Welcome to Hurricane Season

For those of you who prayed to keep me out of Qatar and here in the states, namely Tampa, here we go! June 1st officially begins Hurricane Season. So, I'm getting to see what preparation is like firsthand. My supervisor today asked me to prepare my "evacuation plan" for a possible hurricane. [Note: This is not like a Miami Hurricane "student" athlete, many of whom are nearly CAT-5 in their behavior (see photo)].

The military requires all of us to have Plans A & B for evacuation destinations. That's an eye-opener for a Wisconsinite! I will now call some AF friends in Jacksonville and Warner Robins, Georgia for permission to squat on their property in that event.

This weekend is a sales tax holiday for hurricane supplies and information abounds on what to do to prepare, like here on the City of Tampa website. Once I move into more permanent digs Sunday afternoon, I'll assess what I need to buy and what the local procedures are. And despite a colossal nothing of a season last year, we always have to be prepared. It should be very interesting amongst the poor driving, DUIs, and other stuff that makes Florida spicy! Welcome to CSI: Tampa!

HF1

Happy Birthday Lori!

If you haven't done so already, please make a point to call Lori and wish her a VERY happy birthday on Friday, June 1st. Miss you honey!
B

Brewer Fans Driven Crazy

Hey Brewer fans (Mark G., non-sports folks, Russ F., Jerry O., etc...this ain't you...I'm speaking to Jack, Dan, "SmaQuillan,"& others),

Do I need to return to Wisconsin? If you haven't noticed, the Crew hasn't won a series since my last week in town when they swept the lowly Nationals. Tonight's win notwithstanding, I think they're missing something without me in town. Mets, Phils, Twins, Dodgers, Padres, Braves, what's going on? At least the good Lord blessed the Brewers with their membership in the NL Central. We haven't seen such bad records since Vanilla Ice's comeback! Hopefully they'll kick it in again soon. I'm off to see the Devil Rays and Royals. on Friday night. No danger of playoff implications here, but the Rays have some good young guys that pop it out a lot in batting practice. I'll be out in left field (no comments Treankler) so I'll try and catch one for Jack.

HF1

A Fun Run, Love Bugs, & A Concert

My day began with the second-ever "CENTCOM Run." Our new commander, Admiral Fallon, has directed that all 2,500 CENTCOM folks in Tampa meet for a two mile morning run each month. The 7:30 AM run became a trot (10:45 mile pace) around MacDill's narrow streets. But I enjoyed it with the blended collection of armed services, boisterous cadence that I haven't heard since basic training, and good-natured jabs amongst the troops. One note: the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps each have an official workout uniform. But the Navy, even with its 38 dozen different dress and work uniforms, does not. Some non-CENTCOM commuters appeared annoyed with the massive on-base traffic jam. But many more folks gave thumbs up from car and building windows as we inched by. Overall a good time.

Neenah folks that occasionally gripe about lakeflies apparently haven't seen Florida's love bugs. These annoying pests hang in the air much as lakeflies do but appear to be much more, shall we say, productive. Check out this Tampa Tribune capsule about these predator-free creatures that wreck car paint. Click here to read.

I finished the day by heading over to Bayshore Baptist Church to catch a national youth choir concert. Folks last Sunday invited me back. This troupe of 30 kids from Georgia really filled the place with excellent music and drama vignettes.

Another good day!

The work day? Well, you all see parts of it on CNNFOXNEWSMSNBC. Rather than those news outlets, I recommend reading all you can about the culture and tenets of the Middle East. My eyes have opened a lot these past two weeks. Much of the eye-opening info I've read isn't classified. Check some of my previous posts for good material. I will devote a future post to sharing some titles for helpful information.
HF1

CENTCOM Troops Help Lebanon Against Al Qaida

Airmen from units in U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility delivered ammunition to Lebanon's army to fight Al Qaida terrorists. Click here to read about it.
HF1

Memorial Day and Beyond

I read (you must think I read a lot by now...well, we all should.) in this week's Air Force Times paper about a different idea to observe Memorial Day. It's something anyone could do at any time of the year. Click here to read it and I hope you had a great weekend.

HF1

440th Haircuts in the LA Times?!

My Google News Alert for the term "440th Airlift Wing" dropped into my inbox a Los Angeles Times human interest piece about a barber shop that serves the 440th and others in Oak Creek. I'm so impressed. It's a great little article about another institution changed by the Gen. Mitchell Air Reserve Station's closure. Click here to read it.

