Brotherhood in Battle: The Story of Samwise Gamgee

Nathan Hartsburg


ENGL-4813-01

Dr. Agan

2 June 2010

Brotherhood in Battle

The bond of brotherhood in battle is a common thing for soldiers and warriors going to war. This paper discusses the bond forged between Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings, and how Sam specifically did everything he could to help his friend and master complete his task of destroying the Ring of Power.

The bond of brotherhood in battle is a very familiar story in books and movies about war, but the story of Samwise Gamgee from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings far exceeds them all, because it is a story that really shows the true nature of that bond in battle. Sam is first introduced as Frodo’s servant and gardener in the first book The Fellowship of the Ring. Sam ends up being chosen by Gandalf to accompany Frodo to Rivendell as a “punishment” for eavesdropping on their conversation about the One Ring. It is here that Sam first shows his true character by following his master into certain danger. As the story progresses, the bond of brotherhood much like two soldiers going to war together form between Sam and Frodo as they travel to this certain doom. The love and loyalty that Sam shows for Frodo and the transformation that Sam goes through from humble servant to hero is one of the most powerful themes of the story of The Lord of the Rings, because it reveals the true qualities that one must possess in order to make a good soldier and warrior.

Tolkien knew a lot about what it meant to be a soldier and a warrior. He spent six months in the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers during World War I. Much of what Tolkien wrote in the Lord of the Rings had to be influenced on his time spent in battle, and Sam was definitely one of those characters who were influenced by his time in war. He wrote about Sam saying, he was “a reflection of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognized as so far superior to myself” (Carpenter 91). According to Mark T. Hooker, much of the literature from World War I speaks very highly of the loyalty and devotion that these batmen had to their officers (1). The characteristics that these batmen showed on the field of battle surely had influence in Tolkien’s creation of Frodo’s batman, Sam. “He [Sam] did not think of himself as heroic or even brave, or in any way admirable-except in his service and loyalty to his master” (Letters 329).

The transformation of Sam from bumbling servant (almost to the point of comedy relief) to unlikely hero is an inspiring story. Even though Sam is chosen in volume I by Gandalf to join Frodo on his journey, it is obviously still his choice to go. Choices are what make warriors who they are, or in some people’s cases who they are not. Soldiers must choose to be brave and fight or to run away. Soldiers must choose to obey their masters or go on their own instincts. In The Warriors, Glen Gray says:

Numberless soldiers have died, more or less willingly, not for country or honor or religious faith or for any other abstract good, but because they realized that by fleeing their post and rescuing themselves, they would expose their companions to greater danger. Such loyalty to the group is the essence of fighting morale.

Sam always chose to follow Frodo, no matter the cost. He was ready to go to war with Frodo and die if that is what it came down to in the end. His loyalty was to his master and friend. He always chose Frodo above himself and showed the warrior ethos of selflessness as an important quality to have as a true soldier.

Sam’s loyalty and love for Frodo began to show almost immediately as the journey began: when talking about their packs, Frodo jokes about how heavy is pack is saying, “I am sure you have given me all the heaviest stuff.” And in response Sam “Stoutly and untruthfully” declares he could take on more and that his pack was too light (69). In this simple statement, a prophesy is unknowingly spoken of the role Sam will play as the story progresses on how much Sam will take on his shoulders as he helps his master fulfill the goal of taking the Ring to Mordor for destruction.

Another quality Sam shows in his journey is his protective nature for Frodo; this was always evident when it came to them meeting new people on their journey. He was very hesitant of Strider and kept an eye on him until he proved to be a loyal servant of good, and later on, in Chapter one of Book four, when Gollum joined the quest as their guide to the lands of Mordor, Sam always remained watchful and careful for his master. He sacrificed precious sleep at night to keep watch over Frodo and always did his best to cook the best meals he could for his master. The love, caring, and protection that Sam gives to Frodo is one that has come into question in today’s homophobic society. The immaturity of the people who take this position have obviously never experienced the kind of bond that two soldiers who go into battle together, forge as ‘battle buddies.’

Another specific quality Sam has on his journey that helps him fulfill his destiny as Frodo’s true partner in the battle against evil is his humbleness. While traveling by boat down the Great River Sam and Frodo discuss the very real possibility that Gollum was following them as they traveled. Sam decides that he would keep watch over the camp as the rest of the fellowship got their sleep, declaring himself as nothing more than “luggage in a boat” (374), again sacrificing much needed sleep to keep his master safe at night. Sam’s humble and simple life takes a spotlight in Lothlorien when he is tempted twice by the Lady Galadriel to turn around and go home to the Shire and forsake the mission. When she looked into his soul and offered him a chance to go back home and then again when he looked into the mirror and sees the things going on in the Shire he exclaims his desire to go home, but just as quickly as his temptation to go home came to the surface, it was quickly vanquished by his undying love to finish the mission and continue on with Frodo, even if it meant never returning to the Shire. A soldier in battle must be humble when it comes to dealing with his fellow comrades. The act of putting someone above oneself builds cohesion in a unit and will build the bond needed when times get very tough. Marion Zimmer Bradley explains in his essay entitled Men, Haflings, and Hero Worship that:

Sam’s emotional growth is spotlighted briefly the second time he watches the sleeping Frodo…He muses that he loves him ‘whether or no,’ though this is still shown in terms appropriate to the simplicity of his character, as when he coaxes-threatens Gollum to finding better food for Frodo, and then cooks it for him (118).

Sam’s servant attitude and loyalty to Frodo is a powerful theme throughout the entire book. Sam’s humbleness is one clear distinction between himself and most of the other characters in the story who are often times thinking of just themselves, like Boramir in the Fellowship of the Ring.

Another quality Sam shows on his quest to help Frodo is determination. Sam’s determination to follow Frodo came to a focal point when Frodo decided he would try and forsake the rest of the fellowship for their safety and take a boat and travel by himself. Sam realizing his master’s decision ran as hard as he could back to the bank of the river and caught Frodo just in time; and even though most Hobbits feared water and did not know how to swim, Sam launched himself at Frodo’s boat, even if it meant drowning in the process. Frodo saved him from drowning and then attempted to go on his way, but Sam would not allow it, saying it would be the death of him if Frodo left without him. Even when Frodo exclaimed that death was likely to be the end in Mordor, Sam made his stance and would not budge on his decision to help Frodo on his mission. Sam’s determination to stick by Frodo is a clear case for the bond that they shared as brothers in battle.

Sam’s transformation to all-out warrior comes when their journey almost comes to a climatic end when the two are led into Cirith Ungol by Gollum. The weight of the Ring had become a serious burden on Frodo and as he and Sam made their way through the cave that belonged to Shelob, the great spider, the last decedent of Ungoliant. Gollum had betrayed their trust and led them directly into her clutches hoping to retrieve the Ring from Frodo’s remains. Shelob attacked Frodo while Gollum jumped on Sam. Sam fought off Gollum, but was too late in helping his master. Shelob had stung Frodo and wrapped him up in her web: “Sam did not wonder what was to be done, or whether he was brave, or loyal, or filled with rage. He sprang forward with a yell, and seized his master’s sword in his left hand. Then he charged” (711). Sam killed the last child of Ungoliant in the darkness of the Cirith Ungol; and so was born, Sam as a warrior.

Sam’s love for his brother comes to a significant point when he believes Frodo to be dead, “in essence the Quest from this moment is Sam’s” (Bradley 120). Because of this belief he took the Phial of Galadriel, his sword, Sting, and the Ring from Frodo’s body and became the last Ring bearer. With bravery and complete loyalty to Frodo, even when he believed him to be dead, Sam decided to finish the mission and destroy the Ring for Frodo. Just as Sam is about to finally leave and finish the Quest, he sees some Orcs take his master’s body away, and remaining faithful to Frodo he follows them, and learns that Frodo is still barely alive. Volume II of The Lord of the Rings ends with Sam as Ring bearer, attempting to save Frodo from the clutches of the Orcs. Sam goes after Frodo with everything that embodies what a warrior should be in today’s Ranger Warrior Creed: “I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the Enemy.”

