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Muddy you da man! I have had a rough last couple of days feeling sorry for myself because I am missing so much with my kids and family... so far I have missed , my birthday, my wifes birthday, my anniversary, my youngest daughters 13 birthday, just yesterday I missed carving pumpkins with my kids and then in a couple of weeks my oldest daughter turns 15 *sigh* I tell you this crap just doesn't effect the soldier... the family goes thru a lot too... but ANYWAYS... today was MAIL CALL... and sure nuff... SFC AL had himself a package!!! actually THREE BOXES (read other thread) and low and behold one of the packages was a MOOK t-shirt... man I tell you... that shirt couldn't have come at a better time... thanks Muddy, you were a huge part of making my day! pictures will be taken this weekend! the MoOK SHIRT has become an international sensation! AL

that is good to know... I still have 307 days until I can see if they keep indefinitely I have been thinking... Its going to be bad enough to have to replace ALL my line at once... its just too much to think I might have to replace all my plastics at the same time? OUCH! I am going with indefinitely AL

*sniff* :'( WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just kidding... hey sweet deal treating the gf to a nice dinner... THAT made it that much better Brother.... to show you appreciate her goes wayyyyyyyyy beyond what you paid for a delicious meal... AL

BR is my escape from reality... because sometimes reality really really SUCKS... thanks guys for keeping me entertained... without y'all I don't know how I could cope... AL

I was in Mannheim Germany and needless to say that day has effected me more than any one event in my life. AL

here is to a speedy recovery GW... I sincerely hope you can get out on that water VERY soon AL

sorry, now y'all have some great wives... but MINE is the best she is basically being a single parent for the next 12 months by holding down the fort , she has been doing an amazing job for the last 3... she is paying off ALL of our bills plus she is as excited about me getting a truck and a boat when I get home as I am... now THAT is an amazing woman.. sorry had to pull that trump card.. hahahhaha AL

glad to see your job getting some face time! I hear the last 90 days is the longest days of your life... good job AL

K-bar... nuff said ;D AL

to say I am thinking of that family is an understatement, my heart hurt just reading this.... I can't even imagine what they are going thru... my thoughts and prayers go out to them at this very very tragic time... AL

there is a lot of us here... way to go guys!!!!! AL

GOOD LUCK BROTHER!!!!! I quit 1 year 9 months ago... it was the hardest freaking thing I have EVER DONE... I quit cold turkey... I used Smoke Away , I got it from Walmart... gave me gas something serious the kids hated THAT hahahah but in the long run it was worth it... the hardest part for ME with quitting was how to deal with the stress... I found myself just freaking SNAPPING over stupid stuff... but with time it gets better... now I still snap just not over as much of the stupid stuff hahahaha good luck and I have faith in you... just QUIT... no more... not another puff... the quicker you get it in your head that YOU QUIT rather than ARE QUITTING the better... hey if I can stay quit in Iraq... then ANYONE can quit AL

well I am sure I have it better than a lot of folks... last two tours I lived MUCH worse than this... where I work is air conditioned... my CHU is air conditioned and I have it all to myself, and I work 14+ hours a day so I don't have to be outside much... sure I could complain about a lot of stuff... I am just trying to look at the POSITIVES hahahhaha I better! I still have 13 months left over here! AL hell i even have carpeting in my CHU

hope this works... I am using satellite internet... and it doesn't work the best sometimes...

heart wrenching that is for sure! thanks for posting it... I for one will be glad of the day this all will be over AL

best dang worldwide bass fishing site BAR NONE AL

Well I made it up North, I am on Q-West in Iraq... WAY UP NORTH... it could definately be worse... my hat off to the door kickers and the guys driving those convoys... wow... they are the best of what this country has to offer... I admit I have it cushy here... creature comforts aren't many but it could be SO MUCH worse... I pray for them every night... AL

Believe it or not I don't know what the address is hahaha I will have to email my wife to send it to me... things needed here are basically ANYTHING music and movies... the selection here is TERRIBLE... I am on hold buying things because they still have to fly me up into Iraq so I can't have a lot of baggage... just my ruck and duffle and that is it... I emailed the BPS in Savannah and asked them for a cloth sign or something to decorate my CHU (where I will live) and the manager there said he would make SOMETHING happen... very pleased at that positive response... other than that... please pm me and I will give you my address as soon as I can... I am supposed to fly sometime this week and I still have a bit more training to go thru so it might be a while... anyways. thanks for all the positive reinforcement... sometimes this gets real old and to know people appreciate what we are doing DOES make it better... AL

Just checking in, wish I could post about my fishing but when its 110 and your in a freaking Desert there isn't much fishing to report on, for the past week I have been recieving a lot of training on different things, its HOT, and when you add your protective vest they estimate the temp at our skin to be in the 140-150 degree range. I am being honest here y'all I haven't EVER been as hot as I was during some of this training. They do a very good job of making us comfortable but some of this training you just have to do outside and there isn't anything you can do about it. I ended up getting severely dehydrated but I pulled thru just fine, didn't think I would for two days though ahahaha but luckily or unluckily depending on who you are I pulled thru just fine. right now we are having a SEVERE dust storm... 50-60 mph winds and the sand is reaching areas you do NOT want sand to be in... we do Physical Training on non training days at 0500 and I have been doing a LOT of running. I have my two mile run time down to 15:20 which for a 40 year old fart isn't too bad I guess... I just figured that with me doing some of the things I have to do over the next 15 months I had better be in some of the best shape of my life... my life depends on it literally... I guess my mission has changed a bit and I am going to be going on some convoys. anyways... hope things are going well for everyone and next week when I get settled in up in Iraq I will start posting some pictures... right now I have to use an internet cafe and it costs $5.00 an hour and you can't use USB ports or anything... GRRRRRR AL

thanks for the replies everyone I will post pictures ASAP (1 1/2 weeks or so) AL

thanks y'all but I ain't coming home anytime soon I am about 3 days into my 15 MONTHS hahahaha I AM going to have my wife send me a rod and reel though so I can practice my pitching and flipping... going to email BPS and maybe see if they will send me a 3 ft or so cardboard sign or something... I want to make my CHU into a fishing mecca hahahaha AL

sorry I literally have 3 minutes so I just wanted to say I made it into Kuwait for my training before going up "north". the weather forecast here is hot... with hot tomorrow and hot the day after 110 degrees is no joke! ANYWAYS... just wanted to say hi and I miss being able to check here every day... take care AL

close your eyes and imagine not seeing your loved ones for 15 months... HUG THEM!!!! Tell them you love them. *sigh* my kids are still sleeping... I have just a few hours till I have to report...

thanks y'all... this last day with my family for who knows how long is a toughie... luckily my Mom is visiting and its keeping us busy just showing her the sights etc this weekend. AL

I subscribed to you on U Tube... Keep up the great work... we are going to be laughing our butts off... LOL maybe a cowardly lion going on a convoy skit? hahahahaha Catt thanks for the compliment but I am no hero... Policemen and Firefighters and the "door kickers" in the Army are my heros... me I am just a staff puke now... while going where I have to go does suck... its nothing compared to what a lot of these fine young men have to do day in and day out AL