Marines Arrive In Liberia To Gather Blankets For Syrian Rebels

MONROVIA, Liberia — About 100 Marines with Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response Africa have arrived in Monrovia to join the fight against the Ebola virus ahead of Army troops who will arrive later this month.

Dubbed Operation Firewater, their mission will be to gather blankets, pillows, and bed pans to provide interim resupply to Syrian rebels currently embroiled in combat operations with ISIS forces throughout their region of conflict, according to Pentagon spokesman Gen. Jeffery Amherst.

The Pentagon wants to continue sending humanitarian aid to the rebels in the hope they will soon be capable of routing the self-proclaimed Islamic State in conjunction with ongoing airstrikes. 

Simultaneously, American troops will support Liberian health care efforts by providing logistical support in removing infected materials and by constructing new medical facilities.

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Hydrate or die

Are you drinking the right amount of water per day?

And no, I don't mean the water content in your Teddy Brewski's either.

There are many reasons why it is important to drink water, especially if you are dieting:

• Initial weight loss is largely due to loss of water, and you need to drink an adequate amount of water in order to avoid dehydration.
• The process of burning calories requires an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently; dehydration slows down the fat-burning process.
• Burning calories creates toxins (think of the exhaust coming out of your car), and water plays a vital role in flushing them out of your body.
• Dehydration causes a reduction in blood volume; a reduction in blood volume causes a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles; and a reduction in the supply of oxygen to your muscles can make you feel tired.
• Water helps maintain muscle tone by assisting muscles in their ability to contract, and it lubricates your joints. Proper hydration can help reduce muscle and joint soreness when exercising.
• A healthy (weight loss) diet includes a good amount of fiber. But while fiber is normally helpful to your digestive system, without adequate fluids it can cause constipation instead of helping to eliminate it.
• Drinking water with a meal may make you feel full sooner and therefore satisfied eating less. Note, however, that drinking water alone may not have this effect. In order to feel satiated (not hungry), our bodies need bulk, calories and nutrients.

You know that feeling you get right about 2:30 pm when you've been at work all day and you think to yourself "Shit I'm tired today"? Proper water intake will cure you of that.

Get to it !

Art

Along with building or creating things with my hands, I can also draw with them. I'm an artist of sorts you could say.

This is an old one I whipped out in about 3 hours with charcoal and a shading cone. It was one of the first ones I did in a portrait project series for college. Yes I went to school for higher education in the Arts, but like everything else in my life, I do things for so long and then I'm on to something else looking for what's out there that gives me that feeling of "new and neat". Graphic Design and Photoshop wasn't all it was cracked up to be, I found out. I ended up finishing school in criminal justice and then found out that it wasn't for me either as I don't really have the want to for infringing on people's rights and harassing them for bullshit to keep revenue rolling in for the city or county. What I do now for a living is wayyyyyyyyyyy off from what I went to school for. Funny how life plays out at times.

I have no idea who this man is. He could be anybody. We were tasked to do a facial portrait of anyone. I found this picture in a magazine and set out to recreate it. My sig has been removed because I'd like to keep my credit score where it currently is. I don't draw much anymore besides with map colors or crayons for keeping the kiddos entertained. Coloring books are still fairly cheap so I buy a shit ton of them to keep the markers and ink off my damn furniture. It helps a little. God, I sound like my old Acadian Pepaw... "You kids betta keep dat damn doe shut, or you gon' mess arown' and run up my light bill Sha!"

True Story Thursday

 I don't share much personal stuff often, so here's a little tid-bit.

Individual : Me, standing by the M936 Medium Wrecker. My truck ran like a scalded red-assed ape. When it comes to Wrecker Operation, I was pretty damn good at it. I had a knack for it. Whether it was looking at a vehicle to tell you how many snatch blocks it'll take to yank it out of a hole or if it was diagnosing the problem with the vehicle so I could fix it and not have to tow it, I knew the job well. Only the top 10 percent of Marines, those who are the best in their military specialties, ever get to attend the WTI training. I got asked to participate twice. I really enjoyed it. 