In Volume III, Sam finally makes the final transformation from “tag-along” of Volume I and the protector of Volume II, to finally the “Great Elf Warrior” of Volume III (882). Sam uses the Ring to make his way through Mordor unsuspected and saves the life of his friend and master. Sam risked his own life and his own soul by using the Ring to rescue Frodo from the clutches of the evil Orcs. This allegorical display of love makes one remember Jesus’ words: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15: 13).

Another quality Sam continues to show during their journey is love. After Sam saved Frodo’s life and tells him how he kept the ring safe from the Orcs, Frodo demands the Ring back from Sam, and after only a second of hesitation, Sam immediately hands the Ring back to Frodo. Even the hesitation shows how much Sam loved Frodo, for it was not for any kind of lust for power that made Sam hesitate, but the fact that “Sam felt reluctant to give up the Ring and burden his master with it again” (890). Frodo snatched the Ring from Sam’s hand and called him a thief, at which point Sam did not argue or fight for the Ring like so many other people, would have done. Sam just knelt to his master, “his face wrung with pain, as if he had been stabbed in the heart; tears welled from his eyes” (891). Sam did what only two other people were able to do in the story; only he, Bilbo, and Tom Bombadil were able to freely give up the Ring by their own accord (Bilbo only with the help of Gandalf). This fact in itself shows the kind of character that Sam possessed. He is a simple being, who is not as easily tempted by grand dreams of power like most people in the story. He holds dear things like love, friendship, and good gardening, not power.

As Frodo and Sam came ever closer to Mount Doom and their destiny, Sam took watch again at night and allowed his friend to sleep as the Ring became heavier and harder to endure. “Sam struggled with his own weariness, and he took Frodo’s hand; and there he sat silent till deep night fell” (901). As he sat there through the night he dealt with his own fear about his fate and what was surely to come to him and Frodo, and accepted it and it “ceased to trouble him” (901). “Fear is the emotion that comes naturally in combat” (Van Der Dennen 84). Every soldier faces fear; both fear of dying and fear of his friends dying, but every soldier must dig deep into themselves and find that spark of hope and determination to overcome that fear and keep driving on. This is what Sam faced as he dealt with his emotions on the side of Mount Doom. Even as they climbed Mount Doom and the weight of the Ring overtook Frodo and it seemed that all hope died in Sam, “it turned to a new strength” and he spurred his comrade on towards the goal with a fierceness that had not been seen in many Hobbits before him. He encouraged his brother to go on, and so they did.

As the last part of their journey up the path to the Cracks of Doom, Frodo came to a point where he could no longer move, and it is at this point where Sam becomes the true hero of the story. “Sam looked at him and wept in his heart, but no tears came to his dry stinging eyes. ‘I said I’d carry him, if it broke my back,’ he muttered, ‘and I will! Come, Mr. Frodo!’ he cried. ‘I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well’” (920). Sam literally carried Frodo up the side of the mountain, displaying the greatest love and loyalty he could have shown. In the end, Gollum returns and through his own fate helps Frodo and Sam fulfill their destiny by falling with the Ring to destruction.

In the end after the journey was finally completed, when death was the only thing left, Sam’s attitude was still love for his friend and master, for “he felt only joy, great joy. The burden was gone. His master had been saved; he was himself again, he was free” (926). Even when it seemed all hope was lost, Sam urged Frodo to move out of the Crack of Doom and fixed his eyes to the north, “north into the eye of the wind, to where the sky far off was clear, as the cold blast, rising to a gale, drove back the darkness and the ruin of the clouds” (930). In the end his hope proved true when Gwaihir and the Eagles lifted them up from danger and took them to safety.

When in the end Frodo and Sam stood before King Aragorn, the King did not direct his first thoughts to Frodo, but to Sam instead, “It is a long way, is it not, from Bree, where you did not like the look of me? A long way for us all, but yours has been the darkest road” (933). Sam, the Hobbit, who referred to himself as “just luggage in a boat” had the darkest and toughest road as he put aside all selfish thoughts and did everything for his friend and master, so that he could accomplish the task set before him. He agonized the entire journey seeing the pain of Frodo and doing his best to keep his master moving to finish the task. The King of Gondor and all his subjects bowed to the two Hobbits equally as the saviors of all that was good.

No man can go to battle by himself with any hope of overcoming alone. Frodo praised Sam for his actions claiming he could not have accomplished their Quest without his help, and indeed he was right. Johan M.G. Van Der Dennen in a paper about soldier’s motivation in battle explains, “The [Primary group] theory posits that comradeship stimulated by shared deprivation, stress, the need for psychological comfort, and constant personal interaction and communication, allows the soldier to endure combat” (82). Sam and Frodo could not have completed their task without each other to lean on when times got tough. All warriors need that “battle buddy” to help them up when they are down and carry them when the burden is too heavy. Sam in his love and everlasting loyalty to Frodo voluntarily chose to follow his friend to the bitter end, even if it meant torment and death. Sam embodies the true warrior spirit to never leave a comrade behind, to forge on toward the goal, and sacrifice himself for his friends, no matter the cost. Sam is the true unlikely hero of the story of The Lord of the Rings, and should always be honored right alongside all the other men, hobbits, elves, and women who are worshipped as heroes of the day.













Works Cited

Bradley, Marion. “Men, Haflings, and Hero Worship.” Tolkien and the Critics. Ed. Neil Isaacs and Rose Zimbardo. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1968. 109-127. Print.

Carpenter, Humphrey. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1977. Print.

Department of the Army. Ranger Handbook. Fort Benning, GA: 2006. Print.

Gray, Glenn. The Warriors: Reflections on Men in Battle. New York: Harper and Row, 1970.

Hooker, Mark T. “Frodo’s Batman.” Tolkien Studies. West Virginia University Press, 2004. 125-136. Web. 9 June 2010.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Print.

---. The Two Towers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Print.

---. The Return of the King. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Print.

---The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981. Print

Van der Dennen, Johan. "Combat Motivation." Peace Review 17.1 (2005): 81-89. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 June 2010.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Ed. Kenneth L. Barker. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. Print.

Oklahoma Christian and the Greater Grads Job Fair

-OC Heads to the Career Fair
-Searching for Career Ideas
-Job Market in the Recession


Graduating from college can be difficult and stressful time. As one chapter of life closes, another one opens. The Greater Grads Career Job Fair of Oklahoma this Tuesday at the Cox Convention Center is one way for students across the state to move onto that next chapter in life.



More than 100 employers in the state of Oklahoma had a chance to advertise their company to more than 1,000 students from colleges around the state. Employers like Boeing Company, the F.B.I., Dell and Tinker Federal Credit Bureau were on hand to try and get students to come talk to them about opportunities for work after college.



Oklahoma Christian Heads Downtown



Oklahoma Christian did its part in trying to help students by providing bus transport to and from the Cox Convention Center.



"The line for the buss was pretty excruciating, but I thought it was a great opportunity for me to go and meet potential employers," said Kayla Lewis, a junior social studies education major from Oklahoma Christian.



Searching for Career Ideas



Even younger students who are not quite ready to graduate are keeping their options open by attending the event.



"I'm just a sophomore, but I really don't know what I'm going to do after I graduate, so I figured I might come up with a good idea for a major if I come and check out what kind of jobs are available in Oklahoma, and what I need to do to get there," said Salomon Murillo, from Oklahoma Christian University.



Job Market in the Recession



Some students are nervous about getting out of college during the country's worst recession in 80 years, but were hopefully optimistic after going to the fair.



"I wasn't so sure about the job market, but I was extremely pleased and encouraged at how many employers just in the state of Oklahoma that are hiring during these times," said Jared Scism, a Junior Bible major hoping to graduate this time next year.



Whatever career field students are planning on going into, the Greater Grads Career Fair of Oklahoma seems to have been a success in the eyes of most students, whether they are graduating this spring or three years from now. It is never too early to begin looking for the right job.

