Month: July 2005

Right before our trip to Japan, we went to 2 beach parties. The first we hosted from some friends here. The second was for the junior officers on base, down at the Naval Base.
Here are the pictures from our beach party:



Here are our new neighbors, Mark and Samantha:

After we had BBQ’d and sat around for a while, we walked down the beach 200 yards to the beach bar next door. Every Friday night the offer a free fire show. It’s a mix of Polynesian and Micronesian dancing. Some of the dancers are quite young, but all are talented. 🙂

The guys have a stick with flames on both ends. The girls dance typical hula part of the time and (as you can see here) with flaming balls attached to a wire. When they spin, it’s a sight to behold.


Anna and Samantha after the show:

Another friend, Q, and I:

The next morning (also the day we left for Japan), we went to the second party. The beach is down south at the Navy Base. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, but it was still a fun time with friends.


Cassie and Keith:

After this, we came home, cleaned up and went off to the airport for the next big adventure….
–Jim

As Civil Engineers in the USAF, we are tasked with deploying to austere locations, fighting our way in, building the base and defending it. Fortunately, our primary emphasis is on building the base and not the other parts. However, to gain proficiency at the whole process, we took a few days in June to go on what’s called a bivouac. This was training time dedicated to practicing these warfighting skills.
We used blanks, and an abandoned section of the base to train at. Our opposing force was tasked with making the scenario realistic and difficult. So, we assembled at the main base, packed our gear, moved out in a convoy, established a safe perimeter built up the bivouac location, and defended it for about 3 days. No one was actually harmed in the exercise….
Here are the pictures taken by the base photographer that show the process:








Entering the training location (where we may encounter the opposing force):


Here is the opposing force…



Building up the site:






Opposition force:

Training included battlefield triage:

The opposition force plotting their next attack:



Our counter-attack:

Formation at the end of the day:


Things started to go our way when we began to capture the opposition force:


No battle is without a price:

The exercise ended with the surrender of the last opposition force.

Once finished we packed up all the gear, cleaned it and returned to the main base to return to our families. It was only a few days, but combined with the earlier training at Silver Flag, we’ve help make sure our Airmen are ready to deploy in September in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.
–Jim

Well, last night our 4th of July was capped with a fireworks display that Anna and I agreed was the best to date. The main reason for that was we shared a papasan chair and watched the fireworks through our bedroom window. 🙂 Those of you who have done the same can attest to the HUGE benefit of not fighting crowds/traffic/insects/etc to watch. Also, earlier in the night a number of people from our condo got together for a BBQ, and bonfire on the beach. We have really enjoyed the camaraderie from living in close proximity to so many other like minded people. Perhaps it’s indicative of American society today, but in our previous houses and apartments we barely knew our neighbors (even living on base), but here….we’ve found there’s a large group that fairly regularly socializes. So, this has been a refreshing change. For those of you who don’t know your neighbors, why not invite them over for dinner….we did and now we have some good friends. 🙂
Jim

In further preparation for triathlons/bike races/etc, I hopped on my new white “Bird of Prey” and met up with about 40 other people for a training ride today.
We left out of the Agana Shopping Center (the typical meeting place about a mile and a half from our house) and rode 16 miles south and 650 feet up to Cetti Bay overlook, waited for everyone to catch up, then back down the hill. There’s nothing like crouching low on your bike and speeding down the road in excess of 45 miles and hour. Quite exhilarating, and so long as you keep it steady, don’t hit any major pot holes, quite a pure form of transportation.

This was a training ride so there was a lot of talking and not too intense of a pace. However, since these are very competitive and strong athletes, I was challenged to keep up with the pack on more than one occasion. 🙂
After Cetti Bay, we went back down to sea level, then up another hill to the Naval Magazine. No, they don’t have good articles there, but rather a place to store weapons and ammunition. 🙂
Finally, we ended our 40 mile ride with another 650 foot climb up Nimitz Hill. We took the back way, so the road wasn’t too steep, but I still struggled to hold 9 miles an hour!
It’s a very humbling experience to train with those who are better/stronger/faster than you. I know it’s helping me! Ok, well, I hope it’s helping at least. We’ll see in future races…
Jim