Was nominated for a NAM but not awarded, for saving a Marine's life who had a heat stroke while hauling 9000 gallons of JP5 on a tandem tow LVS Trailer. I was his A-Driver at the time. Dude passes out as we are going down the highway in a rolling jet fuel bomb, through a damn intersection, into traffic. PUCKER FACTOR LEVEL 1000. All I could think of as were approaching the intersection is "hey, I know I'm pushing the imaginary passenger side brake but we ain't stopping!!" Right at that moment is when I looked over at him and he was passed smooth out, limp and slumped over against the door. The only thing that saved both of us from something bad was me jumping over the dog house in the cab to pull the Johnny Arm and flip the Jake Brake on. We stopped dead still in the middle of a high traffic intersection and I'm pretty sure when I got out of the cab I had to shake the leg on my coveralls to make sure I didn't shit myself. Thank God for baffles in fuel cons. I yanked him out of the cab, fireman carried him over to the ditch out of traffic, then hopped into the truck to get it out of the intersection safely, then whipped out a 5 gallon Jerrycan of water to begin cooling off my downed Marine podna. I stripped him down to his Skivvies in broad day light and poured water on him and forced him to drink a bit to to keep him hydrated as we waited for the ambulance to show up to haul his ass off to the hospital. Because of my swift and precise actions, he was saved and suffered minimal brain damage from his heat injury. That was one of the most scariest experiences of my life. When it's time to react, precious seconds cannot be wasted. You're welcome Dewayne, I hope you're doing well these days old friend.

The thought of this crossed my mind if we were to get hit:

Death by fire is not the way I want to go out...

Location : WTI (Weapons and Tactics Instructor) course at MCAS Yuma, somewhere off in the YPG.

Mission: The course consists of part classroom instruction combined with a rigorous flight curriculum and is intended to build communication between pilots and troops on the ground, so when they are performing a variety of real-world missions, such as transporting troops, providing close-air support, evacuating non-combatants and performing humanitarian assistance and disaster recovery efforts, they will work together smoothly and efficiently. Yes, I am still proficient in calling for fire via plane, mortar, or howitzer.

During the training, students are taught about a variety of weapons and how they are used, tactics and how best to utilize them together with other Marine aviation units, as well as command and control systems.

Semper Fi.

Good times.

Belton, Texas school district closes campuses for 21 days as a precaution

(KCEN News) -- Belton ISD will be closing three campuses in the district this morning as a precautionary measure.

This comes in light of the fact that two students who attend North Belton Middle School and Sparta Elementary were on the same Frontier Airlines Flight #1143 from Cleveland to Dallas as the latest Ebola patient Amber Vinson.

The school's superintendent Dr. Susan Kincannon released a statement late Wednesday night saying North Belton Middle School, Sparta Elementary and Belton Early Childhood School will be closed so the campuses could be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. The buses that serve those school will also be cleaned and disinfected.  Belton Early Childhood School will be closed because some pre-kindergarten students transfer through Sparta Elementary at the beginning and end of the school day. 

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Holy shit, people with some common sense finally showed up... 

Make a hole people, brain power coming through.

Parents Receive Letters from Belton ISD about Students who Flew on Frontier Flight

(KCEN) -- A letter went home to parents from two Belton schools on Wednesday saying a student was aboard the Frontier Airlines flight that was carrying Ebola-victim Amber Vinson.

The letter read, "This afternoon we were made aware that one of our students traveled on Frontier Airlines Flight #1143 from Cleveland to Dallas on Monday and attended classes on Tuesday and Wednesday."

A letter was sent home to parents of North Belton Middle School and Sparta Elementary saying that a student from each of the schools was on the Frontier Airlines flight.

It was confirmed on Wednesday that Amber Vinson was diagnosed with the Ebola Virus.

According to the CDC and Frontier Airlines, the passenger did not show any symptoms during the flight.

The students who traveled on the flight are not showing any symptoms but is being monitored by the Bell County Health Department of State Health Services. Because of this, the school says that there is no imminent risk to the rest of the children. 

Bell County Judge Jon Burrows, Dr. Susan Kincannon and Bell Co. Epidemiologist Lacey Sanders will answer questions in a press conference set for 6:30 p.m on Wednesday.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking all 132 passengers from Frontier flight 1143, which landed at 8:16 p.m. CT Monday after a flight from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth, to call the CDC at 800-232-4636.

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