'An Evening with Kevin Smith' here we come...

'An Evening With Kevin Smith' is coming to Houston this Friday, so I decided to buy tickets for myself, my brother (his birthday present), and Bill. The only problem is that I had two midterms this friday. Dr. Wright, my Bible teacher said it was no problem and had me come in this morning at 8 a.m. to take the test. In order to get permission in my Mass Comm class to get the test early, I was required to write an essay on Kevin Smith and the importance of his work in film today. I kind of forgot that he told me that he wanted it before I left on my trip, so this is what I threw together in the last 30 min. or so. Enjoy my first blog in almost a year or something.


Kevin Smith has come a long way since he first wrote and directed his first movie Clerks. According to Smith’s website, Viewaskew.com, his first attempt at film making cost him just over 27,000 dollars; paid with maxed out credit cards, his entire comic book collection, and a family donation. The film went to the Sundance Film Festival and won an award for best drama. Smith’s film was picked up by the Miramax movie studio and released in a wider format. Since then, Smith has gone on to write, direct and/or produce over 10 successful films.
Kevin Smith has changed the way people think about the movie business. While many people in the past have had dreams of going into the movie business, nobody has been able to “Forrest Gump” their way to the top like Kevin Smith. He showed the world that with a little bit of talent and luck, and a whole lot of determination and drive that one can make their dreams a reality.
Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith are two writer/directors that have really influenced the film industry with extraordinary works of art. Both are very similar in their film making. Both have only made a few movies compared to the many films that most directors work on. Both have very high quality dialogue in their film that is the most essential part of their films. Yet it is interesting that Smith gave himself a recurring role in these brilliant dialogue based films as a character named Silent Bob, who hardly ever says anything at all. The poetic irony that he places on himself is just remarkable.
From Clerks all the way to his newest script he is working on right now called Hit Somebody, Smith has always focused on the smaller side of life. He usually focuses on his own small town upbringing, most of the time setting his movie in a small town in New Jersey like the one he grew up in. He filmed Clerks in the very convenient store he worked at and based it on the boredom he felt at work with his friends. Dogma was a film blasting at the dogmatic rules and regulations he suffered through as a child growing up in the Catholic Church. Most of his movies he throws in a few homosexual issues because of the lifestyle his own brother has chosen to live.
Even though most of his films are looked at by many as being very vulgar and offensive, he writes his scripts from the heart and it shows on screen. He writes his dialogue like people talk and gives his characters feelings that normal people have. He is one of the few genius movie makers that has chosen not conform to Hollywood’s set ideals. He writes what he wants to write and when he gets the green light to film it, he makes it the way he wants.

SEALS

If you haven't heard yet, the American captain who was taken hostage by Somali pirates last week has been rescued by a Navy Seal team. If you haven't heard that, where have you been? Anyway, I keep seeing and hearing on the news what an awesome and heroic rescue operation this was. And when I first heard about it on the radio, I was thinking, 'Wow, the Seals must have really done something cool. What took them so long?' Well, the more I read about it and watched on CNN what happened, the more I ask the question: What's so heroic? They sniped the pirates. Wow. That seems so easy, if you ask me. Especially when I heard how far away the shot was. 100 foot shot. That's not that far. Ever since basic training we've been shooting targets at over 300 METERS which is equal to 328 yards which is equal to 984 feet. I've seen Clay who has no military training whatsoever make a 300 yard shot at a deer and hit it square on. Was this really "great marksmanship" by the navy seal snipers like CNN reported or was it the easiest shot these guys would ever take in their life. I think Squirrel hunting would have been harder then shooting these pirates.

Well you might say, 'Well Nathan, it was at night. That right there makes it a difficult shot." Nope. That actually makes the shot easier. See we had a saying in the Infantry that would surely apply to the Navy Seals...it goes like this: "We Own the Night." The reason why we own the night has nothing to do with us as soldiers or our training. It has everything to do with our technology in our country. See we have these little infrared lasers on the end of all of our weapons that shoots a green laser out that can only be seen with our night vision goggles. You don't even have to look down the end of your rifle. You just point the laser on the head of the dude you are "aiming" at and pull the trigger. You could shoot from the hip with this technology and still take your target down.

Don't get me wrong, I’m not trying to take anything away from the Seals. They are awesome dudes, and some of the most highly trained dudes in the world. I've personally worked right alongside a seal team in my time in Iraq, and they are very cool. What I am trying to say is that the media has no idea what they are saying half the time, and this is another example of them blowing something out of proportion.

I was waiting for the seals to do something to save the captain, I knew they would. But I expected them to do something a little cooler, something a little more up to their awesomeness, like swimming undetected to the lifeboat and snapping the pirate’s necks or cutting their throats. That would of been awesome, and worthy of calling it a heroic mission. Instead it was like shooting a fish in a barrel...or a pirate in a lifeboat. Where's the coolness in that?

Controversy of Mixed Martial Arts

Six hundred years before Christ the Greeks introduced a new sport called pankration to the Olympic Games. The word pankration comes from two Greek words, pan, meaning “all” and kratos, meaning “powers.” The sport was a mixture of boxing and wrestling, and it only had two rules: no eye gouging and no biting. The bouts could only end when one of the fighters was either knocked out unconscious or the fighter submitted to the other. The fights would last for hours and often ended with the death of one or even both of the fighters. The sport was a huge success in the Games, and became one of the most popular sports across the Greek Empire.
The matches took place in a very small arena only twelve to fourteen feet across. The small space purposely forced the fighters to constantly engage in close quarters combat. Common techniques in the bout featured punches, kicks, joint locks, knee and elbow strikes, and choke holds. The match always started with the two fighters standing, but almost always ended on the ground, with one fighter killing the other, most of the time by strangulation. The fighters became so famous for what they could accomplish in a ring, that Alexander the Great recruited them to be soldiers in his army because he admired their skills in unarmed combat. Many historians believe this is where the Asian martial arts have their root, since most martial arts trace their history to India at around the time that Alexander invaded the country.

Many years later during the rise of the Roman Empire, pankration would fall by the wayside when other combat sports started to become more popular, such as Greco-Roman wrestling and boxing. The sport would be forgotten for many centuries until it would make a huge comeback on November 12, 1993. The first professional “mixed martial arts” fights of the Ultimate Fighting championship (UFC) would take the world by storm. The UFC advertised their fights as “no holds barred” matches with no weight classes, no safety devices, and hardly any rules. They would pit two men in a cage, no matter what the size difference to see which man was better. The sport has evolved throughout the years adding gloves for safety, time limits on the matches, and many other rules to keep the fighters safe. It has grown into one of the most popular sports on the planet with fans all around the world. It has practically laid its competition such as boxing and professional wrestling to rest, but the climb to popularity has not been an easy one. Even today, as the fastest growing sport in America, it faces many critics who want to see the sport banned and outlawed altogether. It has been deemed dangerous and barbaric. Most critics of the sport do not even consider it a sport, but just a street fight between two caged animals. Is Mixed Martial Arts just a “human cock fight” as described by Senator John McCain between two mindless barbarians determined on beating one another into submission with no rules and no care for the individual?

I can see how some may look down on MMA as a dangerous and barbaric sport when I take in account the history of the sport. The Greeks and even the first few years of the UFC were very barbaric. In the first UFC fight you could witness a 300 pound sumo wrestler take on a 170 pound Brazilian jiu jitsu fighter with only a few rules to keep the fighters from killing each other. But the way the sport has evolved is what makes me disagree with what Senator McCain has to say about the sport. As someone who has trained for the last 6 years in MMA while in the army and has participated in several tournaments throughout the years, I have to say that the sport is actually quite the opposite of what the critics are calling it.

