Sunday, April 13, 2008

Back in Business

Alright, as some of you knew, especially those of you who read the foreign newspapers, even by way of Babelfish, the fuss and commotion and vacation was caused by one thing: my PCS overseas to Germany. It’s a major deployer, and perhaps it’s my cynicism that causes me to expect to be wending my way from there to sandier parts. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a lot of regret at leaving the States, whether I do or don’t wind up visiting places my iMac warrantee won’t cover (They were very pointed about telling me that as soon as you get any sand anywhere in it, it’s done). There are a lot of people that I miss in the States, some of which I didn’t get to say goodbye to. It was in fact a nice surprise to see that, political views aside, as soon as I arrived various companies were fighting over who got to have me. That's either the nice thing about having particular skills, or a really sad statement on how desperate everyone is getting for manning. I'll let you decide. No, I won't tell you which unit seems to have won for the moment, they're a good unit, full of people I've served with before, and don't really need random people trying to light them up for the crime of not murdering me. I should be able to do some really good and useful work, if in fact I stay with this unit, and nobody else ends up winning. They're also offering to try to fix all the things that my last unit jacked up.

Some of you out there will cheer to find out that half of my family has completely disowned me for my IVAW work. I would like to take the opportunity here to alleviate some of their concerns about potential fallout and point out that Gunnery Sergeant Coppa, of the United States Marine Corps, currently serving on his fifth deployment in Iraq, has no knowledge of my political activity whatsoever to my knowledge, and therefore, anyone who thinks that he supports it is probably wrong. Yes, he’s family, and I love him very much whether he supports me or not, and hope for his safe return. But anyone who might have been hassling him because of me is barking up the wrong tree: his politics are his own. Oddly, the other half of my family seems to be taking the MFSO path; I seem to have precipitated my own miniature Civil War. I think everybody's Christmas presents are probably going to be in blue and grey.

Another thing I’ve been talking about has finally materialized. With thanks to an artist who made the design possible(who will be named as soon as he OKs it), I have now acquired what I refer to as “my IVAW tattoo”, though it is far more than just the logo, and reflects a lot of my more personal beliefs. The tattoist was shocked that my first tattoo, I chose to sit through thirteen hours of stenciling and needles, but I believe that if I’m going to do something, I may as well do it right. It is now permanently emblazoned on my arm, and I am very proud of it. I believe that if something is in your heart, it is moral cowardice not to share it. Photos will be forthcoming as soon as it heals. For those of you who are critical that my first tattoo is "not feminine enough", and purely military-related, I promise to take a butterfly-and-roses lower back tattoo into due consideration as soon as my first frontal lobotomy is complete.

I have seen the movie Stoploss, and will in fact be reviewing it for SITREP, which is the only reason that I'm not posting about it here. Suffice it to say that I was favorably impressed. Also, if you have PTSD, don't see it alone. I know I say that a lot, but I do like giving fair warning. I have not yet seen "Body of War", though I have been able to listen to the CD, which is absolutely fabulous.

There's a lot of stuff going on in the blogosphere I haven't really been able to react to. Now that I have more stable internet access, I will attempt it-but not today.

11 comments:

ILO said...

Family's great. Luckily the pro-war faction in my family is really tiny- Unfortunately they're my father, sister and her family.

Congratulations on the tattoo, and good luck with the new job. I hope you get to stay there- my cousin just left Germany headed south last week.

Nixon said...

No worries, people accuse my tattoos of not being "manly" enough. I probably should've rethought the unicorn/rainbow combo on my lower back before getting inked. Ah well, live and learn.

Unknown said...

I'll have you all know that Uber feminist Jen Hogg has a pin up girl on her arm.

A tasteful one, but a pin up none the less.

Looks like this minus the text and background.
http://www.thepinupfiles.com/images/gil-122.jpg

BUT I don't have a Rainbow/unicorn one...... even I'm not that gay! Close, but not not quite.

Thus Spake Ortner said...

"unicorn/rainbow combo on my lower back"

Right underneath the Starland Vocal Band tattoo?

streetsweeper said...

AS? LT Gen Hal Moore, C.O. of the 7th Cav Regiment once said..."You got to respect your enemy otherwide your going to get beat everytime"

You take care over there woman! WE may never agree on any one thing but I do not wish you ill....I'll make double dawg sure the Lord listens & sends St Michael & Christopher to watch over you.

Be safe, dont forget, fire first...ask later.....Your life may depend on it.

Now then about them tats you got.

I do have a branding iron.... ;) j/k wif ya!

Always keep your ass down! Don't hesitate to shoot back.....in my prayers!

Marty said...

What is SITREP? Is there a link? I would love to read your review of the movie Stop Loss. I saw it this past weekend. It was very intense and difficult for me to watch. I wanted my son, an Iraq Vet who also fell victim to stop loss, to go with me, but he was too busy. Actually, I'm kinda glad he didn't.

KA said...

I saw Stop Loss too, not gonna lie, me and the soldier I was with really enjoyed it and thought that it was surprisingly... "realistic".
Congrats on your tat.
LT Nixon... I KNEW you were a unicorn fan.... can tsay i ahve anything quite that cool tatted on me. All I've got are blue roses, lotuses and fire breathing dragons. Damn.
Next time.

Milo said...

You have my sympathy. I can't imagine the strain that must put on you. I get the impression that my family doesn't really agree with my politics or my choices, but they know I'm going to do them anyway, so they've elected not to bring it up, I think.

Also, congrats on the tattoo! I just got a new one myself: the word LOGOS in greek lettering across my back. It's been about a week now, and I'm thrilled. Hope all is well with the PCS. Hopefully we'll get to meet up soon.

Milo

Scott said...

Marty:
You can find "SITREP" at http://ivaw.org/sitrep

Marty said...

Thanks Scott. I appreciate it.

streetsweeper said...

Eh...Sarge! I did some looking around on notebooks.....Is there a chance you'd want or care to trade yer Mac book in for a Panisonic *toughbook*??

Seems a number of them currently in use by civilian PD's have survived ummmmmmmm.....traffic accidents & shots fired incidents.

Might be a worth while option consideration for you.

Shoot, you may even get featured on a national ad campaign!

Much better the the fame otherwise.....