"Sir, what do we do?!"

During the early summer of 2006, I was in a seven vehicle convoy just north of Baghdad, Iraq. I had only been in country for a short time. I was riding in the passenger seat (or "truck commander" seat) in the second vehicle. Our Humvee was modified to carry electronic countermeasures equipment, and as a result, we had no .50 cal gunner (similar to the Humvee on the right in the picture above). It was just me and a young Army soldier driver.

As we passed through northern Baghdad, I noticed a flash in my side view mirror. We soon realized that an IED had gone off behind our vehicle and in front of the third vehicle. A quick comms check revealed that, thankfully, no one was injured. A quick inspection found only minor damage to the vehicle. Nonetheless, we stopped to investigate.

The lead Humvee sped off to the right to investigate a taxi that was driving away from the scene.

"Sir, what do we do?!" My young driver and I realized at the same time our now-awkward situation. The normal procedure under these circumstances was for the lead and trail vehicles to drive 400-500 meters and set up a cordon. This would allow the other teams to investigate while providing standoff distance for approaching vehicles. Since the first vehicle followed the taxi, we were now the lead vehicle, but without the powerful Browning machine gun to support us. Keep in mind that I'm a Navy officer; a naval flight officer trained in electronic countermeasures. I had two weeks of "Army" training. I was not intended to be involved in ground combat. Nonetheless, here I was.

I immediately explained to the driver to move and set up the cordon. He drove us half a kilometer forward, blocked the road, and then disembarked so we could provide some measure of support. It was not ideal, but it worked. For a few tense minutes, our only method to project power was M-16s or M-4s--hardly the kind of weapon you would want to deter another vehicle. Fortunately, another Humvee came forward and eventually relieved us.

At that point, we returned back to the scene of the IED. I then followed the lead Humvee to where they had stopped the taxi. One soldier seized a few cell phones, which I held while another soldier swiped the hands of the taxi driver and his passengers with a chemical swab to detect explosives. Then, one of the cell phones rang. Iraqis had been using cell phones to detonate IEDs, but this was just the cell phone. Still, it spooked me.

As we were wrapping up the roadside stop, I heard the unmistakable rat-tat-tat-tat of an automatic machine gun. In that instant I immediately realized two things: first, you don't have explain the sound of an AK-47 to someone under fire. Second, you don't have to teach a Navy guy how to hit the deck. I did so immediately. After absorbing a face full of sand and dirt, we soon realized that the sporadic AK-47 fire was not aimed directly at us. Most likely, it was spray-and-pray fire designed to unnerve us. It was working. We soon hurried back to our vehicles and were on our way.

The Army unit I was with was near the end of their rotation, soon to head home. To them, this was just another day outside the wire. Fortunately, no one was injured. As far as I know, the incident was never written up (such a write-up would be required for a combat action badge or similar award). Yet I remember the incident as if it happened yesterday.

Law in Plain English: Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter

This is one in a series of posts designed to describe court decisions in plain English. For more detail and background on the legal issues, see the link to the case below. For similar posts, click here.

SCOTUSblog: Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Carter

Argument: TBD (Aud.)

Background: In 2011 (after several previous attempts and amendments), former employee Benjamin Carter filed a qui tam (whistleblower) action under the False Claims Act (FCA), alleging that KBR falsely billed the United States for services performed in Iraq in 2005. The district court ruled that the complaint was filed outside of the FCA's six year statute of limitations. The court also found that another substantially similar complaint had been filed before Carter's, and was therefore the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case pursuant to the FCA's first-to-file bar (a provision to prevent parasitic lawsuits based upon previously disclosed fraud). The Fourth Circuit reversed, finding that the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act tolled the statute of limitations while the United States was engaged in combat in Iraq even if war was not formally declared. Additionally, the panel found that, while Carter's claim was properly denied by the district court pursuant to the first-to-file bar, dismissing the claim with prejudice was erroneous because Carter could re-file his claim later if the other complaint was dismissed (as it later was).

