World War!

War is never a pretty sight, as was proven last night at CJTF-HOA.

Many armies were lost, leaving widows and orphans behind. Ultimately, world peace prevailed, but for how long? Will the evil empire of A-ron rise up from the smoldering ashes created by the backlash of fury from the mighty Omar? And will the noble red army of Martog maintain the great military presence it ended the war with?

Let me take you on a journey from the beginning...

The night started off with a little animosity between the three world powers. The armies were dispersed among the others' lands. Small skirmishes broke out here and there as each army vied for power over their continents.

The peace-loving armies of Martog only tried to unite and maintain the continents of Asia and Australia and fend off numerous attacks by the invading A-ron and Omar. The two formed alliances and attacked Martog on multiple fronts, thus awakening the sleeping Dragon of Asia. After invading forces from across the Bering Strait breached the front, Martog lashed out at the two opposing armies and destabilized them greatly.

All armies subsequently refortified and searched out alternate strategies for global domination. Peace finally arrived with the unification of the Americas under A-ron, Europe and Africa controlled by the Omar, and Asia and Australia unified by Martog. A peace treaty was in the works so all parties could go to bed.

UNTIL...

The evil empire of A-ron struck a blow from Greenland to the Omar in Iceland. A-ron then proceeded to route Europe and into Africa. The Omar were nearly done for, but the desperate armies managed to hold onto the last few territories in Africa and thwart the attack.

Note: After a peace treaty in the Middle East w/Africa and a handshake deal between N. America and Asia, Martog stayed out of the fight and fortified its borders on all fronts with a great influx of armies. National support was of course high because of the unity of Asia and Australia.

Seeing the desperation of their countrymen inspired the Omar to create an army like none seen before. Out of the pit of despair came the light of redemption. The mighty Omar struck out from his remaining territories. He attacked the thinned out armies of A-ron in Europe and Africa. Omar swiftly regained control and crossed the Atlantic to take the continent of South America. He then moved his mighty armies to North America and attacked A-ron's territories on multiple fronts.

Finally, after being pinned down in Alaska, the evil empire of A-ron was defeated.

Knowing the weakened state of the Omar and being the peace-loving citizens they are, Martog extended its hand in truce to the mighty Omar. In a gesture of their new truce Martog quickly extinguished the last remaining insurgent army of A-ron in Ukraine. And the world went to bed in peace.


Puttin' the smack down,

Marty

Mucho Moucha!

Sunday was a relaxing day. I'm only just recovering from my quasi-vacation. We took a few reporters who were in the area out to Moucha Island with the intention of them reporting what military members do for recreation. Unfortunately, their video camera malfunctioned and they weren't able to get any footage. I guess we'll have to go back!

Moucha Island is a small desert island surrounded by coral reefs and turquoise blue water in the middle of the Gulf of Tadjoura. There is a beach and some small buildings that are the cantina, shower/bathrooms, and an outdoor dining room with a small kitchen attached, and the dive shop. Of course I came prepared with my PADI diver certification card. Other than diving, I spent the day lounging under the thatch-roofed umbrella, cliff diving, snorkeling, and watching the hordes of hermit crabs on the beach.

I was also able to go on two dives. One was a wreck dive. A 100 meter freighter that was layed over on its port side with coral growing on the deck and hull. It was phenomenal. We didn't actually go into it, but it was neat to see an old ship grown over on the bottom of the sea. The second dive was a reef. The water is so warm that it's hardly a relief from the Djiboutian heat, but we went down about 19 meters and it was like someone turned on the air conditioning. Very cool, so to speak.



(This is Najlae with News 21, Omar and me. I was given a matching Berkeley hat...not sure I want to wear it though. Oh, who am I kidding; I'm a closet liberal)


(Approaching Moucha Island. The dive shop is left of the dock. The cantina is to the right)


(Mr. Crab was very fast. I tried to take a picture when he was to the right in the shot, but he sprinted to the other side. The beach was littered with shells and coral. It was like gravel.)


(I followed Mr. Crab to his hideout. All the gang is there trying to avoid being eaten or stepped on)


(Going out on our second dive trip. Yes the glaring white spot near the front of the boat is me. I'm a little better now. Aaron, from News 21 is next to me. He would be white, but his freckles mostly touch)


I'm not exactly sure why I haven't been diving in a while, but I'll be remedying that.

Avoiding the Bends...this time,

Marty

Djibouti City

A few of you have asked me what Djibouti City is like. Let me just say a picture is worth a thousand words...


