Life During War Time : Sheila Vemmer

Army Times writer Gina Cavallaro and I met Freddie last year in Quantico. Freddie, a Belgian Malinois, was partnered with another (human) agent. Last week they were in Michigan working on a case when Freddie was fatally shot by the suspect. Freddie saved his partner's life.

I saw a whole bunch of soldiers posing with the puffy white tire dude, but not one of them wanted their photo to be on an Army Times blog. I bet they are somewhere out there in Facebook-land, though...

Saw this on the Metro on the line that delivers everyone to the Washington Convention Center for the AUSA expo. (Whomever sponsored it doesn't want taxpayers spending $7.2 billion for an alternate engine for the JSF.)

Saw this at the Modern Day Marine expo at Quantico. Took me a moment to realize it meant "No penicillin."

Noel Koch, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Office of Transition Policy and Care Coordination, speaks on a panel at a conference titled "Coping with Unseen Injuries: From the Battlefield to the Homefront," on Sept. 16. Koch said that there are several things that the Army does well - Power Point presentations ... storyboards ... conferences - but caring for their wounded (the way the Marine Corps does) may not be at the top of that list.

When Scutro and I arrived on the Cardigan Bay, a Royal Fleet Auxilary Ship in the North Arabian Gulf, I noticed this man in his shorts way up top...I asked the ship's XO what might have been going on, and he said "Oh, he was probably bronzing. You folks call it tanning." Turns out the Brits get a couple of chances a day to tan their hides.

Scutro and I had lunch on board the Cardigan Bay, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary amphibious assault vessel, in transit to the Al Basrah Oil Terminal. Not bad at all, although it would have been nicer if the bar was open. Plus I learned that it was OK to eat pickles and mustard with just about anything.

Game night on ABOT. Two Southern Oil Company workers play ping pong. Other favorites include dominoes and bean bag toss.

Saw this gentleman at the airport in Djibouti. I think it was Astroturf, but who knows...his dashboard could be covered in real grass.