Issue: The questions before the Court are (1) whether the Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act – a criminal code provision that tolls the statute of limitations for “any offense” involving fraud against the government “[w]hen the United States is at war,” 18 U.S.C. § 3287, and which this Court has instructed must be “narrowly construed” in favor of repose – applies to claims of civil fraud brought by private relators, and is triggered without a formal declaration of war, in a manner that leads to indefinite tolling; and (2) whether, contrary to the conclusion of numerous courts, the False Claims Act’s so-called “first-to-file” bar, 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(5) – which creates a race to the courthouse to reward relators who promptly disclose fraud against the government, while prohibiting repetitive, parasitic claims – functions as a “one case- at-a-time” rule allowing an infinite series of duplicative claims so long as no prior claim is pending at the time of filing.

Holding: In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that As shown by the WSLA’s text, structure, and history, the Act applies only to criminal offenses, not to civil claims like those in this case. The FCA’s first-to-file bar keeps new claims out of court only while related claims are still alive, not in perpetuity. Thus, dismissal with prejudice was not called for in this case.

Multimedia: Free Syrian Army Caputures SA-2 Surface To Air Missile Site

Although it's unclear if this site was recently active, or abandoned. The SA-2 is a very old SAM system (first introduced in 1957!), although they are still out there--mostly old Soviet-bloc nations. We did see a few in Iraq! For more information, see here. At the 1:04 mark, you can see the Fan Song target engagement radar:

Compare:

9/11: President George Bush's Ground Zero speech

9/11: President George Bush's speech

Sgt. Daniel L. Sesker (April 15, 1983-April 6, 2006)

Sgt. Daniel L. Sesker, 22 of Ogden, died Thursday, April 6, 2006, near Baghdad, Iraq, as the result of a roadside bomb explosion.

Daniel LaVerne Sesker was born April 15, 1983, in Boone, the son of Mysty Harper-Stumbo and Dennis Sesker. He graduated with the Ogden High School class of 2001 and attended college at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge.

Dan enlisted as a Calvary Scout in B Troop 1-113 Calvary in August 2000. He was deployed to Kosovo in 2003 as part of Operation Joint Guardians.

In July of 2005 Dan, who was a Soldier of B Troop 1-113 Cavalry, volunteered to be attached to C Troop 1-113 Cavalry out of Le Mars, for the Iraqi Freedom Mission. While in Iraq, he served as a gunner in the Task Force 49th Military Police Personnel Security Detachment. Between the Kosovo and Iraq tours of duty, Dan worked as a counselor at the Woodward Academy and as a part-time police officer in Gowrie. At the time of his death, Dan was serving on the same base in Iraq as three Ogden High School classmates, Sgt. David Bollenbaugh, Spc. Shane Sinn and Spc. Michael Fraser.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and the Combat Action Badge.

Some of the things Dan enjoyed doing and is remembered for is his love of a good game of pool. He really liked bowling, hunting, fishing and most of all he loved living life.

Dan is survived by his mother and stepfather, Mysty (Harper) and Marvin Stumbo of Ogden; his father, Dennis Sesker of Boone; fiancée Angelique Garey of Ogden; brother and sister-in-law, Pfc. Thomas and Sara Sesker stationed in Hawaii; sister Jennifer Sesker of Ogden; stepsister Amie Stumbo and Sandston, Virginia and stepbrother Brian Stumbo of Cedar Rapids; grandparents Jean Harper of Boone, and Bud and Diane Harper of Creston; several other family members and many friends.

He was preceded in death by grandparents, Stanley and Violet Sesker.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday April 18, at the Ogden High School Gymnasium, 732 W. Division St, Ogden. Chaplin MAJ Klavetter will officiate. Burial will be a private ceremony at the Linwood Park Cemetery in Boone. Visitation will be Monday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Ogden High School Gymnasium. The Carson Funeral Home in Ogden is in charge of arrangements.

Memorials may be directed to: In Memory of Dan Sesker, City State Bank, 217 W. Mulberry St., Ogden, IA, 50212; phone 515-275-2420.

When I lived with "terrorists"

In 1997, as part of an effort by President Bill Clinton to reach out to Iran, the United States added the People's Mojahedin of Iran (PMOI, also known as Mujaheddin-e Khalq, or MEK), the largest Iranian exile organization, to the State Department's list of terrorist organizations.  This was purely a political move, as the PMOI haven't really engaged in any sort of terrorist actions in recent times and certainly haven't engaged in any action against the United States.

