My Point of View

Observing the First Lunar Landing

2009-07-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of stories today marking July 20th as the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing and I wanted to write my own piece. As my family will tell you, I have always been interested in astronomy and space. So it's no surprise that I wanted to blog about the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing in 1969. Though I wasn't even born yet, I have an intense fascination with our American space program, especially the Apollo era in the 1960s and early 1970s. The national sense of purpose and pride in accomplishment still inspires today. I wish I could have watched the happenings myself from the vantage point of having lived during that time. If ever there was a time when civilians, private industry, government and our military worked together for a grand accomplishment that benefited mankind, it was the lunar landing of Apollo 11 on this day, July 20, in 1969. Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander and the first man to walk on the Moon, was a former Navy pilot who flew combat missions in the Korean War. He also flew the experimental X-15 rocket plane, which was the link between aircraft that could fly at 30,000 feet and spacecraft that could fly outside the atmosphere. Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin was a career Air Force officer and pilot who helped develop a lot of the rendezvous techniques that made the Apollo mission possible. A little-known fact is that he was the first, and far as I know, the only person to ever hold Holy Communion on the surface of the moon, from inside the lunar module. Command module pilot Michael Collins, another career Air Force pilot, flew the command module that stayed in orbit around the moon while Armstrong and Aldrin took the lunar module to the surface. As you may be able to tell, I have read a lot of books about the Apollo mission. I have some old NASA DVD discs at home that I found in a bargain bin at a store back home. The footage is grainy and unrefined and the audio is far below today's digital quality, but the stock footage of the Apollo 11 mission and the landing is still awesome to watch. In some ways, I like it better than new videos because it features the original radio transmissions and videos. It looks the way it would have looked in 1969. So today, I join other Americans in saluting the Apollo 11 mission and the hundreds of thousands of people who made it reality.

Varnish & Vanity

2009-06-06T03:32:00.000-07:00

We had worked hard to beautify (as much as is possible) the Media Operations Center here at Camp Liberty, Baghdad. We installed wooden panels on which to post our photography, of which us 46Qs are proud. With help from 1LT Sarrat and SFC Burke, I nailed up the selected photos. Then we hung an enormous wooden display to hold the portrait of each unit member. It has filled the hall with the smell of varnish and we all admire it again every time we walk by. I have to admit, it is impressive to see our unit in pictures on the wall. We joked that our replacement unit will be intimidated when they see our handiwork.

The Heat Is On

2009-05-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

For six months, I have heard about the infamous high heat of Iraq during the Spring and Summer months. I tried to imagine what it would be like, comparing it to the humid heat of the South. But it is a different type of heat, a dry desert heat about which I've heard. Soldiers returning from Iraq often compared it to a hair dryer. I am finding now, as we have been in triple-digit temperatures for a week, that the "hair dryer" comparison is accurate. Wearing full body armor and spending any amount of time outside will result in torrents of sweat soaking the entire uniform. We drink several quarts of water a day just to stave off the dehydration that so easily befalls people living and working in this climate. The highest temperature so far has been about 111 degrees, and they say it will get hotter. It will stay this way until about September, I am told. This year, I have experienced two extremes of weather - the single-digit temperatures of the New Jersey winter back at Fort Dix, and now the triple-digit temperatures of Iraq.

SPC to SGT

2009-05-12T00:16:00.000-07:00

I am the 211th MPAD's newest non-commissioned officer. I officially received my sergeant stripes in a promotion ceremony last week. Our other newly-minted NCOs, SGTs Fardette, Anderson and Logue all helped me prepare by rehearsing the promotion ceremony and the NCO creed. The ceremony was held in the evening, and it turned out to be great weather. We had a cookout afteward and everybody had fun. I was humbled that the unit would hold a cookout for me on my promotion day. It feels good to have my stripes now, after my promotion paperwork disappeared somewhere in Texas. Another packet was submitted here in Iraq. Now, with rank comes more responsibility and accountability. That means less complaining and fewer excuses. Thank you 211th for helping me with my promotion.