First of all the fights are sanctioned by a governing body of individuals who have agreed on several rules to keep the fights as safe as possible for the fighters. The gloves that the fighters wear soften the blow in contrast from a bare knuckle fist. This keeps the amount of concussions and injury to the fighters brains down during the fight. They also added rules that give the referee more control of the fight. If the referee thinks the fighter is in danger and not intelligently defending himself, he has the power to make the decision to end the fight and declare a winner, where as in the beginning the fight was over when an arm or ankle was broken, or the opponent laid unconscious on the ground, either from a choke or a knockout blow. The rules have also changed in making time limits for the fights. In the beginning the fights could last for hours with the fighters exerting so much energy that they would be dehydrated to the point of total exhaustion and put their bodies in serious health risks. The rules were added to make every normal fight last three, five minute rounds and championship fights five, five minute rounds with a minute rest in-between every round to drink water and rest their bodies. All of these rules were added to help the fighter stay safe during the fight and protect them from unnecessary injuries.

Secondly, the fighters themselves are called into question by the critics saying they are just glorified bar fighters. This could not be farther from the truth. The fighters are highly trained athletes that spend months preparing for their fight. They also train in many different disciplines of the martial arts, hence the name, “mixed martial arts.” One fighter will spend years honing his skills to become an expert in striking and grappling. Every day of the week he will spend hours working on his boxing for his punches, his Muay Thai kickboxing and his karate for his kicks along with his knee and elbow strikes. He will work with a wrestling coach for his takedowns and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach for his joint locks and choke holds. He will spend hours in the gym working on weight training for strength and run miles upon miles for his cardiovascular fitness. His diet will be split up into six small meals a day, with only the healthiest food to eat, never cheating on his diet. MMA fighters are not just a big guy from a bar that enjoys picking a fight for the fun of it. They are highly trained individuals who spend years mastering their skills to be at the top level of their sport.

Mixed Martial artists have also been referred to by many as being mindless barbarians, but the fact is that most fighters today have earned their college degrees or are in the process of going to school for them. Rich Franklin (the former Middleweight Champion of the UFC) has his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in education. He was a former high school math teacher before becoming a professional fighter. Chuck Liddell (former Light Heavyweight champion) has a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Randy Couture (three-time Heavyweight champion and two-time Light Heavyweight champion) earned his bachelor’s degree in German from Oklahoma State University while becoming a three-time All-American wrestler for the University.

The amount of intelligence it takes to quickly think on your feet and make the split-second decisions it takes to survive in an MMA fight is unbelievable. When the fight first starts, the two fighters are on their feet facing each other a lot like a pitcher in baseball faces the batter. Many things go through the fighters head as he stands and does battle with his opponent. Which punch to throw and when to throw it? What combination of punches and kicks might be coming at him as he stands there? When to block or when to counter? Should he shoot in for a takedown or a slam? If the fight goes to the ground many more questions come into play for the fighter. The chess match of strategy and skill mixed with the question of who has more strength and endurance between the two fighters is a beautiful thing to watch. Just because a fighter is on top of another fighter while on the ground does not mean that the one on top is in a dominant position. One mistake from either one of the fighters could mean a snapped arm from an armbar or a choke from a triangle choke. Every little thing has to be taken into account for each of the fighters. Just like in a game of chess, a fighter must always think two moves ahead in order to come out with a win. Far from the brainless barbarian or the street fighting thugs that mixed martial artists are described as by many of the mainstream media and senators in Washington.

In conclusion, there are many different opinions out there about MMA. At one time, MMA was a very dangerous sport with hardly any rules, but today it is different. It is not full of thugs with a mission in life to go out and hurt people just to try and feel better about themselves. It is a sport full of gentlemen who love to compete at the highest level of individual competition. Nine out of ten fighters go into a fight with total humility and respect for their opponent, almost always shaking hands before the battle begins and hugging and congratulating each other at the end. It is not a sport full of brainless barbarians who just want to hurt their fellow man in a “human cock fight.” It is a sport for superior athletes who love competing in one of the purest sports known to man, a sport that truly tests one’s mind, body, and soul.

Memoriars of a Soldier

Everyone comes to a point in their life when they have to grow up. It is at this point that they realize that life is real, life is precious, and life is hard. In the early morning hours of March 13th, 2004, I had to grow up very fast. It was our first week in Tikrit, Iraq. My company, Bravo Company 1st of the 18th Infantry, had just taken over Saddam's palace as our new base of operations. We would be spending the next twelve months in the city patrolling the streets and trying to find insurgents. I was a young Private First Class at the time. I had only been in the army for about a year and a half, but had spent that time with the men of Bravo getting ready for our mission in Iraq.

Our company commander was a man named Captain John Kurth. He was a graduate of West Point, an Airborne Ranger, and a mirror image of a G.I. Joe action figure. He put us through Ranger training, preparing us and getting us ready for the war, and we were going to do everything we could to make him proud. We were a confident group of young men. We had forged the strong bonds with each other that only brothers in arms can make. We loved each other just as if we had all come from the same mother. We knew it would not be an easy year, but we were determined to do what was necessary to bring each other home alive in the end. I knew that death was possible, but as every young man who thinks he is invincible, it never crossed my mind that something could actually happen to me or to one of my brothers in my unit. In our eyes, we were the best. We would show the insurgents of Tikrit what it meant to fight a United States Army Infantryman. We were ready to bring them a fight that they would never forget. We were ready for our mission, but nothing would prepare us for the events that took place on our first weekend in the God forsaken city of Tikrit, Iraq.

Zero hundred hours on the thirteenth of March, I put my Ranger Handbook down, and laid down on my cot, exhausted from a long day out in sector. We had spent the day patrolling the streets, searching for roadside bombs and setting up traffic stops for random searches of cars. I started to take off my boots, when my platoon sergeant, Sergeant First Class Jerry Almario, came in and told me to keep my boots on and stay ready. He and I had become good friends during our training and he had taken me under his wing as his personal machine gunner because of the bond we had made. Wherever he went, I followed. One did not go on a mission without the other. Our mission this night was to be a “Quick Reaction Force” for our sister platoon out in sector. We were going to be on standby all night in case something went wrong with 3rd Platoon's night patrol. We were allowed to go to sleep, but had to stay dressed and ready to go at a moment's notice if the patrol got into trouble. I put my knee pads back on and laid down covering my eyes with a blanket. It seemed like only minutes had passed when my platoon sergeant came running into my room again screaming to wake up; 3rd platoon was under attack. I looked at my watch, it was four a.m. I rolled out of my bed, put on my helmet and vest, and grabbed my machine gun. I was out the door and in the truck within seconds. We hit the road with such speed I barely had time to load my gun. “So what's going on, 3rd can't handle a little gunfire without calling on 2nd for help?” I laughed as I asked my platoon sergeant. He turned around and looked at me with an intensity in his eyes that I had never seen. “Black six is down,” He said. Black six was the code name for Captain Kurth, our leader and one of my platoon sergeant's closest friends. I felt a lump in my throat and began to feel sick to my stomach.


3rd platoon's mission was to drive around all night and enforce the curfew the city had overnight. No one was allowed outdoors besides U.S. forces between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. At approximately 3:45 a.m. the patrol was hit by a roadside bomb. The bomb ripped into the second truck of the convoy. The trucks we used back then for patrol had no doors and no roofs. CPT Kurth was sitting in the front passenger seat of the second truck. He and the team leader sitting behind him (Specialist Jason Ford) took the direct blow from the bomb. The bomb disabled the vehicle and was the perfect distraction for the complex attack that the insurgents had planned. Ten to fifteen insurgents positioned themselves on the rooftops and in the top floor windows of the surrounding buildings and began to rain bullets down on top of the convoy.
By the time our Quick Reaction Force arrived on the scene the fight was over. 3rd Platoon suffered mass casualties. All four men in the commander's vehicle were not moving. Captain Kurth and Ford's bodies were torn to shreds. The gunner in the back of the truck had been blown about 20 yards away from the vehicle and the driver had blood coming out of his right ear. The medics on the scene did everything they could for Jason and Captain Kurth, but they succumbed to their wounds and died shortly afterwards.



