Advancement!!! Blogged by RP2 V

Last September I took the Navy Advancement Exam for the third time to go from this (Petty Officer Third Class):



To this (Petty Officer Second Class):



Well, it took about two months to get the results back, but right around my birthday I was pulled aside by my Chief and informed that I had made it! I felt so good because I had been within ten points of making it both times I tested before and this time I nailed it right on! Also, I made Second Class before I had even been in the Navy for 3 years.

So, last Tuesday (the 22nd), I was informed to be ready in the auditorium with a new uniform in hand and someone of a higher rank there to frock me. I spent all of Monday night ironing my uniform and shining my boots. Tuesday morning, I asked my dear friend Sergeant B to do the honors of frocking me. I asked him because I not only admire him as an NCO, but also as a Christian, and a family man. Here we are during the actual frocking part.



After I was finished putting on my new uniform blouse, Sergeant B looked me over and made sure I was squared away. Once he saw that everything was ok, he smacked the new rank on my collar so hard that I almost fell over! He was doing what we call "tacking it on". It was so loud and everyone in the room laughed so hard. I'm sure I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.

The picture below is of Captain C (The OIC of our Navy Group) congratulating me.



The next picture is of Master Chief A (Our Senior Enlisted Advisor) congratulating me.



We also had a couple of VERY special guests at the ceremony. The first one is Force Master Chief M. She is the Master Chief over BUMED. You can see in the picture that she is also "tacking it on". She just didn't do it as hard as Sergeant B.



The other special guest was Force Master Chief W. He is the Master Chief over all of the Navy Reserve Forces.



It was a great day and I felt really good. I guess third time really is the charm. So, you can call me RP2 now instead of RP3, OK?

A Service Members' Christmas- Blogged by N8

As we celebrate this special time of year, I would please ask all of you to remember all of the service members around the world. I don't care what side of the aisle you are on when it comes to the current military involvement around the world. Our service members are doing what they are paid to do: take orders, kick ass, and take names. Please remember them and their families in your prayers. Please remember when you go to sleep in your soft, warm bed that some of them are sleeping in a freezing-cold tent in Afghanistan, or a dust storm in Iraq, or in a tiny shelf onboard a ship. Please remember them when you sit down to a beautiful Christmas dinner that some of the defenders of our country are eating their Christmas dinner out of a plastic bag while sitting in the sand or dirt. And finally, when you are sitting around your tree opening gifts in your safe home and free country, please remember the ones who volunteered to be in harms way to provide it for you. God bless you all, and God bless America! Merry Christmas!



Merry Christmas, My Friend
by Corporal James M. Schmidt, former U.S. Marine
First published in "Leatherneck Magazine"

'Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney, with presents to give
and to see just who in this home did live.

As I looked all about, a strange sight I did see,
no tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand.
On the wall hung pictures of a far distant land.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind,
a sobering thought soon came to my mind.
For this house was different, unlike any I'd seen.
This was the home of a U.S. Marine.

I'd heard stories about them, I had to see more,
so I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping, silent, alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one-bedroom home. ,

He seemed so gentle, his face so serene,
Not how I pictured a U.S. Marine.
Was this the hero, of whom I’d just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean-shaven, his weathered face tan.
I soon understood, this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night,
owed their lives to these men, who were willing to fight.

Soon around the Nation, the children would play,
And grown-ups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom, each month and all year,
because of Marines like this one lying here.

I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
on a cold Christmas Eve, in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye.
I dropped to my knees and I started to cry.

He must have awoken, for I heard a rough voice,
"Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice
I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more.
My life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over, drifted off into sleep,
I couldn't control it, I continued to weep.

I watched him for hours, so silent and still.
I noticed he shivered from the cold night's chill.
So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
and covered this Marine from his toes to his head.
Then I put on his T-shirt of scarlet and gold,
with an eagle, globe and anchor emblazoned so bold.
And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
and for one shining moment, I was Marine Corps deep inside.

I didn't want to leave him so quiet in the night,
this guardian of honor so willing to fight.
But half asleep he rolled over, and in a voice clean and pure,
said "Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas Day, all secure."
One look at my watch and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, Semper Fi and goodnight.

N8 n' JME wishing everyone Happy Holidays (This includes Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Hannukah, or anything else you might be celebrating during this Holiday Season!)

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Christmas VIP Visits Blogged by N8

With the approaching Christmas Holiday, it is tradition for the USO to have celebrities visit the troops who are deployed overseas. So, we had a recent visit from a few celbrities this last Sunday.

The first one I got to meet was Anna Kournikova. I was really excited to meet her because she used to date my favorite hockey player of all time, Sergei Fedorov.



The next one I met was Dave Attell. He's a comedian famous for his show on Comedy Central "Insomnia".



I had never heard of this next guy before, but he was really nice. His name is Nick Bollettieri. He's a famous tennis coach.



The biggest celebrity there was Billy Ray Cyrus. He was a lot taller than I thought he'd be.