The French Committee for a Democratic Iran or the National Council of Resistance of Iran is the diplomatic front for the PMOI and is a sort of government-in-exile located in France.

The PMOI was in the news again last month:

A group of prominent U.S. Republicans associated with homeland security told a forum of cheering Iranian exiles here Wednesday that President Obama's policy toward Iran amounts to futile appeasement that will never persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear projects.

The Americans - former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge, former White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend and former attorney general Michael Mukasey - demanded that Obama instead take the controversial Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) opposition group off the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations and incorporate it into efforts to overturn the mullah-led government in Tehran.

"Appeasement of dictators leads to war, destruction and the loss of human lives," Giuliani declared. "For your organization to be described as a terrorist organization is just really a disgrace."

The four GOP figures appeared at a rally organized by the French Committee for a Democratic Iran, a pressure group formed to support MEK.

Their crowd-pleasing appeals, they said, reflected growing bipartisan sentiment in the U.S. Congress and elsewhere that the 13-year-old terrorist designation of the Paris-based dissident group should be ended because it is unfounded and has not made the Iranian government easier to deal with or halt its nuclear program. In addition, they noted, a Washington federal appeals court in July ordered Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to review the listing, and cast doubt on some of the information brought forward to support it.

The article was brought to my attention by Rob McNealy, who tweeted earlier today that the "GOP leadership officially supporting terrorism when it suits their interests," and cited the article.

It struck a nerve with me because most of my nine months in Iraq were spent at Camp Ashraf, which happens to be the home of the aforementioned PMOI.  Yes, you read that correctly: U.S. troops including myself were living inside Camp Ashraf in close proximity to these supposedly-dangerous terrorists (albeit in separate areas of the camp).  Rob's comment struck me as naive because, while it is easy to read about an organization as a designated terrorist organization and feign indignation at the Republicans who spoke on their behalf, it is another to have lived beside them and understand them for who they are.

A quick history of the PMOI in one paragraph: they are an Iranian exile organization who were supported by Saddam Hussein and who laid down their arms in 2003 at the outset of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.  The "prisoners" were held at Camp Ashraf and were later declared "protected persons" under the Geneva Convention.

In reality, very few of the PMOI were held in prison; most of them lived within their section of the Camp (which, in truth, is more like a small town).  When they did venture outside of Camp Ashraf, they were escorted by you-know-who: the U.S. soldiers who were stationed at Ashraf.  Yes, you read that correctly, too: U.S. soldiers were escorting these supposedly-dangerous terrorists on supply runs into Baghdad (after all, they were protected persons).  These were known colloquially as "PMOI runs" and ran from Ashraf down to Baghdad and back several times a week.  I went on quite a few of these runs back in 2006.  Whether you agree or disagree with what we were doing, you cannot deny that other than having their name on a list, we have not in any stretch of reality treated the PMOI as terrorists.

Over the course of my time at Ashraf, I had opportunities to speak with a number of people within the local PMOI leadership.  While I can't say that I necessarily agree with their philosophy, I am fairly certain of the fact that this organization does not being on an official list of terrorists (although after having watched some of their ceremonies, they definitely have a cultish feel to them).  The EU started the process to remove the PMOI from their terrorist list back in 2006, and finally removed them officially back in 2009. Last year a federal appeals court ordered Secretary Clinton to review the PMOI's status as a terrorist organization.  And while the Post article that Rob cited specifically mentioned the GOP leaders that traveled to Paris, the group of lawmakers that support removing the PMOI as a terrorist organization is decidedly bi-partisan.

I mentioned to Rob that Nelson Mandela's African National Congress was previously on the United States' list of terrorist organizations; were Nelson Mandela's supporters in the United States also officially supporting terrorism?  His response disappointed me: "I don't care about Africa, I care about American[sic]."  Although in truth I guess this is more-or-less what you would expect from a libertarian.

Among all this, there is no evidence of any terror activity from this supposed terrorist group.  That seems to defy explanation.

