This is a blog writting by my fellow Infantry brother Chung.  If you read this i hope you understand where we are coming from.

jeff

Ask them first what their job was. If they say anything other than "Special Forces, Infantry, Tanker, Artillery, Engineer, Medic or Mechanic" don't thank them, don't give them an ounce of respect or credit, pretty much just break off the conversation and leave. Granted, there are few people who don't have these jobs here that have earned their title as a combat veteran, but when you talk to anyone who was here, they'll all fucking say it was them. I'm here to dispel the ignorance, and ensure that those who deserve the respect get it while those who don't are forgotten and ignored.

There is a thing in the service called a "POG", it stands for "People other than grunts", or "piece of garbage". And it's a fucking beautiful term for a disgusting class. POGs are people who get deployed for however long, but have no idea how to fire a weapon, never do fire a weapon, bitch about things like Air Conditioning and laundry service, treat us real warriors like slime because we always appear unkempt and weary, then go home and soak up the same fucking respect that we do, having never even put their fucking armor on or left the gate. POGs are not soldiers, not by any means, and honestly every time I hear one of them talking, especially if it's to me or one of my Infantryman brothers, I have to stifle my fucking vomit long enough to continue what I was doing in an effort to ignore them. They are stupid, they are incompetent, they are good for absolutely nothing, and they don't seem to realize that they are only here to support guys like myself, and a lot of the guys on my homie's list.

You can always tell a POG from a soldier because he (or she, even worse) will have a weapon that looks like it came straight from a fucking crate, he'll have a glistening clean uniform, a clean shaven face, an ignorant, high and mighty smirk, a fresh haircut, usually a pistol or something stupid in an old school detective holster so he can feel like he's fucking general Patton. He will usually be indulging in the most luxurious services a FOB has to offer at all hours of the day since he never really has to do any work, and he will be trying to dish out justice like he owns the place since he has such a healthy working knowledge of things like a gym, a pool, the fucking milikshake stand... A POG has never even seen an Iraqi, unless the Iraqi was an interpretor rolling out of the gate with Grunts. He most certainly never seen the enemy, and knows nothing of the enemies wrath. Combat is an alien word to him, it is something he never has and never will have to experience, so the heartache, stress, the fucking murder of humanity and taxing uncertainty of what soldiers were originally created to deal with that guys like myself face on a day to day basis are things he'll only see while he's watching Black Hawk Down for the 500th time with his POG buddies over cigars talking about "man those guys are just like us". A POG has never heard a bullet that wasn't on a range going towards a target, and he never will. The last time he fired his weapon was on qualification before he deployed, and the next time he'll fire it is after redployment, he'll likely never even know what it's like to load a magazine knowing it's only purpose is to end lives. He's never been in danger, on the helicopter ride to his FOB, that was the closest, but even then he had real soldiers like Blackhawk Crews covering his ass and had to do nothing. Sometimes he hears mortars, and you can tell the POG from the Grunt because while the Grunt is not even likely to look up from his meal, the POG is leaving his weapon on the ground and bolting for some sort of cover. The POG's vehicles are always easy to identify, they have the most protection, the most advanced soldier saving technology attached to them, but they are clean, looking like they're fresh off the Dodge lot, because the POG only uses his vehicle to drive to the laundry point to save himself a walk. The POGs weapon mounts are still sporting the coat of paint originally given to them, since his weapons have never been mounted.
The Grunt will tell you as soon as the paint is scraped off anyway, since the Grunt will likely be snatched up as he limps by to help the POG mount his weapon, since he lacks any real soldiering skills or capabilities.

The POG is sometimes blessed enough to be escorted by the Infantryman, and when he is, he is highly unlikely NOT to look like a complete moron, doing what he does best. He faces his barrel directly towards the gunner, while struggling to put a magazine in the well, unsure if he's doing it right but too scared to ask, when pulling security he's not likely to look away from the Grunts surrounding him, because he has no idea what he's looking for and wouldn't know how to react if what he didn't know what he was supposed to be looking for actioned on him or his company... He falls asleep, bitches about heat, water, the comfort of vehicles, displays a mighty "bird face" (when you don't know how to respond and your face shows it) if a Grunt even asks him for the time... He is no soldier.

The POG... I could go on all day but there's no more point. Just know, Ask someone if they were a POG in the war, and you'll know whether to respect them or not. And for the record, a Grunt is an Infantryman, the guys who soak up bullets and kill people. But don't get me wrong, there are valorous POGs, there are POGs who have proven themselves more than myself or anyone I know has, but this is not the majority. For the most part, the POG is just that... a piece of garbage. Write him off as such and do the true warriors a bit of justice.

Eye on the TV

Rule never one of being sad because a family member died.  Never look at a x girlfriends myspace page to see how she is doing ^_^  Yea, i finally broke down after all this months and looked at Jordan's myspace page.  She is happy and in love, which is good for her, i'm rather her be happy than all sad.  Well...i am still a little bitter ^_^  Anyways, that made me rather sad because i do miss that girl to this day.  So what can cheer me up you say???   Well there are two things in this world that bring a smile to my face no matter what.













My children.  Only 3 months untill i see them again.  I'm counting down the days.  I'll write more later on my whole trip this past weekend.


