Category: Events

So for Thanksgiving week, I decided to share the all important American tradition of Thanksgiving with our French friends.  As such, a C-130J flew down from Ramstein for a static display of the USAF and the Officer’s Club cooked up a true feast.  I and the other Americans set up and hosted the evening.  Although it felt a little like a wedding,  from my perspective everything turned out great.  Here are a few photos from the event that were made by the base photographer.

Here’s an image of the social hour.

As a way to infuse the evening with as much Americana, we set up a video projector to show highlights of American football games.

Nate and Robin are friends and Americans who made the trip over (they live about an hour away, so it was nice they could make the trip).  As you can see, their boys are apparently big fans of the sport.

The general talking with some visiting VIPs who also came to share the celebration with us.

A view of everyone sitting down.

The general and I gave the opening remarks.

I read a bit of President Obama’s Thanksgiving Proclamation.  In French and English.  Our French friends had no idea the president makes a proclamation for Thanksgiving every year.  They seemed equally fascinated to learn a little about the history of the holiday.  For example, it was started in it’s modern form by President Lincoln in 1863.

The general saying thanks. 🙂

Some of the highlights from the email (retouching done by the guys in the photolab).  We had as much of a traditional meal as was possible.  The food was ordered and cooked by the French Officer’s Club staff, but the recipes and drinks were American.  So, it was Thanksgiving with a French twist.

One of the three whole turkeys we carved.

They were very popular.  If you look closely, you can see Dustin (one of the USAFA cadets) and the head chef all serving the turkeys.  In fact, all the USAFA cadets were a huge help setting up, clearing and cleaning up.  The night would not have been a success without them.  There were many other people who helped a ton as well (notably, Christine) and please know you have my gratitude.  Thank you all!  🙂

Well, that covers it for Thanksgiving.  Next up are images from a 2-week tour of France with the the foreign cadets and French cadre.  It was a blast, but I’ll only subject you to a handful from Reims, Paris and Normandy.

Until then…

–Jim

Hi Everyone, I know I am WAY behind in my posts, but I will just have to come back and do those a little later.  Right now, I have much more important news and photos to share … our new bundle of joy:  Alexander James Gingras.  He was born on June 12th, here in France and is absolutely perfect (in our eyes, at least).

Both Grandmas (or Mémé in French) were here for the auspicious occasion and have been an ongoing help the first week.

So, here he is:

This is an image about 5 minutes after he was born.

These next pictures are from his first day.  Mommy and Alexander HAD to match.  🙂

This is his first day in his new home.  He is dressed in a very chic  hat hand made by one of my French teachers in Washington DC, Ramata.

So, that will have to suffice for now.  Rest assured, I will be posting MANY more pictures in the coming days.

Until then…

–Jim

Recently, I had the honor of leading a promotion ceremony for an Army Lieutenant. It’s not often sister services are able to partake in these kind of ceremonies.
The order from the President authorizing the promotion was read in front of her platoon at the base post office which they run.

Then, I administered the Oath of Office, which is the oath to affirm officers of the military will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

At the conclusion of the oath, salutes were exchanged.

And the congratulatory handshake.

It’s convenient that Army rank is now affixed with Velcro, since her gold second lieutenant rank was ripped off and replaced with the silver, first lieutenant bar.

Finally, she ended with a few comments to her soldiers. The promotion from second lieutenant to first is an significant step in a military career. The new rank carries with it an increase in stature, but also an increase in responsibility and accountability.
As an Air Force Airman, it was an honor to be a part of this important ceremony for an Army Soldier.
–Jim

Hello again everyone. Things here in Iraq are still going well. In fact, this week, I had the opportunity to tag along with some Army engineers.
One difference between Air Force and Army engineers is that the Army engineers use explosives to breech doors, or in this case to bring entire buildings down. It worked out as a great joint training opportunity. The Army conducted their training and we in the Air Force provided support. I was there as an observer and to help coordinate Air Force support. The overall goal was to use a number of small charges to teach what damage different types of charges cause and to eventually completely destroy the building. It was a condemned facility that we no longer needed.
Here’s what the building looked like at the beginning (remember what it looks like here … it won’t stay this way very long).