(In 2009, Ashraf was turned over to Iraq and U.S. forces eventually left; was apparently attacked by Iraqi security forces resulting in numerous deaths.)

1,001 posts, wow

My previous post was my 1,000th post. Crazy.  Looking back, my first post was back on December 23, 2004.

I just realized that I had a bunch of posts in "draft" status from when I was stationed in Iraq.  I imagine that when I wrote them, they were somewhat sensitive; but given the time, I don't see any reason why they couldn't be published now.  See here for my posts tagged with Iraq.  I also did a bunch of cryptograms while I was there--it helped to pass the time!

Cablegate is more about Wikileaks (and Julian Assange) and less about the cables

Today, Wikileaks has begun to release some of the 251,287 embassy cables in their possession.  They won't say, but presumably these are all or some of the cables Bradley Manning illegally obtained while stationed in Iraq.

Wikileaks' Cablegate page says that:

[t]he embassy cables will be released in stages over the next few months. The subject matter of these cables is of such importance, and the geographical spread so broad, that to do otherwise would not do this material justice.

This is an interesting editorial comment on their part.  The material in these cables is so important that you, the well-read reader of the world, could not possibly comprehend them all at once.  Instead, we will feed them to you slowly, like a drug, so that Wikileaks can remain in the news as long as possible.  Because that's what this is all about, really.  If the material was that important, they'd release it all and let the world's media decide what is and isn't important.  Why risk a time delay, the possibility that their website goes offline and all the material doesn't get released?  What if their fearless leader Julian Assange, wanted for rape in Sweden, gets arrested?  Who decided the release schedule?  So someone else is determining for me what is important and what isn't?  More on this later.

I recognize that Wikileaks is supposed to be about more than Julian Assange, but his figure looms large over the organization:

‘I am the heart and soul of this organization, its founder, philosopher, spokesperson, original coder, organizer, financier and all the rest. If you have a problem with me, piss off.’

Is there any doubt who Wikileaks is really about?  The leaked chat sessions, in which Assange accused another Wikileaks member of leaking data and suspended him for it (the irony of leaked Wikileaks material, no?) close the door on Wikileaks being about more than Julian Assange.

In my prior post about Wikileaks, I challenged them to practice the transparency they preach:

...Wikileaks is about transparency. Can we assume then that they'll continue to regularly update and publish their list of donors? I give them credit for publishing the leak of their own donors, but why does it have to be leaked? If you want transparency, then practice it yourself.

Jacob [Appelbaum] asked for $200,000 in donations for Bradley Manning's legal fund. Will Wikileaks practice transparency by releasing the names of donors to the legal fund?

I'll add to that; since Wikileaks feels the desire to editorialize about the content of these embassy cables, why not release all of the relevant chat sessions among the Wikileaks inner circle so that the public can truly scrutinize what is important, and what isn't.  Who decided the release schedule?  This is important for transparency, isn't it?  Again, going back to my first point, instead of relying on Wikileaks to determine what's important, let the reader decide what is important.

I'll end with what I've said before: Wikileaks lost its focus when the story became about Julian Assange and the Wikileaks organization in general, and less about the actual content of what they're releasing.  There will be some juicy stories about information in these embassy cables, but eventually the story will go back to the underlying narrative about Julian Assange and Wikileaks, and the newsworthiness of their releases is again weakened.

Where were you?

I wrote this on 9/9/2006 while I was in Iraq, and posted it then on the Netstumbler forums:

On September 11, 2001, I was living in Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, a few hours north of Seattle, Washington. I had moved there in the spring and was in training at the EA-6B Prowler fleet replacement squadron, VAQ-129. I was also taking flying lessons at the time, and had progressed about 1/3 of the way through the private pilot license syllabus.

I don't recall the exact time, but it was very early, 6-something (Pacific time), when the phone rang. I remember it was early because it woke me up. It was my Dad. He told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. That was the extent of the news at the time. I thanked him for letting me know and hung up.