The loss of our company commander and one of our most experienced team leaders would become one of the most devastating experiences of my life. From that moment on, I started to feel very vulnerable about my life. We thought we had prepared for everything Iraq could bring to us, but nothing could have prepared us for this. I did not know how to react to my friends dying such a horrible death. I was not prepared for the river of my brother's blood that flowed down the streets of Tikrit. I cried with my brothers that day. We wept for their families. Captain Kurth's son stuck out in our minds as we sat there and cried together. We thought about Ford's mother and father who did not get a chance to see their son that year for Christmas because he did not have the money to fly home from Germany on leave. We cried in anguish for the loss of our friends.


For the first time in my life I realized that I was not invincible. We all convinced ourselves that we would not make it through the next year in Iraq. I thought of all the terrible things I had done in my life and knew that God would make me answer for those things sooner rather than later. Instead of turning to Him for guidance, we accepted our fate and began to do things that we thought we would never do. We began to take more risks out in sector. When we saw a box on the side of the road and could not figure out if it was a roadside bomb or not, we would just walk right up to it and kick it aside as hard as we could, not caring what happened to us. When we got into firefights, we would stand out in the middle of the street, refusing to take cover, daring the enemy to make us meet our Maker, to let us die like our friends on that cold March morning. But it never happened. We survived. I made it back from my first tour on February 7th 2005 and realized for the first time how much God was with me the whole time I was over there. I got back to the states and re-devoted my life to Him.


In October of 2006 I went back to Iraq for a second tour of duty. I was a sergeant, a team leader of my own fire team. This time I went with a different attitude, but used the same old tactics. I knew with all of my heart that I was going to be okay. Even if I were to die or lose a limb I would trust in God and know that everything was going to be alright. I knew where I was going if I died, so again, I took the risks out in sector. But this time I took risks for a different reason. When a dangerous mission came up and it was between me going and one of my soldiers, I would volunteer for the mission. I did not want one of my friends who had not accepted God's grace to risk their lives. I shared my faith with those who would listen. Once again, I found myself not taking cover in the middle of firefights; some people thought I was crazy, others thought I was brave, yet others realized it was my faith in God and knowing where I was headed when I died that compelled me to draw the fire away from the brothers I loved. They saw my faith in action. They knew of the church back home praying for us, asking God to keep us safe. And again, after another 15 months, no one from my platoon was seriously wounded or killed. Our battalion took heavy losses, but God looked after my platoon; the brothers that I loved and prayed for and ministered to every day.

Every day that goes by, I think of all the brothers I lost in the war. Since the beginning of the war on March 20th 2003 there has been 4,245 confirmed American casualties in Iraq to date (“iCasualties: Iraq Coalition Casualty Count”). Six of those were personal friends of mine that I served with. The significance of March 13, 2004 was huge in my life. It was a day that started my life on a long journey of self-discovery and faith. I think about the transformation that took place in my life from John Kurth and Jason Ford's deaths. The book of James says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1: 2-4) I have faced many trials and many hardships in my life, but I have come out of it with maturity and a stronger faith and love for God. I often wonder and sometimes fear what God has planned for me in this life. I humbly believe He is preparing me for something special, I just hope I can take the experiences that He has given me and use them for the good of His kingdom. I hope to demonstrate the same kind of courage in my life for God that Captain Kurth and SPC Jason Ford showed for their country.

***This was an essay for my Comm1 class at O.C. The assignment was to write a memoriar of a significant moment in our life. Let me know if you see any grammar mistakes, it's not due until next Tuesday***

Born Survivor

I had to write a profile essay for my Comm I class this past week...this is what I came up with:





“Life should not be a journey with the sole intention of arriving in a well-preserved, well-kept body. Rather, you should aim to skid in sideways, body covered in scars, thoroughly worn out, used up and shouting: ‘Yahoo, what a ride!’” (Bailey) These are the words of a man named Bear Grylls-adventurer, writer, motivational speaker, T.V. star,and devoted family man. For years Bear has entertained the world with his death defying skydives, his informative survival techniques, and his habit of eating some of the vilest creatures on earth. Bear has become one of the most popular stars on the Discovery Network appearing on such shows like Oprah and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Bear has become an instant star in the last few years. When asked by Sports Magazine writer Mark Bailey how he hit the big time, Bear has this to say: "I honestly think it's 1% talent and 99% luck. The more I do these shows, the more I meet better skydivers, better climbers, better survivor guys... and I often think: ‘God, they'd be so much better at this than me.' But there’s nobody more surprised than me, apart perhaps from my wife! Life is like that; you have to grab opportunities and go for it, and I've never been scared to throw my heart and soul into things.” From growing up with his father camping and climbing, to the British Special Forces, to his popularity as a survival expert on television, Bear has always been a man who goes for his dreams and loves adventure.

Bear grew up in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight in Great Britain learning how to camp and climb from his father Sir Michael Grylls, a British Politian who first led Bear on rooftop expeditions to the top of their house when Bear was a young child (Martin). When Bear got older and graduated from school he joined the British military and passed the Special Forces selection in 1994. He served in the Special Forces for three years and learned many tactics, such as: hand to hand combat, desert and winter survival, escape and evade survival, High Altitude Low Opening parachuting, climbing, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal. He became such an expert that he eventually was made an instructor for the British Special Forces in combat survival. He participated in two tours in North Africa. In late 1996 Bear broke his back in three places when his parachute ripped partly open at 1600 feet and he hurled to the earth, landing on his parachute pack, partially crushing three vertebrae. He was medically discharged out of the Special Forces the following year. Most doctors said he would never walk again, but that did not stop Bear from setting his goals and moving forward with his dreams. It took him 18 months to rehabilitate himself back to 100%. It was at this point when Bear set his eyes on his biggest childhood dream: to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.

It took Bear over ninety days of horrific weather conditions, sleep deprivation, and limited oxygen, but Bear finally made it to the top. At only age 23 on May 26th of 1998 he was officially named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest Brit to climb to the top of Everest and make it back alive (BG). The scariest part of the expedition came when he was making his way down from his first reconnaissance climb when he found a crevasse at 19,000 feet. The ice cracked and the ground disappeared underneath him. He was knocked out in the process, but his partner saved his life by keeping a strong hold on the safety rope and pulled Bear back up to safety. Bear wrote his first book about his adventure from back surgery to the top of Everest entitled: ‘The Boy who climbed Everest.’ The book has become an inspiration to many people all over the world on overcoming great odds to fulfill their dreams.

After his successful book Bear was offered a T.V. commercial deal with the deodorant Sure for Men. The commercial featured his story of his climb of Everest and what made him really sweat out of fear. The commercial was a huge success and Bear was looked at as a natural infront of the camera. In 2003, Bear and a documentary film crew began another adventure, where Bear and the team traveled across the North Atlantic Ocean in a small inflatable boat. They traveled through several excruciating weeks of frozen air and icebergs for a documentaryto raise funds for the Prince's Trust Charity. Bear wrote his second book about his adventure entitled ‘Facing the Frozen Ocean', and was named as Sports Book of the Year. Bear was also given an honorary commission in the Royal Navy for succeeding in this thrilling adventure. (BG)

After the success of the documentary Bear was recruited by a local London TV channel to produce a reality TV series called ‘Escape to theLegion', where Bear returned to North Africa to do a simulated basic training with the French Foreign Legion. The show was an instant success and was noticed by a producer from the Discovery Channel who went to Bear and begged him to do a survival show for the cable channel. At first Bear was reluctant to take the job. He was content just being a motivational speaker and leading expeditions, but his wife told him to just try it, and see if he liked it. They did their first show (called ‘Man Vs Wild') in the Rocky Mountains. Bear and his film crew parachuted into the mountains and he began showing the camera what to do to survive. He was instantly hooked. The show went on to become the number one show on cable TV in all of America (BG).

