I am a visual person…clearly! I have been waiting (patiently) for some pictures of Tim and his surroundings. When I finally got a few pictures…they were of camel spiders! Go figure. Apparently though the camel spiders love the shade that the Blackhawks provide, they can be as large as a man’s palm, run very fast, [...]
Another volley of mortar rounds came into the perimeter last night. We had two aircraft landing - when the mortars began to hit. The aircraft were not damaged and no one was injured.
This may sound crazy, but when the first bombs began to fall - I walked inside the office - pulled out a Fuente [...]
As we look up in the evening sky, we notice that the bright moon is leaving its full phase.
Iconically, the moon has represented different phases, milestones, and meanings in my life.
College (circa early 90’s) - one of my favorite courses was Astronomy. I’ve always enjoyed physics, constellations, and the evolution of our celestial surroundings. [...]
I was flying into Baghdad again yesterday, and had front row seats to an Iraqi Air Show.
I was inbound and a few minutes out, when I looked to the left and saw a 58D (small attack helicopter) dive, from above my front left, towards the ground. I craned around to see the [...]
We’ll…you simply cannot complete your combat tour - without the obligatory mortar rounds coming into your base and yesterday, we “checked that block.” It was mid-day when we received the first two rounds - just north of our position and inside the base. Then two more rounds to the south and on the perimeter.
After the [...]
Yesterday was my first flight into Baghdad. Most sane people would not intentionally fly into Baghdad, but for us, the patients we transport, and MEDEVAC mission - it’s a must.
We were originally scheduled to fly in at night, under night vision goggles - but the aircraft we intended to fly had some mechanical difficulties and [...]
I think I may have confused some of our readers with my last post entitled First Combat Flight. I had previously written about flying over the desert and seeing Bedouin, camels and miles of sand. My previous flights in the desert were in Kuwait - not Iraq. Kuwait is not considered a [...]
After getting the troops in-position, setting up our operations, and conducting initial inventories - it was time to begin our LAOs (local area orientation). The LAO consists of flying with the guys who have been here all year (that we are replacing). We basically fulfilled half of each flight crew with their guys [...]
I delayed writing about our arrival until all soldiers were safely in-position.
I flew out a few nights ahead of the “main body” (majority of the unit) with a small team aboard an Army cargo plane. Our group of five was known as one of the ADVON (advanced party) groups.
All day, I reviewed in [...]
Flying today across the desert was quite interesting. Interesting, because I’ve seen nothing like it before: with miles, upon miles, of sand, in every direction - as far as the eye can see. No trees, no bushes, no hills, no mountains or valleys, and a barely visible horizon (due to the suspended dust [...]
It’s here, it’s finally here…we are in the eleventh hour.
We’re currently completing our desert flight training and will be crossing-the-berm soon. The eleventh hour is producing more energy, anxious energy, within the soldiers. Some people release this extra energy by working out, some pack and repack, some clean weapons - again, some are [...]
Tim’s unit has been running operations 24×7 for awhile now during the evaluation phase of their mobilization. Apparently, there is some outsourced organization that evaluates the readiness of aviation units preparing to deploy. From what Tim reports, their evaluation is going well.
So, they run operations as they intend to in Iraq. When their [...]
Finally after months of paperwork and military red tape…Tim was promoted to Major Stoner!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of him. He is a true leader, and extremely loyal to his men.
Now…if you are laughing…you aren’t the first. I imagine most will have to hold back a chuckle every time they address him as Major Stoner.
Congratulations, [...]
I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who have been sending coffee, treats, and cards to the troops (and me) - or have financially supported the Family Readiness Group (FRG).
Special thanks to: Jean Foss, Julie Kimmel, Bill Keeling, Matt and Tracy Zimpfer, Beth Olsen (Davis) and her son, Suzanne Sutliff, Wayne and Judy [...]
We just returned from the Forward Operating Base and Tiffany’s correct, we found several (5) scorpions outside and inside the tents. We also caught a snake - near the water tank. Among other creatures, we saw three tarantulas and a horny toad. The FOB is abundant with life - as it sits nestled [...]
Tim and the troops are headed to a simulated FOB (forward operating base) for the next six days. Apparently, this fake city has been built in the middle of the woods near Ft. Sill. The purpose is to train in an urban-type setting.
The weather in Oklahoma has been surprising to the guys. It has been [...]
Unfortunately, the article read is fairly accurate. As you may have read in this and other articles published - our most recent threat in theatre is highly-coordinated heavy machine gun ambushes. Several articles cite 8 aircraft losses, since January 2007, to such attacks.
The ambushes are leveraging a the 14.5mm heavy machine gun, which [...]