Here it is Thursday already!
Today we will visit the place where (close to anyway) Lawrence of Arabia was filmed.  Daharan, Saudi Arabia.  The time was August 7, 1991 to May 13 1992.  The event was the later part of Desert Storm.  General "Stormin' Norman" Schwarzkopf has left the theater, and Lt. General Pegonis has taken command.  The mission is "clean up".  This is the first time in history that we have removed our "articles of war" meaning ammo, vehicles, etc. from the battle ground and supply depots.  It was a huge undertaking of bringing everything back into the Port of Dammam, which is a neighboring city of Daharan, to be washed and packed up on Merchant Marine Ships to be brought back to the States.

I was sent there from Las Vegas to fill in somewhere.  I ended up in Lt. Gen. Pegonis' G6 (communications) Staff.  It was an interesting assignment as I was the NCO in Charge of the Command Mail/Message Center.  When I got there we had 83 units that we serviced—24 hours a day—7 days a week.  As a Sergeant First Class this was not a stretch for my abilities at all.  I was also assigned to be a "look out" in the Logistics Operation Center.  "What am I supposed to do there?" I asked.  "When you see more than two soldiers talking, wander over there and listen in.  IF they are talking about computers, sat. phones, copiers, land lines (regular telephones), let us know and we will send someone over."   Things went surprisingly well with all things considered.   That is until a late night watch and the LOC gets a report that Satellite communication with the Missile defense system  has gone down.  "SFC SAFFELL!  Call Dover Air Base and let them know we have a problem!"  So, as any NCO of quality would do, I looked up the number for Dover (back in the States) and called.  The Officer that answered was rather rude when I couldn't answer his questions.  I told him what I was told . . . not being a Communications guy, and he asked why "I" was calling him!  I told him I was ordered to call him and inform him of our situation and that was all I was doing.  I had no other information given to me, to which there was some remarkable language usage and he hung up!  Since we didn't have any attacks before the situation was resolved, I guess it worked out.

One morning I was asked if I would like to ride along on a Blackhawk Helicopter on a mission to Kuwait City Airbase for some radio replacements.  I jumped at the chance.  An interesting trip.  Some hundreds of feet above the ground, we were low enough to see the tank burrows that the Kuwait Army used.  Then the time came as we approached the Oil Fires.  From a bunch of guys on a ride in a helicopter, to dead seriousness, and a surreal experience, came on quickly as we started to weave our way through the black, belching smoke of the fires.  The helicopter blades actually did what they do in the movies and TV shows in those DRAMATIC moments of "whop, whop, whop" in a slow motion sound.  Devastation and destruction rained supreme.

What appears to be water is OIL.  The light sandy color is what all the sand is supposed to be.  I have taken a bunch of photos of this area of HELL but this is enough of a sample so you get the idea.

After arriving at our appointed place, and completing the task as hand we flew across the Kuwait bay to an Army outpost, at what used to be a University.  There were shrapnel shell holes throughout the building complex and outside stairways hanging in shreds from their holders.  War had been recent and close by.  

It was shortly after that trip that I ended up at Sick call and an IV transfusion of needed liquids.  It is HOT there in Saudi Arabia.  Drinking water. lots of it, is stressed continually.  I can only imagine what my brother and sister soldiers have been going through in Iraq and Afghanistan after we came home. I honor them with the highest regard that a person can give.  THEY are the true heroes of our society, yet the present Government (from the top - non-miliary portions) continue to try to undo their support lines, and muddy up their missions.  God help our country because our Administration is trying to destroy it through incompetence, lack of knowledge, lack of leadership, but most of all lack of HONOR!  

Back to the story. At this time, our unit was living a life of luxury in trailers with private 8x10 rooms (enough for a bed, a locker, and a chair), on a leveled out land fill on the Saudi Air Force Base.  We did have a pretty nice (and new) chow hall which reminded me of a Tennessee Pole Barn.  During our stay in the land fill, there were occasional black belching smoking fires as (I read about in the DAV Magazine just recently) that WE were burning our waste material of plastics, wastes of all kinds and configurations, etc) that lasted two or three days each time they did that.  I came back from Desert Storm with "the illness".  I do believe that was caused by the toxins exposed to.  Nothing is resolved, but the VA has a rating on my record...for all that is worth...a confirmation that it is a way of life for a lot of Desert Storm, and now Iraq and Afghanistan warriors as well.  Treat them with honor and respect.  

As I am looking back at this time of new experiences, it is so minor to what our Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, are going through now, but it was MY experiences and am honored to be part of their history.  My return home through Bangor, Maine was a highlight of my deployment, with the welcome home they gave us!  What a change from what my Brothers in Arms went through returning from VietNam in the 70's.

I may share some other challenges during my stay in Saudi Arabia perhaps in the future...we'll see.