My favorite person there, however, was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. He is the former Chief of Naval Operations and now has Colin Powell's old job. He was super nice and even gave me a coin. I think that is the most valued coin in my collection, so far.





On my way back to my apartment, I swung by my office and my boss Chaplain M was there. I htought it odd for him to be there on a Sunday, so I asked him why. He said the Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh, was coming and he told me to stick around so I could meet him. So, he came in and we talked about the Wounded Warrior Center for a while. When he left, he thanked us for our service and gave us each a coin! So, I got coined twice in the same morning!

'Tis the Season - Blogged By JME

Tis the season to be busy, and for me, at this time of the year, busy is good! It's really helped time fly and helped me be able to deal better with the holiday blues and feeling down about N8 being gone through the holidays. I've had a lot of fun shopping, going to family parties, going to work parties, playing secret santa at work, having lunch with friends, and many other activities that have helped me stay busy and not feel so lonely without my better half.

Here are a couple things I did this year that I'd never done before, but might be some fun, new traditions.



Shan, my new sister-in-law, and I got together and made some really yummy popcorn balls. They were amazing, and best of all, they were super easy. I thought they would be a lot of work but they came right together and the clean up wasn't bad either. Shan and I had a great time. The recipe ended up making 12 balls all together. In the end, Shan and Cub got half and I got half. They ended up being great treats to give the sisters that I visit teach and also for gifts at work.



Here is the recipe if anyone needs a good treat idea:

Our Favorite Popcorn Balls:

Mix Together In Large Bowl:
* 4 quarts of popped popcorn
* 3 Cups miniature marshmallows

Bring To Boil & Simmer For 3 Minutes:
* 1-Cup Butter
* 1-1/3 Cup Sugar
* 1/2-Cup Light Corn Syrup
* 1-teaspoon Vanilla

Blend hot mixture into popcorn and marshmallows; put baggies on hands and use to form balls. Enjoy!!!

Another fun thing that I got to do this year is go to see Zoolights with a group of friends. From left to right there was Em, Linz, Jen, and me. We had another friend with us but the person who took this picture didn't really know how to use a camera and she ended up not being in this group shot.



They had all sorts of lights that were shaped like animals and they had them work so the animals looked like they were moving.








It got pretty cold there at the zoo. Luckily, they had a lot of those warmers all over the place. When our fingers would get numb we would stand right below the warmers and put our hands up next to the heat. I'm suprised none of us had our gloves start on fire. T is the girl standing between me and Em and is the friend that got cut out of the first picture.




We saw what we guessed was a Turkey Volture that looked pretty cold too. At first we couldn't see its head and it looked like a turkey with its head cut off, but then we saw it was snuggled up pretty tight with its head tucked in to stay warm.



I had a blast with that group. Em was quite the entertainment. He could dance so well and danced all the way down to the zoo to hiphop music. We didn't see a lot of animals out because of it being winter time. However, we did get to go into the reptile house and the monkey house. We also saw a snow leopard that came right up to us. Em thought maybe the snow leopard liked him. I told him he probably would like him for lunch. Em didn't appreciate my humor very much and I got the look. We were also able to see the Tigers. There were three baby cubs that were very active and playful. It was so fun to watch and they were so cute. I wanted to hold one, but I'm sure it would have eaten me up. When we left, I told Em to say goodbye to the Tigers. He said, "Adios, Diego," which cracked me up since Diego is the sabertooth tiger on 'Ice Age.' What a cute kid.

Kid Rock! - Blogged by N8

So, as I've made it perfectly clear before, I am rock and roll junkie. I love going to rock and roll shows and seeing good musicians live. Well, it just so happens that one of my favorite musicians, Kid Rock, is a HUGE supporter of the men and women of the Armed Forces. He came to Ramstein recently with a few friends and put on a great show for us.

First act was a female country singer named Jessie James. She was OK, but I don't follow country a whole lot, so it wasn't exactly my cup of tea...



The next act up was comedian Carlos Mencia. He was so funny! He's most known from his show on Comedy Central "The Mind of Mencia".



Up next was Kid Rock and The Twisted Brown Trucker Band. I'd seen them live three times before this. Twice in SLC and once in Norfolk, VA. They performed most of the great hits including: Bawitdaba, Cowboy, Only God Knows Why, Son of Detroit, Picture, All Summer Long, American Bad A**, and others. It was an awesome show and the best part was it was all free!

Trier - Blogged by N8

The day after my birthday, I was able to visit the ancient city of Trier, Germany on a "Wounded Warrior" trip. I begged my good friend from Poland Miroslaw, or as everyone calls him, Mike, to go with me and he agreed. This is Mike and myself outside the ancient Roman archway that leads into town. It is over 2,000 years old!



The town is full of old cathedrals and religious landmarks. This is me next to a fountain of the Angel Michael.



We also happened upon a couple of funny things in town. This is me next to the smallest car I have ever seen. In order to get into it, you have to open the whole front of it, dashboard and all.



And here I found "Casino Royal". James Bond didn't happen to be there that day...



All in all, it was a great day and I had a lot of fun hanging out with Mike and enjoying such a fun city.