Groundhog Day #73

2009-04-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

As I've told many people, everyday here in Iraq seems like Groundhog Day, as the days of long hours and tedious work all seem to melt together. I'm calling today Groundhog Day #73, which counts the days in country. But we have been mobilized 108 days, not including pre-mobilization back in Texas. So a deployment becomes measured in milestones instead of hours, days and months. That is the best way to measure the time passing. If you try to count days and estimate the days left in country, it just seems too daunting. For example, instead of measuring by days, you might mearsure the time in blocks: the last day of mobilization, the first day in Iraq or the beginning of a new season. Significant holidays, like Easter or Mother's Day are also good ways to measure the deployment. Even mundane things can become milestones of time passed. For example, the day I finally removed the bandage from my smallpox vaccine back at Fort Dix, which measured about six weeks passed, was a milestone. I even measure the end of a bar of soap as another month or so passed. Either way, we are starting to mark our time in country, but we have a ways to go. In the picture is a milestone for the 211th MPAD---receiving our combat patches to show we have deployed to a war zone with the 1st Cavalry Division.

About Out Of Here

2009-01-31T17:26:00.000-08:00

So we cleaned up the barracks today, about as good as they've ever been cleaned from what I can tell. One thing remains consistent here at Fort Dix--the cold. It doesn't really let up. The ground is hard and icy all the time. But we may wish for cold weather again once we are in the desert in Iraq. We are feeling good after completing our mobilization training. It feels like we have accomplished so much already, before the mission has even started. Pictured at right, we are on a range at Fort Dix rehearsing to defend a base attack. Days out on the range are usually fun days, and this day was no exception.

At Fort Dix

2009-01-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

The 211th MPAD has been here at Fort Dix since January 6th, which is another leg of our tour of duty. It has been bitterly cold up here, and getting up and outside before day has been tough, but now I've finally caught up with the rest of the unit, which trained together here in October. Nobody has gone stir crazy yet, but most of us are ready for a change of location, even if it is overseas. I've been out on the range, firing my weapon more than I ever have before, probably. I've got huge bags full of equipment and the extreme weather gear, which almost takes up a whole duffel bag. But we have also had some good times in this Winter wonderland. I celebrated my birthday here. We had birthday cake and, appropriately enough, watched the Bill Murray and John Candy comedy "Stripes" in the day room. A good time was had by all. Our last big hurrah here was watching Super Bowl 43 on the big screen in the Fort Dix gym.

Texas Iced Tea

2008-12-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

Nobody told me it could be so cold in Texas! I thought the Lone Star State only got snow up in the Panhandle, when those furious Prarie winters reached down from the north. But it has been bitterly cold down here in Bryan-College Station this week. This morning, there was a patch of ice right outside our motel room, which prompted SFC Burke to attempt an impromptu "ice dance moonwalk," demonstrating that not even the formidable tread of combat boots could grip a smooth blanket of ice.
Then there was the van. What I thought was a layer of dew was actually a rough surface of ice. Next to the van, SSgt. Ford commented "We don't have ice scrapers in Texas." A plastic motel room key worked just as well instead.
Yesterday, for PT, we conducted 60-120 sprints on the track at Bryan High School. Every gulp of that cold air felt like a huge gulp of ice water! The thermometer on the high school sign out front was at 31 degrees. So far, the cold weather only seems to hit on PT days. The day before this frosty plunge, it was warm enough to wear T-shirts and shorts! I thought the weather could change rapidly back in North Carolina, but Texas has Carolina beat!