Traveling all over the world filming in different locations, Bear has filmed over 40 episodes of ‘Man Vs Wild' to date. He has stranded himself in some of the most God forsaken places on Earth. From the Sahara Desert to the freezing temperatures of the Siberian frontier of Russia, Bear has jumped head first just for the sake of teaching viewers how to survive and for his love of the adventure. In one episode filmed in the swamp of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina hit, Bear explored the chaotic swamp teaching viewers how to make a bed above the water, find food from snakes and alligators, and even how to maneuver out of the quicksand like mud. In an episode filmed in Iceland, Bear purposely jumped inside a frozen lake to teach the viewers how to make their way out of the freezing water and quickly warm up before hypothermia could take hold. In the episode filmed inthe Sahara, Bear roamed the desert sand surviving off of scorpions to eat and finding water in the dead carcass of a camel. Bear gutted the camel and found the water stored inside the hump of the camel to drink. He even cleaned the camel out and slept inside of the carcass overnight to avoid the horrific sandstorms. “Our brain is our greatest survival tool. Survival is all about ingenuity: thinking your way around a challenge, calmly, in the heat of the moment. And big heart is then needed to keep going and to never give up.” (BG) And it takes exactly that to survive in some of the situations Bear has put himself into.

Bear's love for adventure and never give up spirit is what makes him such an interesting man. With millions of fans all over the world watching him and learning from him has made him an inspiration to so many people. “My dad always said to me that two things mattered in life. One was ‘always follow your dreams', and the other was ‘always look after your friends'. That mattered much more to him than good school reports, which never really happened anyway! I've never had a shortage of dreams. I'd need ten lifetimes to scratch the surface of what I want to do. I've always tried to follow my dreams.” (Bailey) His travels and adventures all coming to him because of his love for the outdoors and his driving determination to reach his dreams makes him a great example for everyone to learn from.

Works Cited

Bailey, Mark. “Bear Grylls-Born Survivor”. Sport Magazine. Sept 11,2008. January 28, 2009..

"Bear Grylls". January 28, 2009 .Martin, Charlotte.

"My Life In Travel: Bear Grylls". The Independent.April 17, 2004. January 28, 2009 .

Sports Fan suckin

Clay's blog got me to thinkin....

Well, it wasn't a great time to have me as your fan these past few weeks....All my teams and fighters have gotten creamed, with the exception of my dad's Colts. Randy Couture lost, Forrest lost, Silva lost, the Cowboys got creamed, the Bears played like crap and blew their chance for the playoff's, and the Bronco's got blown away...I'm worried for my Sooners....Maybe if I bet on Florida, I can jinx the Gater's into losing....

Christmas...

Well, Christmas is almost here. Christmas is a time I both hate and love. I like buying people things, and seeing people get happy because of something I've done for them, but at the same time, I really don't like people spending money on me. When my mom asks me what i want for Christmas, I usually say, oh I don't need anything. Because honestly, if i do want something, I'll just go out and get it when I get paid. People are strange to me this time of year. Most people are in a good mood and happy with the festivities of the season, but at the same time people can become very selfish as well. It's all about what I'm going to get for Christmas. I want this, and I want that. I really don't like that part of Christmas. But I do value the Christmas time with my family. I've spent two Christmas seasons away in Iraq and really didn't like it very much. The food was good, but just knowing that my family was home together and I wasn't there to join them was kind of stressful. Which is why I think I take a special value in this time of year. I know what it means to sit in a lonely tower overlooking a neighborhood with bombs going off and gunshots in the distance on Christmas eve, freezing my butt off and wondering what my family was doing at the moment. I try to remember what it was like to be alone for Christmas, and therefore try not to take this time with my family for granted.
Anywho, I get paid tomorrow, so I guess there's nothing like some last minute shopping for my friends and family to get the season started....I should really get started with that as soon as possible, huh....

Infantryman's tales: Harty's World Collides With The College World...

College is so easy. I have no idea why I ever thought it was hard. I guess I was just too young, dumb, and full of you know what to realize how easy I had it. Oh well, I'm glad that I took the chance and headed back after the army, cause really...it's so easy.

Nothin' but A's and one B on the transcript from this semester folks...But I will say this, some of my younger friends at school had a hard time with their classes this semester. I think it's just a lack of discipline on their part, but here is the advice I gave my buddy who struggled all semester with his classes.

Harty's strategy for makin that A on the final (or any test for that matter).

1. You got to study. I know it sounds simple and obvious, but I just can't believe how many of the kids that I sit around at school talkin about how they didn't study for a test, and then they are surprised that they fail it. Come on, it's not that hard. Put down the PS3 controller and pick up the professor's notes that he posted for you on blackboard and read them. They are HIS notes, stupid...the test questions are obviously going to be taken from HIS NOTES.
Personally, I try not to study the day of the test. I feel like if I try to "cram" the day of, I just get nervous and end up forgetting stuff more than remembering stuff. I personally will start studying for a test a few days prior to a test, and then stop the night before. Hey, you might be different, but it's worked so far for me. (It will come down to being relaxed during the test, which I'll mention later.)

2. Get enough sleep. "By cutting down on sleep we learn less, we develop less, we are less bright, we make worse decisions, we accomplish less, we are less productive, we are more prone to errors, and we undermine our true intellectual potential!" Dr. Piotr Wozniak.
I think the doc said enough.

3. Eat a good breakfast. "Studies have shown that adults who eat a healthy breakfast are more efficient during their workday than those who do not. Children who don’t have breakfast get sleepy at school, have a harder time paying attention, and tend to eat more junk food later in the day. Kids who do eat breakfast get higher test scores and perform better in sports." http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pdf/6128.pdf
I always eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich the morning of a test. "Peanuts and peanut butter are a good source of vitamin E, powerful antioxidant membranes that protect nerve - plus thiamine to help the brain and nervous system uses glucose for energy.” It's said to be number 3 on the top brain foods according to most doctors, right below salmon and eggs.
http://www.healthtip4you.com/content/top-10-brain-foods-children-give-children-stimulates-brain-nutrition

4. Exercise daily. I'm a huge believer in exercise. I believe that if you build your body, you will build your mind. Exercising daily will also help get rid of that pent up stress that builds up through your daily life. People who exercise daily have a lot more energy throughout the day, so you will be able to pay attention more in class. Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day as well. I find when I don't drink enough water during the day, I’ll end up with a headache from dehydration.

5. RELAX. This is the one thing that I see the most from a lot of these "kids" at my college. They wait til the last minute to try and cram the knowledge they need for a test in order to pass. They didn't pay attention in class, so they really don't know what they are trying to cram, and they get all stressed and nervous once finals come. Me, I just try and relax. Like I mentioned earlier about studying, I don't actually study the day of my big test. I study several days before the test, and the way I figure it, if I don't know it by the time the test day comes, then I'll never know it. The day of the test, it's all about relaxing. It's kind of like gettin ready for a big game or back in the army days when I'd get ready for a grappling tournament. All the training was the studying; now it's time to perform. Pull out that iPod, listen to some music, maybe upload a good movie on that iPod and just relax. It's like taking that hot chick you've always loved to look at on a date for the first time. Relax, cause if you show up all nervous and sweaty, you're just gonna look like an idiot. So put on that special movie, head to the bathroom, and relieve that pressure and show up to the big date with a clear mind; someone who is calm, cool, and collected will make a good grade on that test.

I know I'm not an expert in the ways of the college world, but hey, these are just my ideas on how to make that A on the final in Harty's world.

God's Plan?