As I wiped the sleep from my eyes and walked toward the living room, the first thoughts that went through my mind were that it was probably a foggy or cloudy day, and some poor Cesna pilot got lost and flew into the World Trade Center. As I turned on the TV sometime after 6 o'clock, however, it became immediately clear that something very different was occurring. It seemed to be that both towers were on fire (the first plane hit the north tower at 8:46ET and the second plane hit the south tower at 9:02ET). In my mind, I want to say that I saw the second plane hit on TV, but in reality it seems that this is not possible, as I don't believe the second plane hitting the south tower was broadcast live (9/12/10: was it?)

I also remember thinking that, despite hitting the towers with such force, there were relatively few floors in flames, and I never really suspected the structural integrity of the building was at risk. My only thoughts were: get those people out as fast as possible!

I immediately woke up my roommate Tom and his then-girlfriend (now wife) to let them know what was going on. I think we probably all stared at the TV for who-knows-how-long without saying so much as a word. What I do remember vividly was watching both towers collapse (the south tower at 9:59ET and the north tower at 10:28ET). More silence. I tried to calculate in my mind how many people must have been killed, just like that.

Tom and I were both in classes at the time and eventually had to go into work. I don't recall what time we actually went in, but I do remember that it was not difficult to get onto the base. What helps me remember this is how difficult it was to get onto the base in the following days--literally hours to go a half a mile. On September 12th, every vehicle was being inspected at the gates. I seem to recall it taking over two and a half hours to get onto base on the 12th.

Going back to September 11th. We were in class. The flight schedule was immediately cancelled, which seemed obvious. What was less understandable was the fact that our academic classes were continuing. I had several squadron mates who were frantically calling "home" to families in the NYC area trying to find out something. Every break between classes was a rush to the TV or the telephones. Our pleas to cancel class were basically ignored.

We did not know at the time, but one of my classmates did lose a family member. My friend Dave Ganci lost his uncle, Peter J. Ganci, who was a New York Fire Department Chief. Sometime during the day we also learned of the attack on the Pentagon. The entire day was surreal and many of its details are burned into my memory.

That night, President Bush spoke to the nation:

The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.

A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.

Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America -- with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.

As I alluded to before, the next few days were complete hell trying to get into work. Schedules were changed and shifted, and somehow we kept on with class. I don't recall when we started flying again ("we" meaning the squadron; I was not at that phase yet); but all VFR air traffic was suspended for at least a month, so my flying lessons came to a halt (and unfortunately never started up again, something I regret to this day).

Many months later, we flew missions over Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. Then it was over Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. And now, of course, on the ground in Iraq. I did not lose a family member although my friends did. Yet my life was inextricably altered by the events of that day.

About me

Last updated: January 23 2020

As of January 2020, I am a Ph.D. student in History at Liberty University.

In December 2019, I received my M.A. in History from Liberty University (Graduate with High Distinction).

Since July 2017, I have been a CNO Analyst and Attorney for Fortego LLC.

From January 2016 until July 2017, I was a law clerk and then an attorney for DLA Piper in Washington, DC.

From 2008-2011 and 2013-2015, I worked for Booz Allen Hamilton  as a Senior Penetration Tester and as a Network Analyst.

In May 2016, I graduated Magna Cum Laude and Order of the Coif from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (legal resume).

I previously started and owned a small business, Leverage Consulting & Associates, and through this I worked as a Penetration Tester. My clients included a major international newspaper, the Department of Defense, various other government agencies, private sector businesses, and a number of small businesses in the Washington, DC metro area.

I have contributed to three Syngress books: Penetration Tester's Open Source Toolkit, Vol. 2, Netcat Power Tools, and Kismet Hacking. I also contributed a chapter for a fourth book: Defense against the Black Arts: How Hackers Do What They Do and How to Protect against It.

At my core, I am a hacker at heart. We enjoy breaking things and taking them apart to figure out how they work, how they might do something different, or to discover new ways to use things. We break things not just to break them or for our personal gain, we break them so that they can be made better and more secure.   I was a founding member of Unallocated Space, a central Maryland hackerspace; although I am no longer active there.

Military

I spent nearly 9 years in the United States Navy as an EA-6B Prowler Electronic Countermeasures Officer. During that time, I flew combat missions over Afghanistan and Iraq and participated in Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. I also spent 9 months on the ground in Iraq supporting the Army as an Electronic Warfare Officer supporting the C-IED effort. My awards include the Air Medal (individual action award with Combat V; and strike/flight award), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with Combat V), Army Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Unit Citation, Navy "E", National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, and the Navy Rifleman and Pistol ribbons. I am also a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).