(This was probably around "khat time" when everyone closes up shop and chews the khat)


(I think most of the buildings were built by the French, but haven't been maintained since the Djiboutians gained their independence in 1977)


(I don't think Sony actually has a store there anymore. Cafe Mask, from a previous post, is to the left of this building)


(Most of the buildings have some kind of store on the bottom and residences above. Many of the stores are seldom open)

All the buildings aren't as bad as those in the pics. Above, you can see the building to the right that has been maintained or fixed up. I like the architectural style of the entries, terraces and windows of many of the buildings. I would have liked to see Djibouti City in its heyday.

Slummin' in DJ,

Marty

Exciting News!

Before receiving the small pox vaccination, I had to fill out a questionnaire. One question asks if you or someone you're close to is pregnant. I was somewhat certain I wasn't. But we suspected Vanessa might be, so she had a pregnancy test. An hour before I was to be vaccinated, we got the results. Needless to say, I had to wait until I arrived in country before I could receive the vaccination.

Vanessa had her first ultrasound yesterday and sent me the pictures to let everyone know...

It's a Bean, er, Baby! But it looks like a bean.


(This is what you'd see if Vanessa was standing over you in a skirt and you had ultrasonic vision)


(Look at the melon on that kid)

What do you think, Boy or Girl?

Patiently waiting until January 2nd,

Marty

Learning to Drive

Because driving in Djibouti is such an ominous task, the guys at the motor pool want to make sure we're up to the challenge before they let us drive one of their vehicles. Without a doubt, it was the most fun I've had since I got here. The classroom portion wasn't exciting, but we finally got through it and on to the practical portion.

The course is a dirt field with cones all around and a big hole, at least 10 ft deep, in the middle. Did I mention the goats? If you hit one, you fail. It's the same as downtown; the locals will try to fleece us if we hit a goat. So the plan is to drive around the course in less than a minute and forty-five seconds. The first leg takes you through a couple of narrow paths marked off by cones, and around a narrow turn. Then you have to slalom through some cones, race up to a parking spot and reverse into another that's 90 degrees from the first. You then come barreling out of the parking spot and head into the hole. If you don't brake before you get to the edge, you're going to crash into the bottom and make some very unhappy people. Finally you climb up the other side and stop on the incline. That's the end of the time, but not the end of the test. You then have to prove you can drive up the hill from a stop. Easy enough for an automatic transmission, but they're not. Fortunately, I have some experience with a standard transmission.



(The beginning!)


(Sliding into the parking spot. The back-in spot is the cones on the left side of the pic)



(This is Brian. The angle is all sideways because I was being tossed about in the backseat!)

In case you were wondering, I passed. 1:38, No cones knocked down.

Drivin' like a maniac,

Marty

My Hooch

I know I promised this in my first post, but I actually forgot until my son asked to see my bed. It's not much to look at, but it's home for the next several months.


(My tent among many others. Notice the sign beside my head? They need one on the tent next door that seems to be a coed party every night. Not allowed, by the way!)


(Rows of bunks. At least we have walls between us. The large tube down the middle is the air conditioner duct.)


(My little slice of "heaven." My son has helped to decorate the wall. Thank you Aiden.)

I hope you enjoyed the brief tour of my "crib". You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

Marty

Toby Keith

Tonight was the much-hyped Toby Keith appearance. Admittedly, I was excited for this rare opportunity to see a big star in such a small venue.

We arrived a little early. But the cantina anticipated an early crowd and opened the bar for the 3-beer-limit libations. We got our seats and just hung out discussing the events of the day, etc. Then a few minutes before the concert was to begin, a loud-mouthed jarhead came over to me and "asked" me to move. No other directions or location, just "please move, sir." I repeatedly denied his request and asked him whose idea this was and where should I move in the already packed venue. He said he didn't know where; Gunny said that these seats were reserved and I needed to move. (Note: There were no signs or other indication the seats or any seats were reserved other than someone telling people, seemingly at random, to move) After repeated requests to see his Gunny, he finally appeared and quickly found me a seat (until that time, "reserved") just one row back. I was upset at his underling's rudeness, but enjoyed the concert nonetheless.


(An acoustic performance. One of the best performances I've seen!)

Afterwards, I approached the Gunny and declared my ire about the situation. He apologized for the young man's handling of the situation and promised to make it up to me sometime. I didn't realize he meant tonight.

Everyone was standing around waiting for Toby Keith to come back out to the cantina from the backroom where one of our PA writers was conducting an interview. My boss and I were standing near the door waiting to see how the interview went. Then Gunny came up to me and said, "Come with me, sir." He whisked me back to the room where I got to meet Toby and get a picture with him.


(This is my new favorite Gunny, Oorah!)

It bears repeating; Oorah!

Marty