HF1

Thanks for Your Prayers

So many of you have told me or have written that you've been praying for me and the family. Let me say "Thank You!" I have found a local church to attend for however long I remain in Tampa. The church folks are very receptive, offer a lot of adult ed classes, and fellowship events. I met two people that work or worked at Centcom there as well. It's a great fit. Denise & Jim back in Neenah will be happy to hear it is Bayshore Baptist of South Tampa. Hey, it's all about Him right? Thanks again for your prayers folks.
HF1

Iraq IS the Center of the War

Former Senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) posted a well written column that explains why we can't turn back the clock on Iraq decisions and must prevail now. It's almost impossible to remove politics from these discussions, but Mr. Kerrey does an admirable job drawing the line between healthy debate and the ever-more-popular position of outright surrender. It just hit my newspaper today but originally appeared online May 22nd. Click here to read.
HF1

Admiral Fallon in Charge Now

For those of you looking for some good unclassified background on my assignment, I found an Associated Press article about Central Command's relatively new commander (Mar. '07), Navy Admiral William Fallon. The article outlines the commander, Centcom's responsibilities, and the relationship with the President's policies. For the out-of-touch crowd too busy to notice that we are in a war of civilizations, you can click here instead. To read the Admiral Fallon article, click here.

HF1

Was Osama Right?

Middle East historian Bernard Lewis recently published an essay highlighting some of the enemies' notions regarding the U.S., the Russians, and others. As I am learning here, a person is best prepared by learning all one can about the subject matter and leaving the chatterboxes in the media and on Capitol Hill to their soundbytes. Prof. Lewis is probably the premier living historian of the region. Read this short article by clicking here.

Scenes at "The Trop"

Here are some pics of my games at Tropicana Field where the Marlins devoured the D-Rays in a weekend sweep.

Right Field:

The stadium appears to be a giant umbrella...

Tropicana Field has an area where you can call a game with crowd noise and get it on CD. Amongst their cartoonish images of classic announcers is none other than "The Ueck!"

Contrary to Senator Reid's WIshes...

As you know, I can't say anything much about work. But as I've observed for a few days, and contrary to Senate Majority Leader Reid's wishes, there's a war on and there is success in many areas. If you've forgotten Sen. Reid's statement, click here. The "surge" isn't even fully implemented yet. I don't know all the answers, but a lot of Washington's finest are not studying all the information they are privy to.

HF1

Snail Mail Address

I established a post office box on base today. I can reached at:

MSgt Brady Kiel
8106 Condor St.
PSC Box 3500
MacDill AFB FL 33621

HF1

I Think I Chose The Wrong Game

As I work here in Florida, I am able to take advantage of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' military ticket price of $9.50 with free parking across the bay in St. Pete. I enjoy the relaxed pace of a baseball game and found as much at last night's intrastate contest which saw the Florida Marlins pound the Rays 8-4. I obtained a free foam finger prop for Jack and read about 75 pages of Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer.

Unfortunately, I missed the bigger game. The Tampa Bay Yankees, the Yanks' single-A minor club, started Roger Clemens against Fort Myers. The Rocket is making a few minor league starts to gear up for his May 28th New York Yankees debut. The T-Yanks drew 10,000+ people and the Rays drew 13,003. If the T-Yanks' park had been larger, I think they would have outdrawn the "Major League" Rays.

Oh well, I saw a grand slam and a few other homers. I'm heading back to "The Trop" (Tropicana Field) to take in cowboy hat night on Emma's behalf.

And for all you wondering about the "work," I went in for 3 and a half hours Saturday to learn from my predecessor. My Monday-Thursday will be taken up with mandatory CENTCOM training, making my actual work impossible.

Take care and God bless,
HF1

P.S. As far as my TSA-approved three ounces, I drank 12 oz. of Starbucks and pitched the cup prior to boarding.

Let's Go!

Nothing much new today. I've been finishing up final paperwork preparations and am itching to leave the Greater St. Louis area. As I prepare to become a part of the Department of Homeland Security's biggest daily facade of security (air travel), I noticed a splendid piece of writing from Mark Steyn. It' s called "Uncle Sam and the Shoeless Shuffle." Check it out as he elicits some truths through humor. Sadly, we're paying in a big way for this bureaucracy that really does nothing to improve our safety. And finally, I still haven't chosen which liquid substance to fill my 3 ounce allotment. Water or Pepsi? Snapple or ginger ale? I just can't choose!

The First Post of 2007

With another few posts, I can set a record for the number of posts in one year! I thought about deleting the old 2005-6 posts below, but I left them. Sorry if some are not congruent with my current mission at hand. Welcome to HerrForce1's little way of staying in touch. Please let me know if I am in error on anything and if anything appears offensive or even insightful. Well, here we go!

I'm posed to depart for the climes of Tampa and its many degrees of temperature. As a little sendoff, the greater St. Louis area provided 88 degrees of mercury to remind me that the car needs another shot of freon. Well, the situation as it is, I guess I can ask Hugh to do that in '08!

Nothing too eventful today other than dozens of checklist signatures, briefings, and other military minutiae.

Prayer emphases (not misspelled, but plural): safe return of captive soldiers, my safe travel, rested mind in light of new responsibilities, and acceptance of shifting circumstances.

Peace,
HF1