1 year ago in Baghdad...

Wow, I can hardly believe that is was one year ago that I arrived in Baghdad. It seems so distant and yet so close. I still have friends over there doing the same thing they were doing when I got there - and left - four months later. That's a bit unsettling to think about. I remember the emotional turmoil I went through adjusting back to "normal" life here in Hawaii. I can only imagine how hard it will be for those who spend a year and longer there.

Anyway, I hope to add some items that I could not post while I was there (because I didn't want to frighten my family).

A friend asked me today what my first impressions were of Iraq. The things that came to mind was - in no particular order -: The heat, the smell (like something rotting and burning), the confusion of people coming and going... so many different troops - Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and then from all different countries... not to mention contractors and civilian security. What a mix!

So, here is a couple of photos from Najaf and a few paragraphs I did not publish before...

This is how Najaf looked after the 2004 battle to evict the terrorists from the Imam Ali shrine.

And some residents...

Some kids just outside Najaf...

The peace keepers...

and a U.S. Soldier faces off with the Imam himself near the police station in Najaf...

My personal log entry from the trip:

"I went to Najaf yesterday. Took a Blackhawk helicopter from the palace and flew to a base just outside Najaf and convoyed into the village. What a mess.

I was very excited to be seeing where all the action was, but once I saw it I could only stand and stare. It was as if an earthquake had gone through. Block after city block was broken burnt, torn, shredded. Massive piles of chaotic bricks created a scene like I’ve only witnessed in catastrophe movies or WWII films.

I was with General Petraeus and General Babekur, the Iraqi Chief of staff. I was escorting Al Arabia TV crew and had an interpreter with me named Fawaz. He was very informative and gave me a lot of great information. It was nice to be able to learn what the graffiti said or what a newspaper said as we toured the scene of destruction.

The militia of Muqtada Al Sadyr had left; apparently they were allowed to leave with their weapons if they just stop fighting. Of course now they are fighting in Fallujah, Sadyr city and Baghdad.

The children in Najaf were running along the road as the convoy passed, waving and smiling. They are so small. Some I’m guessing were only 3 or 4 years old and running barefoot across the burning rock and sand, hair uncombed, clothes dirty, faces blackened by the sun. Living next to what must have been a horrific nightmare of violence over the past month or so during the fighting. What amazing smiles they have. What will become of these children?

The people I saw were poor. I saw whole families working their tiny farms, growing I don’t know what in the dry sand. This is a hard life. The houses not much more than bare piles of bricks mortared together roughly with a brick wall around the entire thing.

I was surprised at what I saw on the flight from Baghdad to Najaf though. There were huge forests of date palms, millions of trees that, judging from the straight rows had been planted for harvest. I can’t guess how many square miles of trees there were, but there were also miles of irrigation ditches. Lots of new construction. Things growing where I never would have thought you could grow things. It really is pretty amazing and I begin to think this country is so much more complicated than I had imagined. They say in the north it is a lush and beautiful paradise and even gets snow in the winter. If I get a chance to go there I will have to go. "

SHANE ERIC PATTON - Navy Seal

I AM A GIRL
WHO BECAME A MOTHER
NOT JUST THIS ONE
THERE ARE FIVE OTHERS

MY NUMBER TWO
THIS BEAUTIFUL SON
WENT OFF TO WAR
HE NOW IS GONE

A NAVY SEAL
LIKE HIS FATHER
A LITTLE BOY
WHO LOVED HIS MOTHER

HE IS MINE
AND I AM HIS
MOTHER AND SON
SON AND MOTHER…
IN LOVING DEDICATON TO MY SON

SHANE ERIC PATTON
NOVEMBER 15, 1982
BALBOA NAVAL HOSPITAL
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

HELICOPTER SHOT DOWN
JUNE 28, 2005
WITH HIS NAVY SEAL TEAM MATES
EASTERN AFGANASTAN

All things Fenwickian - including Schub on the tube...

The latest on the greatest Afro-celtic-yiddish-ska band around has been posted on the Fenwicks web site. (click on the logo to the right). I only wish I could ever get to see these guys play! Anyone feel like sending me airfare? :o) Ah, well... someday before I die.

Read on:

From the Fenwicks
Shalom and Aloha Fen-heads & 'Wick-heads, Comrades & Ska-mrades, Rose-petals & Angelpies!

This just in: Your favorite freaky Fenwick, your very own Schubieshake, Steven Schub- Guest Stars this coming Sunday night, August 21st on TNT's new cop show "Wanted", 10PM East and West Coast, 9PM Central (but check your local listings please...). Yup, I'm playing yet another in a loooong line of whackos and psychos, but this one's special: How? Uh, well, er, um, let's see... this guy's named "Hickenlooper" and he's a Meth-head who crashes Mustangs into cop cars! (Yeah, yeah, "type-casting", whatever-whatever....laugh it up people!)

-P.S. Please note: Yes, the date was changed, originally this was supposed to air on August 28th, but things got spun around... I suppose they could get spun again, so if you don't see me doing bad things on your TV this Sunday, then they changed it yet again...