Jeff

Current Mood: sad
Current Music: Gone Daddy Gone - Violent Femmes

My Uncle Roy finally passed today.  So ill be in VA for the next couple of days.


jeff

The kids are a year and a half now and they can say "papa" ^_^  I'm so proud of them!!!   Only three months till i see them again!!

I leave for Fort Knox on monday.  Everyone say your goodbyes!!!!


Jeff

Current Mood: full

Man shit as been nuts in my life!!!

Well, lets start with the weird shit.

Its been almost 2 months since i've last seen jordan.  Why do i still think about her all the time??  No idea really.  Do i still miss her, of course.....am i still bitter, of course!  Yesterday her grandmother and her 2 cousins came into walmart and into my lane.  I didn't realize it was the untill she said she owed a heath food store ^_^  I didn't say anything about how i was though, i probably could ahve started some shit but it wasn't worth it.  Jordan has left me a alone like i asked her (minus the one e-mail she sent that i never did read) so i figured it wasn't any point in saying something so i just pretended she was a normal customer.  Of course that brought back some feels about how she was so fucking ashamed to tell her family that she "loved" me and was "with" me.  I didn't want to get into it.  I had a dream about her last night as well (go figure) it was just a phone call dream, kind of weird.

School, well, i'm taking a  break for a bit.  Work and school is killing me and this class is hard as hell.  Plus i have to miss a couple of days for a denist appt and  my surgey (sp and dont' care!)  So yea i'll be starting up next month.

Got a new girl now....and big shocker for all of you who know me.......she is 24!!!!   LOL, thats right, the first girl i have dated who is my age since 2001!!!  LMAO, i'm such a loser.  She is really cool though, but i guess i'll just see where it takes me ^_^


GTG for now....sorry for no update ^_^


jeff

Well all my old bastards friends are 2 lazy to go to warped tour so i'm not going.  Plus in reality i was going to spend all that money just to see three bands and a fuck load of emo kids i would have wanted to kick the shit out of.


Ok, life updates
Sarah is back in town
Stef isn't talking to me (again!)
And Christi is my new future x wife


Also Gavin told me he loved me the other day while watch transformers.  I've been teaching him to count to five.  Its kind of fun.  First i used my hands and then used pen and paper to show him the numbers. 


Ah my children.  I havent' heard from katha in a while.  I sent her a e-mail a week ago (my jordan e-mail was the modvation), she read it and thanked me for it and said she was going to write me back but she hasn't.  I dont' think she is pissed at me because it wasn't a "fuck off" e-mail.  I jsut wanted to explain our break up from my point of few and how those things made me feel in that time of my life.  I really think the Katha thing is why i attached to Jordan so much.  I needed to feel that love again and i looked for it all in the wrong places.  Now my experince with Jordan wasn't wrong, it was just a eye opener.  I do miss her in some ways still, but i still want nothing to do with her, it wouldn't help my head to see her.  And as for Katha....thats just a whole different story.

Life......life is so busy and i love it!!!   Tonight was the first nigth i spent here at home in probably a week ^_^  I don't know what this work more than sleep kick is but i kind of like it.  I usually only get 4-5 hours of sleep a night and then do my school/work/grants thing.  But since the crew is in town, its gone all kind of crazy.  And i think i'm starting to realize why i never stay at home.....my mother drives me crazy ^_^ 

Anyways, how are all you doing???  My nexyt schedule trip to germany is around x-mass.  God i miss my kids.  It jsut really sucks being away from them and missing them grow up.  I've actually thought about joining the airforce after i get out of school so i can be next to my kids again, or at least a lot closer.  I wouldn't join the army, they leave 2 much and it would be pointless.   So yea.....i got to run for now, i have a lot to do today on my day off, as always ^_^


much love

jazzy

Current Music: Nirvana - School

I've always told my women that there was no other women in the world for me....expect Carmer Electra.   Well now she is single....my time as come....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


*cough*

jeff

Current Mood: tired

So yea.  There are a lot of thoughts going through my head.

I want to go back to fighting.   Why ??  I don't know.  It just seems lately all i can think about is going back to Iraq and doing my job again.  I guess its because Infantry was the only thing i was every good at.  Yea, EST is ok, but i still think i was a better infantrymen.  It also seems for the first time in a while i'm proud to be a solider again.  I really have no clue what is bringing all this on.  I'm not depressed or lonley or anything.  Hell i don't have time to be lonley anymore, which also sucks because i don't have any time to date either.  but thats ok because i dont' have anymoney ^_^  I guess fighting that war just made me feel usefull.  I also know that if i do go back i probably won't go back.  It does scare me at all though.  I'm just like "whatever".  Maybe i've been watching fight club to much.  So in that respect, i'll post some stuff i haven't done in a while ^_^


You're not your job. 
You're not how much money you have in the bank. 
You're not the car you drive. 
You're not the contents of your wallet. 
You're not your fucking khakis. 
You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.

You have to know that someday you will die.  And untill you know that, you are usless.

I say never be complete.
 I say stop being perfect.
 I say let's evolve. 
Let the chips fall where they may.

Current Mood: hungry