This Ford's Motor Runs On Words

2008-12-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

• Army Staff Sgt. Peter Ford’s public affairs job matches his love of writing, foundation for life goals.
By Spc. Jon Soles
211th MPAD
Postal worker. Railroad foreman. Soldier. Staff Sgt. Peter A. Ford Jr. has worn many uniforms during his life, but it’s the Army uniform that may take him on his biggest journey yet.
The quiet Arkansas native is about to embark on a deployment to Iraq with the 211th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, based in Bryan,Texas, serving his country and becoming a part of history.
Ford said his decision to join the Army, as well as study law, can be traced back to the inspiration provided by a teacher at McGhee High School, in Ford’s hometown of McGhee, Ark.
"It all goes back to my high school teacher, Mrs. Rothchild," Ford said. "She was a social studies teacher who inspired patriotism in country. She would tell us stories about patriotic heroes like Patrick Henry and George Washington."
After graduating from high school in 1984, Ford enlisted in the Army and completed basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C. He earned his first military occupational specialty as an avionics technician and served for 10 years on active duty. In 1994, Ford got out of the Army and began working for the U.S. Postal Service in Hawaii—a job he performed for four years. Ford switched gears again and began working for Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway, which brought him to Houston. Ford began at BNSF as a maintenance of way worker and then became a welder. He continued to move up the ladder, to elite welder and then to foreman. Ford currently works as a relief track supervisor, a job that brings good pay and benefits. "It is a good company to work for. It has a family environment," Ford said. "Sometimes it is rough and very physically demanding."
After spending about six years outside the military, Ford decided to get back in uniform and re-enlist with the Army Reserve as a tank crewman. Yet, the desire to be a lawyer guided him to Army public affairs. Ford graduated from the Defense Information School in Fort George Meade, Md., and reclassified as a print journalist.
"I chose this MOS because I wanted to go to law school and I thought this would be a good way to enhance my writing skills," Ford said.
Ford earned a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies from Kaplan University in Des Moines, Iowa. Upon returning from his upcoming deployment to Iraq, Ford said he hopes to enroll at law school.
Ford’s interest in writing goes beyond his public affairs job with the 211th MPAD. A passionate, creative writer since the age of 12, Ford said he is busy writing cinema screenplays. His latest project is based on the Korean War and is titled "May Freedom Ring.
"It is about the Korean War, a forgotten war and was a time when America was divided," Ford said. "Different races of Americans were able to put their differences aside and work for the good of the country."
Photo by Spc. Jon Soles
Staff Sgt. Peter Ford of the 211th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment takes the oath of re-enlistment at the Maj. Gen. George F. Moore Army Reserve Center in Bryan, Texas. At right is Lt. Christina Douglas administers the oath of enlistment.
As a non-commissioned officer in the Army, Ford is already a leader of Soldiers who look to him for guidance and mentoring. He has a quote he said sums up his view of living a life of service and change for the better.
"There are those that accept things they can’t change and there are those that change things they can’t accept," Ford said.
Ford has stepped up his committment to duty and country by re-enlisting for six more years in the Army Reserve.
"I enlisted because I wanted to finish what I started," Ford said. "I am proud to be an American. I love my country and I love my family."

Combat Lifesaver

2008-12-08T06:03:00.000-08:00

I am the newest addition to the 211th MPAD. I have only been here a week, so I'm trying to catch up with the rest of the 211th's training. Even though I'm new here, I already feel at home thanks to the warm welcome I received from the entire chain of command and the Soldiers here. After 8 days, I feel like I've always been a part of the 211th.

Yesterday, we completed our Combat Lifesaver course. They saved the worst for last-administering a catheter and IV to a living Soldier. I share SSgt. Ford's fear of needles and have been known to pass out at the sight of blood, or after receiving shots. (I've done this three different times in my life.) But anyway, like 1st Sgt. Martinez said, Soldiering is "about facing fears." Fortunately, I was able to stick a needle in my class partner, SFC Burke's arms, with ease and administer the IV without letting out too much blood. I think reading the steps to administering a saline lock in our manual over and over again really helped when we had to do the real thing. And I never once felt queasy.