-And P.P.S. Coming Soon: A Warped Tour Run-down Entitled: "The Band that Roared: A Guide to the Perplexed". Or "How A Tiny Little 17 Piece Afro-Celtic Yiddish Ska band, with No Your Support, No Record Label, No Radio Play, and No MTV, Quite Literally Conquered the Vans Warped Tour- Went Head-to-Head with The Offspring, Dropkick Murphys, My Chemical Romance and 80 other Bands, and Pulled-Off Something Warped Tour Founder Kevin Lyman Said No Other Band Had Accomplished in 11 years of Warped History!!!" A true story- with photos, video and music.Coming Soon (give me a week or two or three) to: http://www.thefenwicks.com/

Picture of Poppy... Frame of Fingers... Still of Smile...

Just wanted to share a couple of recent photos. Comments are welcome.
:o)
Joe

Picture of Poppy

Frame of Fingers

Still of Smile

and a bonus...

Agatha Frisky!

Vive L. Armstrong!

Okay, I know this is way late but I just saw the article done by Cox & Forkum at their website and it is definitly worth checking out.

Click here to see for yourself.

Howard Roark laughed...

Edward Cline, author of the Sparrowhawk novels was recently asked to write about and recommend a book that had changed his life. His response is both interesting and inspiring. His choice? The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. The first line of that book is the headline of my post today.

If you want to check out Ed's website and get more info and excerpts from his excellent books click here.

Ed has created an incredible portrait of the philosophy of our American Revolutionary heroes.

JK

USS O'Kane returns from deployment...

On Friday, July 29, 2005 the USS O'Kane returned from a 6-month deployment in support of the Global war on Terrorism.

Here is the press release we ran in Hawaii Navy News:


USS O’KANE RETURNS FROM DEPLOYMENT

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII – USS O'Kane (DDG 77), commanded by Cmdr. William J. Nault, arrives in Pearl Harbor today after successfully completing her third deployment. O'Kane deployed as part of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Carrier Strike Group in February.

The Strike Group, comprised of Carrier Air Wing 9, Destroyer Squadron 31, the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54), the guided-missile destroyers USS O'Kane (DDG 77) and USS Mustin (DDG 89), the fast-attack submarine USS Olympia (SSN 717), and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11, Detachment. 9, deployed on a Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf cruise in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).

During this deployment O'Kane steamed over 43,000 nautical miles, burned over 8 million gallons of fuel, reenlisted 23 Sailors for a total of 108 years and qualified 89 Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialists. O'Kane was lauded by Commander, Carrier Strike Group Three and Commander, Task Force Seventy for superb performance in theater security cooperation operations.

During her six months deployed, O'Kane conducted maneuvers in conjunction with the Republic of Singapore Navy, engaged in Anti-Piracy contingencies off the Horn of Africa, conducted Expanded Maritime Interdiction Operations (which includes boarding, searching, and query of suspect vessels) in the Indian Ocean, and completed sustained maritime security operations and operations in support of the GWOT.

"My third Western Pacific deployment onboard this ship has given me the opportunity to visit my 14th country overseas,” said Fire Controlman Third Class Petty Officer (Surface Warfare) Richard Neuer. “Knowing that I can travel while serving my country makes me proud to say that I am fulfilling my duties and enjoying myself at the same time."

Port calls included Guam, Singapore, Jebel Ali, Seychelles, Bahrain, Muscat, Brisbane, and Vanuatu. Formal receptions for local dignitaries were held in Muscat, Oman, and Port Vila, Vanuatu, where O'Kane was only the second U.S. ship to visit the Pacific Island since WWII.

O'Kane Sailors excelled in their additional mission of goodwill ambassadors, conducting community relations projects in Seychelles, Brisbane, and Vanuatu. These projects included repairs to a wildlife sanctuary, building a home for the homeless, caring for elderly in a nursing home and passing out clothes and hygiene projects to local villagers.

"This deployment has helped me understand America's various roles in the war on terrorism,” said GSEFN Ryan Villasenor. “Interacting with the different people I met overseas has exposed me to cultures I previously never knew existed and to how America's actions are viewed by others. I have experienced and learned a lot, and for that I thank the Navy."

(left)An O'Kane Sailor meets his son for the first time upon returning to Pearl Harbor after a 6-month deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Photo by Joe Kane

I will not forget to defend the Constitution...

“The Navy is first and foremost a fighting, sea-going service – it always has been. The weapons and technology change. The ships, aircraft, and submarines certainly improve over time, but the job remains the same: to take the fight to the enemy so that he cannot take it to us. It is what we are paid to do.”
—Adm. Mike Mullen, CNO

The new CNO sees three principal challenges confronting our Navy. These are:

First: The need to preserve our current readiness, to answer the bell for the President and this nation with exactly the right combat capability, for exactly the right cost today.

Second: The need to build a Navy for the future, to create a fleet that is properly sized and balanced to meet head-on the uncertain and dynamic security environment that awaits us.

Third: Underpinning everything else is the need to shape the Navy’s uniformed and civilian manpower for the 21st century to transform our assignment, distribution, and compensation system into one that is more reflective of and, quite frankly, more responsive to the men and women serving our Navy.

“I will not forget – and I urge you not to forget – the promise we made ‘to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’”