Politics

The best description of my politics is that I am a right libertarian. As a young political idealist, I frequently threw ideological bombs with the best of them, but as I have become older I find myself more frequently seeking to promote civility in political discourse (which is increasingly more difficult to find). What's missing, I think, is a basic level of respect for someone else's opinions even if you disagree with them. To use one recent example, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said: "I don't know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican." This is just pure ignorance, considering that anywhere from 25-30% of Hispanics consider themselves Republican, and upwards of 40% often vote as such. This ignorance exists on both sides of the aisle. You also see it on forums and message boards where people use words like "re-thug" or "demo-rat". In my opinion, you cannot use these words and expect to be taken seriously in any real discussion.

Sports

I am a Philadelphia and Penn State sports fanatic. While I am a fan of all of the major sports teams, I am far more fanatical about the Phillies and Eagles, and less so about the Flyers and Sixers. I held Penn State football season tickets for five years (just gave them up this year, unfortunately). I played football in high school and have been a football coach at the high school level for several years. In addition, I follow some professional cycling, primarily during the Tour de France in July but less so during the rest of the year. I also watch golf (and play very irregularly, and poorly) and most any Olympic sports interest me now and then (even, and especially, curling).

Philomath

I consider myself a practicing philomath, which means that I am a lover of learning, a seeker of knowledge and facts. Learning something new on a regular basis is perhaps deeper to the core of who I am than anything else.

I often spend time searching for things that fascinate me. This is usually a result of reading something on Wikipedia, and then following links to something else, and eventually I end up going off on a tangent and learning about something completely unrelated to what I was originally looking for. Is there a name for this? Wikistumbling. There, I made one. :-)

When I'm reading a book or watching a TV show, I often spend time researching about the locations in the stories. A while back I started watching The Wire (which is a fantastic TV show, by the way), so of course I was fascinated by everything I could find that's related to the show; culture, crime, the neighborhoods, photographs of locations, etc. I tend to invest a lot of time in something until I feel like I have a better understanding of it. Then, I often move on to something else.

Dad and Husband

Last but certainly not least, I am the father of four children and husband to the most wonderful woman in the world. Years ago, before I was married, I often wondered how in the world people could go about their jobs and have a family too. Now I wonder how I could do without it. There is nothing better than coming home from a long day at work to kids yelling "Daddy's home!" and getting a kiss from my wife.

The Year in Review: My Top Ten Moments

2009 was a crappy year for a lot of people. Despite this, I was very fortunate and blessed to have a pretty good year. Here are my top ten moments, in no particular order except for #1 (which truly is #1 for me). Some of them are specific to me and my family, while others are general in nature and will relate to others.

1. Our son Michael was born on January 16th! Despite some early scares and a few more days in the hospital than we would have liked, Michael the Moose is doing great. God has truly blessed us. If this list stopped here, I would still be grateful for an amazing year.
2. 2009 was my first full year out of the military, and it was nice going the entire year without any worries of deployments, individual augmentations or any unplanned travel. So this moment is actually being able to spend the entire year with my amazing wife and kids. We took trips to Gettysburg and Fredericksburg. In 2010, hopefully a family vacation!
3. Over the summer, we traveled up to Pennsylvania and got to see my entire family.
4. I traveled to Norway and Poland to speak at HackCon and CONFidence, two internationally recognized security conferences. I got to spend some quality time with some of my amazing friends.
5. Chesley Sullenberger lands US Airways Flight 1549 safely on the Hudson River without any casualties. A true American hero.
6. Phillies return to the World Series. Losing to the Yankees was bittersweet, but lifetime Phillies fans recognize the greatness of this team. Jimmy Rollins' game-winning hit in Game 4 of the NLDS will go down among my all-time favorite sports moments.
7. The Blind Side becomes the sleeper hit of 2009. I cannot say enough about this phenomenal movie which is my favorite of the entire year. I knew a little bit about the story of Michael Oher, but this movie will bring tears to your eyes. Even recommended for guys. ;-)
8. Lots of friends deployed overseas to Iraq, Afghanistan and other places. Here's a moment for them coming home safely to their families.
9. Mark Martin makes a run for the ages. He comes up just short in his bid for the Cup, but this has to be his most satisfying season ever. For a long time Mark Martin fan, it amazing to witness. He is on my short list of those people you'd like to meet if you had the opportunity. One of the classiest guys in all sports.
10. I got promoted! But in all honesty, this one wasn't about me, it is about the great people that I get to work with everyday. I couldn't ask for a better bunch.