One thing that was commented on to me several times with my last post (which yes, I deleted because I thought I was being too sissy and whiny) was the saying, "Don't worry, God has a plan." And it got me thinking...Does God really have a plan for every one specific person? I don't believe He does. I personally believe God has a will, and that will is going to get done, but the process of how that comes about, or who brings it about for him is not set in stone. Look at the examples we have in the Old Testament. God actually "regretted" making man when He decided to destroy the world with water and start over with Noah. I don't believe God had a plan back when He was doing all that creating, to just kill them all in a few thousand years. Man screwed it all up, and then God had to take action and cleanse the world.
Look at the example of Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness. God was so upset and frustrated with the Israelites, He was ready to destroy the whole nation and then start all over again with Moses. Moses is the one that talked Him out of it! I don't think that was part of a plan when He first made the promise to Abraham. Or part of a plan when He brought them out of Egypt. Imagine...I'm going to give you many decedents and then I'm going to kill them all, and then start over with one decedent again, and then go from there. Or, I'm going to get Moses to bring y'all out of Egypt, just to kill all of you, when you piss me off. No, that wasn't a plan. God's will was to fulfill the promise He made to Abraham by bringing them out of Egypt, but I believe He was kind of going with the flow of how He was going to fulfill His will. Not necessarily a specific plan for specific individuals.
Now, don't get me wrong...
Do I believe that God works in our lives? Yes, I do. But no, I don't believe that He has a specific plan for every individual person. I don't believe God made a specific "true love" for me or you. Nope, don't believe it. I believe in free will, that people find someone, fall in love and get married. But that doesn't mean that God meant you to find that person. You could of found anyone, you just happen to find that one. The only person I can think of at the top of my head in the Bible who God hooked up with a wife was Hosea. Hosea was told to go get married to a hooker named Gomer (and even then, I'm pretty sure, God just told him to find a hooker, not specifically Gomer, maybe Gomer was just the hottest one?). Anywho, this whole "plan" was for Hosea to find someone who was going to be unfaithful to him, so that God could use it as an example of how Israel was off hookin on the corner to other gods, cheating on the real God.
There might be more examples that I'm just not thinking of, and therefore, I may be totally wrong about my opinion. Maybe God does have a plan for every individual, we're just so young, dumb, and full of cum that we screw it all up, who knows. I'm sure most of the married folks would probably disagree with my opinion, and that's fine. Like I said, I'm just stating my opinion, and I'm aloud to do that, because this is my blog. Sorry if I offended anyone by my choice of words, but like I said, my blog.

FREEEEEEEDOOOOOM!!!! Day 1 as a Civilian....

Well, I am officially a civilian again. After 6 long years in the army, 27 months of that 6 years being deployed to Iraq, I am finally out. I think it's probably a lot like a person coming out of prison. Feels weird. I feel like I should probably be doing something right now, should be cleaning something or looking over my back just in case someone is trying to screw me.
Don't get me wrong, I don't regret joining the army. I feel like I've grown up a lot in these past 6 years. I know I am a better man, and an overall better person because of the hardships that I've had to endure. I am proud to have served my country. To experience war. It gives you a different look on what is really important in this life. Instead of worrying about what's on TV tonight, I'm just thankful for a real toilet and real paper, rather then cutting my t-shirt to pieces for a wipe and then have to burn my crap once everyone else gets done doin their business....Bottom line, i know what it means to have a life that sucks, and it helps me to appreciate the things that really matter. Like family and friends. I've been away from home for a long time. Missed the birth of my favorite nephew, missed a lot of him and his sister growin up. Missed birthday's and Christmas's. Missed my best friend's wedding. Missed having a real relationship because i was always busy training for war or in war.
Now that my first day as a civilian ends, i sit here a little stressed, not having the security of that paycheck on the 1st and 15th of every month, missing my buddies who i literally trusted with my life....i will admit, I'm scared....that's right folks, a good firefight doesn't scare me a bit, but becoming a failure does....I just have to remember to trust in God and know that everything will work out.
I'll end on one more note....I had a lot of things to think about on my 11 hour drive back home last night. Kept thinking, what I'm going to do now with my life? thought a lot about a girl that I've had a crush on since high school....thought about my family and all the memories I hopefully won't be missing...thought about the friends that I get to see everyday from here on out, and the friends I've made throughout my time that i will miss, but definitely see again...
A long chapter in my life has come to an end, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next chapter has in store....
Wow, this one isn't really written very well, I'm all over the place...oh well, bite me, I'm a civilian, I'll do whatever I want......

An Infantryman's Tale: A Story of Love and Hate (Part 3 of 3)

In July of 2004 we started getting orders to go to a town south of our battalion's sector called Samara. This was a city about the same size as Tikrit that our sister battalion was in charge of keeping in order. They weren't doing such a good job. I don't think it was their fault. Samara has been a breeding ground for anti-American terrorist since the beginning, and it still is to this day. Most of our missions were just overnight missions, head up there on a Friday afternoon to hit some raids that night, and then come back to Tikrit the next day. But towards the end of July we started getting warned that a possible battalion size mission was coming. We were told at some point, we would head down to Samara with everyone for a huge take over. Month after month, after month, they kept telling us: "Stay ready, we're going to Samara." But it never happened. Finally in October, we were chillin out in front of one of the big satellite t.v.'s watching CNN and there it was, the reporter was talking about Samara. She said soldiers were getting ready for one of the biggest missions since the beginning of the war (this was before they went in and took Fallujah again). We looked at the T.V. with amazement thinking, that was supposed to be us, why haven't we heard of this? Right after thinking that, my Platoon Sgt walked in and said, "Guess what boys?" We just looked at him and said all at the same time, "yeah, yeah, we're going to Samara." He looked at us with a puzzled look and said, "How did you guys know?" We just pointed at CNN and said, "Everybody knows."

We rolled up to the main base outside of the city where thousands of troops were staging for one of the biggest battles since President Bush had declared an end to combat operations. The city had gotten so bad, that our sister battalion had lost total control of the place and hadn't even done a patrol in the city in weeks. We were nervous, but excited. We had been waiting for this moment since July. We were prepared and ready to go. For about a week, the loud speakers at the mosques declared to the people of Samara that the Americans were coming and if they didn't want to be apart of the fight to get out. So, we knew that anyone left on the streets were going to be there for us. Many families left the city, abandoning their homes in hopes of surviving somewhere else while the fight was taken to their home city.

The order came down, 2nd Platoon, Bushmasters (that was my platoon) would lead the way on the north side of the city around midnight that night. The scene was set, the fight was on. We rolled into Samara from the north side. Us dismounts could hear over the loud speaker what was going on as our platoon's Bradleys led the invasion. Our Platoon Leader's brad was up front and all we heard was the gunner, picking out targets on rooftops and running through the streets with guns and RPG's. He got over 10 confirmed kills just in the first 15 minutes of battle. We made it to our checkpoint where we were to establish a foothold and our Bradley's found themselves in a firefight with the bad guys right away. We dismounted and took over a house as our own little patrol base. My machine gun team consisted of myself, as the gunner, and my team leader as my ammo bearer and spotter, we took the roof as fast as we could and joined in on the fight. The bad guys found the Bradley's and our machine gun team's fire to be overwhelming, so they took over a house across the street as their own little patrol base. The fight lasted all the way into the morning. Sometimes, it was dead quiet, other times it was total choas. Our brads took turns firing, we even called in the tank platoon to help us out with the house. But the fire kept coming and the RPG's increased.....

As the fight increased it seemed like no matter what we threw at them, no matter how big of a hole we put in the side of the house they were in, they just wouldn't die. So, we called in the air force.

And then there were none.....total body count: 15 dead terrorist in the building. One gun shot wound to one of our ammo bearers.

When it all comes down to it, I don't hate the AF. They've saved my life more times then i can remember....i just wish the higher up's making the decisions wouldn't put guys who aren't trained to be on the ground out there where they don't belong....I mean, they wouldn't put an infantryman in a fighter plane, would they? Anywho, as Ziggy said in one of the comments, we do make a good team, us infantryman and the AF fighter planes. Happy 4th of July everyone.

An Infantryman's Tale: A story of Love and Hate (Part 2 of 3)

The Army has actually come a long way since my deployment in 2004. A lot of upgrades in armor and technology has made our chances on the battlefield a little bit better against an unknown enemy. But with all the upgrades and technology there is still room for human error. With that said, I'm still pissed off that the Air Force dudes who tried to kill me. Here's the story.