As most male children will agree, it’s fun to watch things go boom. Here is the first of the day.

This is the damage that the explosive charge and the over-pressure caused by the explosion wreaked on the building from that first blast.

This is a perfect example of what a breaching hole looks like. The idea is to use an explosive charge only large enough to create a man-sized hole to enter through, not bring the whole building down.

Here is another charge being built.

The finished product, proudly on display and ready to be placed.

Here it is in place and the fuse being lit.

Boom.

The base videographer, Roidan, was on site to document the event as well.


This is an interview with the Engineer Company First Sergeant, who was the main force in setting up this operation.

Since it took a while to inspect the damage of each blast and place the next one, the soldiers took refuge from the heat in their vehicles.

Lighting the fuse … Ready.

Set…

Boom.

Here I am standing on the partly destroyed building.

Setting another charge.


Ready to blow again.


It’s starting to look more like a pile of rubble than a building. A few more blows and there will be nothing left.




After the day’s explosions. This is all that was left.

It was a success for everyone involved.
–Jim

Well, it was off to Silver Flag (again). If you’ve read my posts since their inception, you’ll notice my first post was also of Silver Flag. Well, I had the pleasure of returning to refresh my training, this time in Europe instead of Asia. Of course, Silver Flag was in addition to going to a training exercise called Eagle Flag last December, which was remarkably similar. The idea of both of these programs is to train us to be ready to deploy into a base and get it ready for operation. Since it looks like I will deploy to Southwest Asia (Iraq) this summer, it’s certainly worthwhile training.
We spent the first week living in tents and listening to academic lectures during the day and working on developing a beddown plan. This meant that the hours were rather long, but at least the tents we stayed in were rather comfortable.

Although most of our meals were out of a bag (Meals Ready to Eat), we did have a nice dining tent.

Here’s the attorney of the class, Christopher. Don’t worry though, he’s actually a very nice guy. 🙂

After our week in the class, we headed out to the field for a three and a half day field training exercise, where we put the skills learned to use. The training tested every career field that was there, although the following pictures only show a few.
Here is one of the utilities Airmen filling up one of the deployable water tanks.

Normally, these are used as a water tank for fire fighting, but in this case, one of the cadre running the exercise was moving to another base and his peers decided he needed a dunk before he left.

Also, our Airmen practiced identifying chemical contamination. Not to worry though, it was simulated and very good training for them.

There were a number of scenarios that required our fire fighters to respond.



Once we finished our exercise, we all came back to the academic training site.

As you can see, by the end of the graduation ceremony, everyone was rather tired (including me). So, after we finished and recognized our outstanding performers, we got back on a bus and headed home for a well earned rest.

That concludes my European Silver Flag experience.
–Jim

The recurring theme that everyone shared with us before we arrived in Germany (at least from those who lived here previously) was that the Christmas season was amazing.
This post is dedicated to the three amazing Christmas Markets (Weinachtmarkt in German) we went to this year: Aachen, Trier and Dudeldorf.
Here are the images from Aachen:

Here’s Anna with our friend, Erin in the background. Both she and another friend, Liz joined us for the day of shopping. Actually, Liz drove, so I guess we accompanied her. Thanks Liz! 🙂

Making Belgian waffles (fitting since Belgium is just a stones throw away from Aachen).


Seems that police officers all over the world enjoy a hot cup of Starbucks coffee.


These are from the Dudeldorf Market.


This is a very typical bakery we popped into for a little warmth and some breakfast.

This gate is also has the historical significance as a quasi-landmark of WWII. As Gen Patton’s tanks rolled in, they got caught in this gate. The tanks gouged large grooves into the gate. If you look closely, you can still see them.

Here are the images from the Trier Christmas Market. It was the prettiest of the three. Of course, that may also be because it was night.



Here are our friends Jose and Diana.


Anna and Margaret are enjoying a Christmas delicacy. A sort of dumpling with vanilla and fruit sauce. It was very yummy.


So, those are just a few to give you all a taste of the incredible markets.
Until the next adventure (or trip). 🙂
–Jim