I'm pretty sure I missed something important, so they're probably be an edit or two forthcoming. But, please note: no reality TV stories, no celebrity stories. :-)

On political opinions and credibility

On a number of occasions in the past, I have been told by well-meaning women that because I am a man, I simply cannot understand the issues surrounding abortion and therefore my opinion doesn't matter (for the record, I consider myself pro-life--although I think if I was pro-choice these same women would happily embrace my opinion). While I don't subscribe to this notion, I certainly understand it.

But let's suspend reality for a moment and consider this notion to be true--that if you're a man, your position on abortion does not matter specifically because you are a man. In other words, you have this deep emotional attachment to something that others cannot or have not experienced, and that attachment or experience makes you uniquely qualified and the expense of others who do not have that attachment or experience.

Now let us consider the many in our country who oppose the wars in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Should it not follow that unless you have actually been to Iraq, or Afghanistan, that your opinion on the war does not matter?

I'm more of the belief that anyone is certainly welcome to their opinions on any issue, but the amount of credibility that I give to that opinion will be based on a couple of factors. Sure, I would lend more credibility to someone's opinion about Iraq or Afghanistan more if they had actually been there, but on the other hand I also respect anyone's opinion as long as it is reasonably thought-out. So emotional attachment and experience do play a role, but it is not the only role, and it is not black and white. To me the second factor is more important, and that is whether or not you vote. If you haven't voted, I don't care what you've done, your opinion is of the lowest credibility.

Earth Day radicalism

From the BBC News:

Opening a UN forum on the global impact of climate change on indigenous peoples, (Bolivian President) Morales said that capitalism should be scrapped if the planet is to be saved from the effects of climate change.

"If we want to save our planet earth, we have a duty to put an end to the capitalist system," he said.

Time Magazine's latest cover is causing controversy, for two reasons. First, veterans groups are rightly outraged that the iconic Iwo Jima imagery has been hijacked for environmentalist purposes. Second, one must wonder why Time Magazine can't take such strong stands on other political issues, such as, How to Win the War in Iraq? or How to Win the War on Islamic Terrorism?

Deployment reading list

This is my deployment reading list from my 9-month tour to Iraq (April-December 2006). I am posting it here for archival purposes since I am removing it from the right column of the blog.

David Baldacci: Absolute Power.

Tom Clancy: Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games, Rainbow Six, Red Rabbit, Red Storm Rising, The Sum of All Fears.

John Grisham: The Broker, The Chamber, The Partner, The Runaway Jury.

Jack Higgins: Brought in Dead, Cold Harbour, Day of Judgment, Midnight Runner, The Khufra Run.

Dean Koontz: Velocity.

John Lescroart: The 13th Juror, The Motive, The Oath, The Second Chair.

Richard North Patterson: Conviction.

Scott Turow: Reversible Errors.

One veteran's review of 2007's anti-war movies

During 2007, three major "anti-war" movies were released. Over the past few months, I've made a concerted effort to watch all three movies because I thought it was appropriate to give them a fair shot.

The first movie I watched was Rendition (IMDB, Wikipedia). Rendition is a movie based on a true story of something called extraordinary rendition. This process is said to be rarely used, but no one really seems to know how often it is actually done. In this case, the man who was transferred was the wrong person, his name was mixed up with someone else (although in the movie, the man is made to be in "the wrong place at the wrong time").

It is easy to imagine how impersonal the process would be for some nameless terrorist. But in this case, the man has an American wife and a child. It is clear that this movie seeks to personalize the process. Most of the government officials stonewall the family and act as if they have no clue what is going on. In the end, I actually thought this was a pretty decent movie.