It was about 2200 at night (10 pm) and I was about to hit the rack, but as i was taking off my boots and about to lay down, we get a call to gear up. We were to head up north on the main highway towards Baji. Apparently a convoy had gotten hit by an IED and they wanted us to go check it out and make sure there weren't any secondary devices (since the unit that got hit, didn't take any serious damage and decided it would be best to run away then stick around and fight). We got in our hummers and drove the 30 minute ride up on Tampa North (that's what the main highway in Iraq is called). We get there and dismount and begin to take pictures and look around for any other IED's that might be ready to hit someone dumb enough to stop and check and see if there are any IED's still there....yeah....makes sense, huh.

Anywho, we did end up finding some mortar rounds that must of been apart of the original IED that hadn't gone off during the explosion on the convoy. So, we cordoned off both sides of Tampa, until we could wrap some det cord around them and blow them up with a little plastic explosives. That night I had the fun job of gunning on the slick. We were located on the Southbound lane of Tampa. Our other two hummers were across the way blocking off the Northbound lane. I noticed some headlights moving north, coming our way on the other side of Tampa. I radioed to my wing man on the other side that it looked like a convoy was coming our way. It's pretty easy to spot a military supply convoy at night in Iraq. It looks just like 100 pairs of headlights moving down the road. It's a wonder why they get attacked all the time....anyway, my counterparts on the northbound lane start using their flashlights to try to get the convoy to stop (we didn't want them running any of our guys over or possibly running over any unexploded mortar rounds we were about to blow). They didn't stop or even slow down. They kept coming at us. So my battle buddies on the other side started flashing their headlights and flashlights. We started flashing ours as well (if you've been in country long enough, you pretty much can tell the difference between a civilian car's headlights and a military Humvee headlights. They are way different) They didn't stop. They didn't slow down.

So, the gunner in the Humvee decides he'll shoot a warning shot with his machine gun in a 90 degree angle out in the middle of the desert, so they can see the red tracers and know that their are American soldiers up ahead and they need to stop. Now, I hope I'm making myself clear. He shot out in the middle of the desert. Away from the convoy. Ok, just want to make that clear.

The convoy saw the tracers. They finally stopped. And then their first and second trucks opened up on us with a 50 cal machine gun and a 240B machine gun. Now, i have to tell you, I've been shot at with a 7.62 bullet before, it's really no big deal. I kinda duck my head a little, get behind my gun and return fire. But when that 50 cal. opened up on us. I just froze. I had 50 cal. rounds flying every which way around me. To my left, to my right, up above me, hitting the ground in front of my AMERICAN HUMVEE. I froze. My first reaction was to return fire, but i knew these were American soldiers, who apparently were new to the whole, "we're supposed to shoot the bad guys, not the good guys" part of the job.

I remember my best friend Ceven Bauer being out in the middle of the highway. He had been sent out to take pictures of the blast hole. He was totally exposed when the firing began. I remember looking straight to him. He kind of just fell to the ground, almost as if he fainted (i don't think he did, i think he just hit the ground fast). I remember seeing all of the rounds landing what seemed to me only inches away from his lifeless body. At that point I stood back up and put the gunner of the first truck in my thermal scope sights. I was a split second away from pulling the trigger on MY 240B Machine gun, when my platoon Sgt radioed over to me on our Motorola to stay down and not return fire. After what seemed like forever, we started shooting star clusters in the air (basically it's like a big firework that is so bright, it's like the sun is out for a few seconds. The convoy finally stopped shooting at us. I ran out to Ceven, totally expecting to find my friend's body filled with holes like Swiss cheese. I got over there and Ceven rolled over on his own, looks up at me, and says "Dude, help me up so we can go kick those dude's asses." So I helped him up and joined the rest of my platoon, totally giving up all points of security as we ran over to the idiots who almost took all of our lives. Come to find out they were Air Force truck drivers escorting a supply convoy to Mosul. They claimed it was our fault because "we fired first." Well, after the realized we were going to pull them out of their vehicles, they pretty much just started driving forward and left the scene of the friendly fire. We stood in front of their trucks and had a good fight with them for a good ten minutes before our LT finally got a hold of all of us joes.

Now, I can't forget about my Platoon Sgt. During the shooting, he was on the radio calling the nearest base (which was an air force base by the way) to try and relay to someone to get this convoy to stop shooting at us. He told the girl on the other end, "We're pinned down, we're pinned down". All she heard through all the shooting in the background was, "We're ten down, we're ten down." So, "we're ten down" was relayed back to our company. Needless to say by the time the LT got us all back to where we were supposed to be, 2 Apache gun ships, 4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, 4 tanks, and two fighter planes had made their way to our little one sided battle. All in all, it was kind of fun, looking back. Good fight at the end made us all feel better. Ceven wasn't dead, so that was good. All I can say, is yes, now i have a reason to hate the Air Force. My dad was Air Force for 24 years, so i never had a problem with them until that night. All i can really say, is thank God the air force doesn't spend as much time shooting as we do, because they managed to fire over 4,000 rounds at 4 humvee's and 32 men, and not hit a thing. Thank you Lord!

An Infantryman's Tale: A story of Love and Hate (Part 1 of 3)

Easter 2004 was a mess. Everywhere all over Iraq there were complex attacks on U.S. Forces. Baji was one of those places. We got the call in Tikrit at about 1800 that evening (that's 6 pm for you civi's) that the town of Baji was out of control. An ambush on a field artillery unit left many Americans dead in the streets and others were still being pinned down from sniper fire and RPG teams as the info came in. One soldier got his head blown off due to an RPG. They were still trying to get in there and reach the wounded and collect the dead. Now, i guess it should be noted that the field artillery wasn't really trained to do what they were being expected to do. "Close with and destroy the enemy" is an infantry tactic, not a F.A. tactic. So, the brigade commander decided to send in the Infantry.
It was about a 2 hour drive in our Bradley's to the center of the city where all of the action was taking place. I remember loading up in the back of the Bradley, making sure my stuff was tied down and my ammo was reachable for my machine gun and putting my night vision on my helmet. I remember being scared and I remember being pissed off. It had only been a few weeks since we had lost our commander to a huge ambush in Tikrit. I was ready to go get some payback for him, but at the same time I was nervous about losing another friend or even losing my own life. I had 2 hours to think about everything. I spent most of the time in prayer, asking God to be with everyone and bring us all back alive and well. I remember telling God that if He got me through that situation, I would promise not to waste my life, not to waste the opportunity I was asking Him for.
Then the Bradley stopped. Our Platoon Sgt came over the radio and told us the situation. The F.A. guys were able to get pulled out of the fatal hot spot. We were about to go back in. The ramp dropped and we all rushed out the back of the Brad and took cover behind a wall. An Apache Helicopter flew above us rushing into the hot zone to check it out. We heard the gun fire and the RPG's being launched toward him as he made his run down the line. We heard the gun ship return fire with hell fire missiles and heavy gun fire. Our platoon leader came up to us and told us to stay down against the wall. He was going to call in an air strike to see if that would put a dent in the enemy before we made our way in on foot. He got off the radio and told us, "2 minutes! Stay down!" Two minutes later, we heard the sound of one of the most beautiful things the military has in it's arsenal. A fighter jet was circling over and getting ready to drop one of their bombs on one of the houses the gunfire was coming from. It was like something out of a movie. It was loud, really loud. I remember the impact of the air hitting the other side of the wall we were on. I heard the Apache's go in again with there guns blazing and hell fire shooting, the still received a lot of gun fire, so the Air Force came back again. It was even louder. After the bomb dropped, everything went quiet. Our platoon leader gave us the go ahead to start walking. Again it was like something out of a movie. There were buildings on fire, rubble everywhere. We walked right in the middle of where the ambush took place with our Bradley's covering us from behind. We didn't see a soul move. We didn't hear anything stir. After a couple of hours of going through building after building we didn't find anyone alive. The Air Force had our backs that day. They got us out of a pretty heavy situation. And that's why i love the Air Force. No matter where the war is, our country needs two things. We need the Air Force to bomb the hell out of the place, and we need the Infantry to walk through it to make sure the bad guys are dead. My opinion is that we make a pretty good team...well, most of the time anyway....all except the time when they tried to kill us, but that's another story.