the RDG mandated that I had to join the Hexagon Gym, a subsidiary of Halliburton. So like any good Republican, I did. Despite the fact that the facilities at the gym were pretty bad, and the equipment was broken half the time, I really felt good about joining the gym. Especially since according to the RDG I didn’t actually have to go for the diet to work, just pay my dues. Sure it’s expensive and there were some minor billing problems. I mean, once I explain to the credit companies that the $100,000 gym fee was just a billing mistake, my credit history will be fixed in no time, I’m sure.

Unfortunately, after a couple of months, I still wasn’t seeing the results I really wanted. I had talked with the fitness experts at the Hexagon gym and they said that everything was on track and that I didn’t really need any more exercise or even diet. Surely if they thought I needed help winning my WOF, they would have told me, right?

I consulted the leader of my Republican Diet group and expressed my doubts about the plan. I’d had to buy new, larger clothes, and I felt confused. My group leader chastised me profoundly and told me that it was treason to doubt the Republican Diet Guidebook. He told me that I needed to pray to God to help me overcome my doubts and then I would lose all of the weight.

So I prayed, and I followed the program religiously. I ate, I paid my dues to the gym, and yet I kept getting bigger. Or atleast, I thought so. Everyone at my group kept telling me how great I was looking. That I must be losing weight. And they all can’t be wrong, can they?

When I had to buy XXL clothes, I went to the group leader again and asked when I would start to lose weight. He told me that my fat cells were in the last throes of their war on me, and soon I would win the WOF and be the thin, beautiful, patriotic, republican that God meant me to be.

In the meantime, my group keeps telling me how great and fabulous I look. So come join the Republican Diet Program. You too can pay lots of money, eat whatever you want, never exercise, and be surrounded by people telling you how great you look. And really, isn’t that what’s it’s all about?

A Slow Transition . . . .

. . . . back to reality.

It started on Saturday. I went to the Boatslip to lay out, and you can tell the crowd had started to change. Bear week was over and a new week was starting. So there were fewer bears, and more . . . . other types of folks. More lesibians, more twinks, more older circuit guys. At the tea dance, the crowd was much more mixed than before. But just as much fun. Everyone dancing and having a really good time. Here's a pic of me at the Boatslip.



More fun t-shirts:

1. Dip me in honey and feed me to the lesbians. (on a straight guy!)
2. Dump Him!
3. My GI Joes are Doin' it!
4. Your grandma called, she want's her hair-do back!

The last tea dance was just awesome and DJ MaryAlice hooked me up with some amazing CDs. She rocks!


After dinner I went to the A-House and danced some more. There were plenty of hot guys there.



But I think the week was catching up with me, so I ended up crashing a bit early.

I decided to catch an early ferry/shuttle so I got back to DC around 330ish. I walked off the plane and just got hammered by the heat and humidity. Ugh!

And now I'm taking a break from laundry and work. No more vacations for me till September. Unless I go to NYC in August. Hmm, let me think about that a bit.

More T-Shirt Slogans from Ptown

I find the sexual innuendo t-shirts funny, but a little bit old. So I'm just sticking to the funny random ones I've spotted in the last couple of days:

1. I'm not staring at you, I'm studying my prey.
2. I'd love you if you were more like me.
3. I Beat Anorexia. (in big letters on a BIG bear!)

Still having a great time. I've managed to get quite a little tan going. The weather continues to be AMAZING here. Sunny, hot. So hot I got into the ocean. BRRR! Another great T Dance and tonight is the Ptown Fireman's Ball to help raise money for their unit. Apparently bears are gear freaks and own fireman's uniforms. I'll be wearing a tank that has NYFD on it.