The point of today's visit is this:  God is everywhere we are.  He is with us wherever we go, whatever we do.  Sometimes (a lot of times, in combat) we may ask: "Why me God?" or your surviving spouse may ask that same question. "Why did I have this happen to me?"   I have no answer other than to TRUST in the Lord.  He will will show you a way out of your sorrow.  Have FAITH that there IS a living God, in our hearts, IF we listen for those whispers of love and comfort.  Have the LOVE of God to share with others, as He does.  Being human isn't for sissies, any more than growing old is for sissies.  

Blessings

Gary

Time:  1991
As a career Reservist, I spent the first nine years in the US Navy.  Attained the grade of Chief Petty Officer (E7) Lithographer in less than 9 years.  LI's were in the "Miscellaneous" category along with "Musicians".  There were less than 500 of us in the whole Navy.  I enjoyed the Navy.  When President Carter took office, he cut the Navy and my job.  Still having a commitment to this AWESOME County to serve, I transferred to the Army.  Along with a lot of wonderful opportunities to serve in leadership at  from company level, brigade level and then ARCOM staff level, I learned to enjoy the Army way of life as well.  Through a home move from Minneapolis to Henderson, NV, I joined a remote Hospital Section (3) that was at the Las Vegas Army Reserve Center on Sahara Avenue.  Being in the Personnel Management area and an E-7 (Sergeant First Class), I built a Personnel Section of 14 people that did a REMARKABLE job keeping up with the constant movement of Citizen Soldiers.

With 1991 came Desert Storm.  Our Doctors, Nurses, and most Medical Techs. were activated. Most were back filling as the active folks deployed.  I wasn't one of the Section that was activated...at that time.  After sending my people off, motivated, well equipped with paperwork complete, proper uniforms, pay and insurance paperwork complete AND accurate, off they went for a six month "away from home and loved ones" journey and spread out over the West Coast from Washington State to Southern California and beyond.   To get them there, as the Section Field First Sergeant, I was responsible for "making it happen".  I had my Senior Non Commissioned Officers (NCO's) and several Lieutenants to get things in order to have our soldiers ready for their call up.  Our Section Commander (Major) gave me the opportunity to complete this project. The first morning (Monday) the staff gathered and someone suggested we have a morning devotional at the beginning our our day.  We decided that we would rotate our resources i.e. Upper Room, GuidePost, etc. and take turns before we start the daily rush to get our projects ready for the troops coming in on Thursday and deploying Sunday morning.  I arranged with a Pastor friend of mine who was an Air Force Chaplain to come and be with us on Thursday and be with us until the bus left on Sunday.  It was definitely an obligation he honored as he was also a Pastor of a local United Methodist Church (Sunday Worship).  God was with us.

Thursday came, and everything was set up to process the soldiers through the different areas that needed to be taken care of so they could activate without problems.  About nine o'clock, things were not functioning right.  I could feel stress . . . discord . . . something not right.  Then I realized we had skipped over the Senior Staff Meeting with our devotional time.  I asked the Chaplain to meet with us, and then I went to round up our staff...replacing them with one of their soldiers to continue in-processing.  When the morning time with GOD was over, the tissue box had been passed around (several times) and our morning had been grounded in God and we could finally feel His Presence in what we were doing.  It was THAT that was missing!  The lesson learned was:  Give time to meditate, communicate and LOVE GOD . . .  First Thing, before anything else happens, and your day will most likely go much smoother. The rest of the day went without a hitch.  The following Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning was without a hitch as Section 3 successfully departed for Southern California because we took time to include God in our efforts.  It was reported back to us at the home center that Sec. 3 was the BEST prepared, the BEST motivated, and the BEST in spirit of the whole Hospital!  Thank God and His wisdom and Grace.

My suggestion as learned then, is the same as now:  Take the time to talk to God and listen for His whisper.  Give Him your undivided attention and the benefit you receive will leave you breathless.  Have faith in the fact that God never closes a door unless there is another one opening up for you. That may take patience on your part.

Side note:  We did not have ONE casualty from our Section even though we DID have some that deployed in country to Desert Storm.   Praise GOD!

Good morning world.  Earlier today I was talking about Model Railroading, and how it was a relaxation therapy for me.  I also promised some photographs to show a bit about what I was talking about.  Turns out it was between 1981 — 1984 time period.  I had built several in those days.  A couple  HO gauge an N Scale (final one before moving to Las Vegas area) and even an O27 gauge Lionel layout for a good friend of mine.  So here we are.  The black hair was good up until my late 40's then started coming in white....along with the weight. ha ha

 1981 HO layout......electronics, bridge building, etc.  LEARNING CURVE!

 1984 Downtown branch line (along the 'car' part of the garage).

 1984 Craftsman coaling station...nut and bolt washer castings on EVERY board.  HO scale

 John Allen Memorial Gorge 'N' Scale layout.  Last one before moving West.

 Good friend Jim Butler (light blue shirt) observing his new Empire!  Me in the T shirt.

