a little R n R in advance...

What a nice break from NJ and it's humidity all of July. While I was glad to visit family (Janet and Justin, his parents and Alexander and Nicholas are ALL awesome!), I am glad to get down to NC for my last bit of training at Ft. Bragg.

In the mean time, I had an extra couple of days, so here is my family in FL today...

for those wonder what my civilian job is:

Byron is a coworker of mine...

quick update...

update for 13AUG09: headed to the field tomorrow for 5 days of training, more live fire, etc...Getting CLOSER! ;)

More pics coming soon. ;)

never a dull new jersey moment...

Well what a few weeks it has been. In the last 30 days, I have:

-packed up everything I own and put it into storage; left my apartment
-given/taken a saline lock/Intravenous; now a "Combat Lifesaver".
-driven a Humvee under near full dark conditions (with only NVGs and moonlight)
-met my cousin's husband and brand new twin boys (Justin, Alex/Nate, respectively)
-practiced escape of inverted Humvee after replicated rollover
-become familiarized with various Humvees, MRAPs, etc.
-many more sensitive things that cannot go here
-become proficient with M16/M9


The purpose of this school is to train Airmen in roles that were traditionally filled by Army 'ground-pounders'. The training is impressive, and we are all making great use of any downtime we might have. I miss my job, coworkers, and family in Arizona, but now just want to get this tour out of the way.

Still here a few more weeks (until about 23AUG.) Next stop, Fort Bragg, NC (near Fayetteville, NC) to meet up with my team. Cheers!

catchin' up...

just some 'catch up' photos...

solo no more...

I just joined the VFW Riders here in SO*AZ. Good group of guys, here is the back patch.

"Front and center!"

Here is my new front mount intercooler, I love it. Car pulls much stronger now, and it only took 6 hours to install (thanks Marc, Adam and Uncle Roger!). NO MORE heatsoak! :)

Mead me in the middle

After 90+ days, here is what I came up with!! Thanks, Marc for designing the front label, and everyone else who helped: Ashley & Edick Moreno, Kimberly, Jim and Grant!!

IED attack at Bagram!

CEXC TO THE FRONT!!! I don't recognize those folks, but glad to see they are doing their thing...UNLIKE LAST TIME!!

Also glad to hear no U.S. or Coalition KIAs...UNLIKE LAST TIME.

Only casualty: Suicide bomber. Plus you died running away, how brave!!

Braumeister Herrick...

Just kidding...kind of...I have always wanted to make mead, ever since 2003 when I first sampled my friend Grant's homemade batch. Wow, fermented honey has quite an effect. Anyway, Ashley Moreno from the Reserves has a husband who is a beekeeper in Beverly Hills, CA, so I bought a few gallons from him this summer. Well, it is quite sweet to begin with...I cant wait to taste the final product! (But I will have to, as the best results begin to appear between 6-12 months). Well, check back for updates on this.



In the meantime, Merry Christmas to everyone I know and love. And have a wonderful new year full of surprises and joy!

Cheers!
-JH

Job updates...

Defeating the purpose of an easy to update blog, I have slacked off with keeping this site up to date, but am now ALL caught up (see all the October posts, some of which have pictures from March!). The big reason in the delay was because I was waiting to see what happens next with my job.

I have accepted a position with my old company, which starts this week in Sierra Vista, AZ (3 hours south of Phoenix).

Currahee, part 1, "Hi-Oh Silver!" lol

Well if you have ever seen episode one of Band of Brothers, then you will recognize Currahee as a mountain in Toccoa, Georgia where the original members of the U.S. Army's newly formed Airborne corps were sent for training during early-mid WWII.

I had the opportunity to run the length ("three miles up, three miles down") of the Col. Robert Sink Memorial Trail when I went through Ft. Benning this March, after returning from Afghanistan. One helluva run, especially for an out of shape guy like me...but at least I made it.

A sign at the base of the trail:

Me at the bottom:

A coin given to me by the 506th PIR, Fort Campbell, KY, 2007:

Currahee, part 2, at the top

Currahee, part 3, on the way down...

The way down, good thing I had a flashlight:
Timing myself...what a confidence killer:

A memorial at the bottom:

low and mean, indeed...

Pics of my new flat black 11.5" billet shocks and rear brake caliper relocation (now hidden behind the exhaust), thanks to the guys at www.lowandmean.com, in Lake Havasu, AZ! The powdercoat job looks great and really cleans up the rear end! Thanks Chris!