PFC Shook (hands)

PFC Shook's buddies here are already making Forrest Gump jokes, as our fastest runner, ex-football star, injured in the butt, and meets the president, it was bound to happen.
President George W. Bush shakes the hand of U.S. Army PFC Lukas Shook of Strafford, Mo., after presenting him with a Purple Heart Monday, Dec. 22, 2008, during a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where the soldier is recovering from injuries received in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Looking on are PFC Shook's mother and father, Dennis and Cynthia Shook. White House photo by Eric Draper

Army Nurses

An old Army recruiting poster from the late 60's with the camera in a patient's perspective and a nurse looking down stated: "The Most Beautiful Woman in the World is an Army Nurse." I was googling around the internet looking for it, but found these army nurse examples along the way instead. One is of Bettte Page who recently died. Another is a halloween costume.

Random Photo Sample, Carson, Baghdad

Haven't posted anything in a while. Things have been quiet in our little section of Baghdad, a good thing. So here's a couple of beautiful Ft. Carson and a couple of not-so-beautiful Iraq.

An Invite, Not Reality

The HBO comedy/show Flight of the Conchords, in its second season, about the lives of two New Zealand musicians moving to NYC and their subsequent (mis)adventures is a big word of mouth hit on our FOB. Soldiers recollecting episodes, "remember when Bret and Jemaine..." and singing the songs, often changing lyrics around to fit a friend or match the army is now the norm. Certainly something that FTOC may have never imagined.

My Shook Shots

Shook is back in the states, in an Army hospital, surely with family, and apparently healing quickly from what was a critical condition only days before, taking shrapnel in his leg, scalp and abdomen. The most serious was the largest piece which entered retroperitoneal, traveled parallel to the sagittal plane and exited Shook's anterior, actually going all the way through. Get well soon man!

A few photos: At first I wasn't sure if it was right to post my pictures of him. But I thought about it all day and feel it's a good thing, my small tribute.

First is one I took at Fort Carson of Shook. I've known him for over a year now, living in the same barracks. He is a very good natured southern kid with a kind and magnetic smile as you can see. Tall and slim, he can out run anyone in the company...literally...without exaggeration. It was somebodys joke to make it my job to cover him while playing defense on the HQ Platoon team on Thanksgiving during the company "Turkey Bowl Flag Football Game."The next two shots are well...I'll explain. Shook is in the lower one. Taken on a cool crisp and beautiful Colorado day at Fort Carson, training with our Pro-masks on. At the time I thought it was a little ironic that we were wearing gas masks in some of the cleanest, sky bluest air in America. The middle shot...well, I've been using that one as my myspace picture for over a month now. It's pretty funny. I actually used the cut and past head from the other shot and re sized it to fit.

Blood vs. The Numbers

A week ago today our FOB was nearly hit by rockets. Less than a click away rockets hit and killed non-American civilians. This made the news within hours, I suspect because civilians are not expected to keep silent. As well, the powers that be know American bloodshed is the real news getter and opinion maker/challenger in our country.

The next day one of two more rockets hit our FOB. One of our soldiers was seriously hurt and "woke up in Germany." I haven't seen a single note of the incident as it pertained to day two, our soldiers, or otherwise. We were placed in a "communication blackout" for 12 hours. There is of course good reason for this: notification of family and the elements who fired at us using the information for further attack. I know that as I write this the "perps" have been arrested and the family informed.

Recently while serving a rotation at 86th CSH in Baghdad I often saw soldiers come in the ER with severe combat related injuries, who survived, but the incident which caused their bloodshed did not make the news either.

I don't intend to blame the media in this case, if there is anyone to blame besides the "insurgency." My suspicions rest at the feet of our government, which is certainly in a convoluted state, and not necessarily in a state of permanent pure evil as many neo-conspiracy theorists portend. It only benefits the swing of past and current political momentum to make little known of incidents which require less obligation to release, like deaths to service members. Political positions are only silly putty no matter if you sit in the left of right wing of the building. I make no conclusion. I only state my curiosity.

Certainly, it has been reported that November '08 statistically had the lowest numbers for US bloodshed since '03. But for those of us in my company it was the bloodiest since we got here in June. Human perspective and statistical parallax.