Control Panel for Jim's Domain.  Hand painted backdrops attached to benchwork.

It is almost Wednesday!  What a wonderful day Tuesday was.  That is what I want to talk about for now.  Have you ever noticed how some days go by real quick and others seem to drag on, and on, and on?  I got to thinking about that and it seems that those days that are jam packed and I am doing a project that I really enjoy, goes by quickly.  The ones that are taken up with Doctor appointments, dental work, or having to do something you would rather be home doing something else, seem to be the ones  that D R A G   o n   a n d   o n  forever.

I am remembering back to the time when we lived in North Minneapolis.  We had an attached two car garage and one car.  The "un-car" side was taken up with a 9'x20' model railroad.  I was a Minneapolis Metropolitan Transit Commission Bus Driver (12 years).  At that time, Pat (lovely wife of now almost 46 years) and I had three children of our own, and for quite a few years were Special Needs Foster parents licensed by Hennepin County.  At one time we had THREE - THREE year old boys!  Pat is really a Saint, being able to deal with all of that.  I helped when and if I could, but was always available if I wasn't at work.  The reason was: I was in the basement garage building my own world through the miniature world of model railroading.  All Pat needed to do was call down the stairway and up I came like the little mole in the hole popping up!

I spent hours and hours down there, laying track, building buildings, houses, and a bunch of bridges!  I learned about geology (rocks, etc) electronics, engineering (bridges) trees, electricity (theater lighting for different times of the day/night).  Those times down in the garage were long in the hours but short in the elapsed-perceived time.  Why?  Enjoyment.  Relaxation.  Personal time.  Got a lot done too!

It is when we are doing things that we enjoy, that is the GOOD Times that we remember and savor for years.  When we find something that we really like . . .  that we feel we are getting something out of. . . that is the time when we invest in ourselves to take the time to relax and de-stress.  Our lives are much to busy it seems. Perhaps for you it is listening to music.  Or perhaps to Read a book...doesn't matter what kind...paper or electronic!  (had to put that in there, given todays "high technology" thingies)  Which swings me to a short side trip.  My daughter was visiting this evening and gave me another lesson on iPad usage.  Did you know that when you open a game to play or email to check, that files on that application stays on there, taking up space until you actually press the button on the bottom twice and up pops the apps along the bottom and then you de-activate them one at a time.  I had a BUNCH floating around.  I didn't know that before, but then at 66 years old, there is still a lot I don't know about . . . yet.

For those interested, I will do some scanning and get some Model Railroad pictures to post in the next issue...for those NOT interested, I will still post a few pictures.

The point to this seems to be this:  God has given us all 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week.  Every one of us gets the same amount.  It is how we use those hourly gifts that is what is important.  We all need SOME downtime for ourselves to rejuvenate.  It is also what you decide to do with how that rejuvenation time will be used.  Mine was creative.  Others are relaxation with reading, or playing a musical instrument perhaps.  Some, it seems, choose a destructive form of rejuvenation.  Choose wisely.  Oh. . . and don't forget to tithe to God 10% of your time per week.  That would be 16.8 hours. I shared a sermon once on that theme.  Something to think about.


Blessings,
Gary

Welcome to my very FIRST "Blog".

To some, this is a normal course of events.  To people like me, it is a TOTALLY new experience and something I will be getting used to, I suppose.  Right from the beginning, I want to thank three people who have been very good friends and advisors that have encouraged me to start writing a blog.  Pastor Sara Tate has been a close friend along with her dynamic husband, Pastor Craig Tate as well as +Suzanne Ulrich who have been giving encouraging nudges and guidance along this path.

The focus of this creation will be to uplift and enlighten (to some degree, I hope) folks to know that there are regular people out here in the world that are sharing the same struggles, trials, joys and blessings that are a common thread among GOD's creation.  We don't all need to be at the very high end of the intelligence spectrum of life.  If that were true, it would be pretty lonely for those folks!  So, as I work my way through this media, you will hopefully see some improvements in how it looks, as I discover new stuff . . . see new ways to show pictures, graphics, etc.  Come across new ideas that will help me in my walk with Jesus, and share with you what I have learned. My goal will be to make it relatively short, but with a point.  I may borrow an idea (most likely) from somewhere, and then expand my take on it, but will try to focus.   Those that know me, know that is NOT an easy task. ha ha

There are a few "tweeks" that need to be resolved already with acknowledgement links, but am sure I can figure it out and will be good to go.  SO . . .  off we go on this journey of cyberspace visiting.  Who knows where we will end up . . . but the trip will be hopefully enough interesting to you to ride along and see what topic will come up next!  If at anytime, y'all think of something to share, ask about, comment on, or even if you feel the need to "straighten out" (gently..I am fragile ha ha), feel free to respond in the COMMENT section.

Come on back when you can, I will be posting on a regular basis as thoughts cross my mind.  IF that doesn't scare you, nothing will.

Blessings,
Gary