The second movie was Redacted (IMDB, Wikipedia). I refuse to give this movie any more than a few sentences. The acting was bad. The movie was generally horrible. And the movie itself was just a vehicle for anti-war politics. Regardless of your view of the Iraq War, this movie is not worth watching.

The third movie, which I just finished tonight, was In the Valley of Elah (IMDB, Wikipedia). Another movie based on a true story, it details the murder of a soldier after his return from Iraq, and focuses on PTSD suffered by soldiers in his unit and the military's seeming inability to properly treat them. The Valley of Elah, by the way, is where David defeated Goliath.

I liked this movie the best of the three. The only real problem I had was the last scene (I'll let you watch it and decide for yourself). Otherwise, I thought this was a thought-provoking film that really hit the nerve of an important issue. The treatment of soldiers and veterans returning from Iraq seems to be woefully poor among those with psychological programs that might not be evident a medical form.

In the end, I have to admit that I was mildly surprised that two of the three movies, despite being "anti-war", were actually decent movies. Rendition and In the Valley of Elah are worth watching. Even if you are hardcore anti-war, Redacted is just a bad movie that's not worth it.

MikeBlog?

Yeah, I finally changed the name. I figure being home from Iraq for over a year, it was time to go back to the old name. If you have any further suggestions for a better name, please feel free to post a comment.

I'm still here

I know I haven't posted in almost two weeks, but yes, I'm still here. I've been enjoying the time off with Tracy, the kids, and the baby.

Keep your eyes peeled over at MILblogging.com where the 2006 Milbloggies (milblog awards) will soon be online. You'll be able to vote for the Chronicles of Narmya in (hopefully) a couple of categories. You can be sure that I'll post updates here and make it as easy as possible for you to vote (for me, of course)!

Eventually (once the awards are over) I'll probably change the name of the blog back to the simple MikeBlog. While I did enjoy the name change (again, credit goes to Tracy), I'm back stateside now and it only makes sense. Also, the location change reflects a bigger shift in my posts from Iraq-centric (and even then it was pretty weak) to American-centric, usually involving politics, news, sports, etc. The biggest reason for the focus on Iraq was to give my readers a sense of what it's like to be on the ground. I think (and hope) I did a decent job of that, given the various (and unfortunately, increasingly) stringent restrictions placed upon military bloggers. When the people at the star level not only realize what blogs are, but figure out the entire concept of user-provided content and how it is changing the Internet, only then will we make progress on that level. Ok, enough rant for the day.

I am planning on going back to work on Tuesday (Monday is MLK Day) so I expect to start blogging a little more frequently then. Have a great weekend and don't forget the Eagles game tonight at 8pm (against New Orleans) and "24" starts with a 2 hour season premeire tomorrow night!

Best buys

Most worthwhile purchases for my recent deployment (in no particular order):

1. Bright, lime green fluoresecent Samsonite luggage straps. Good luck finding your three or four bags among a sea of similar bags. These luggage straps made it a piece of cake to quickly locate my bags when there were hundreds to search through. A name tag just doesn't do justice if you have to read each name tag.

2. Under Armour boxer briefs. The Under Armour shirts are nice and comfortable, but the boxer briefs are worth every penny. Amazingly comfortable in the heat and cold for long periods of time. I still wear them every day.

3. Thorlo socks. I didn't have sore feet or a blister in 9 months. My feet never hurt. Thorlo socks are expensive, but also worth every penny. I still wear these every day, too. There are several different varieties, but I found the Thorlo PT socks to work just fine for everyday wear.

4. Play Station Portable (PSP). A great way to pass the time during long periods of waiting around, and there are plenty of such times.

5. Rigger's Belt. The Army-issued nylon belt is crap. The Rigger's Belt from SpecOps is much better, and it's no wonder many people purchase this for themselves.

6. Recon Wrap. A very simple but great piece of gear. I wore it underneath my helmet as a sweat absorber.

Home!

Finally. I made it home by Christmas Eve. I was able to spend last night and today with my family and finally get to hold our baby. Give me a few days to adjust and then I'll update you on the last few days of travel and our welcome home.