Howdy Ya'll, Not much to report here. Life is not boring but it wouldn't make a good story. I thought you would all enjoy some pics of life in Iraq. Pray for all the guys here. Several of us will be helping out with the weekly chapel services, and I've been doing periodic bible studies with the guys. Pray that God will plant some seeds in the hearts of these men and protect them physically as well. Thank you to every one who has sent me mail. It's such a treat to get. It's like Christmas. I miss you all very [View Full Entry]

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Greeting From the Sandbox, Our battalion has arrived in Iraq about two weeks ago. At first things were pretty slow, but the last several days have been very busy. It’s good to be busy though. The company that my Scout team is working for is using us right, and I feel like we are going to be able to make a difference in their area of operation. We are mostly working to keep our company informed and safe. That type of mission brings with it a certain amount of satisfaction. The scouts were billeted in 30 man tents temporarily at first, [View Full Entry]

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Dear Everybody, Some of you may have gotten this on email already. I had not yet sterilized this website. I had to take all last names, unit information, etc. off so that I could use it. I will use this website to keep you all updated. So if you post comments, please don't post last names From the email: I’m in Kuwait right now on my way to Iraq. Laura is still in Alaska with Jaeden and Selah. Please pray for us. Pray for my safe return to my family. Pray that the Holy Spirit will comfort Laura and the girls [View Full Entry]

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As promised, I'll catch you all up on all the "old news" from the last six months. Most of which will, I sure, be a big bore; but I'll attach a bunch of fun pictures to make the browsing worth your time. Summer & Fall The rest of the summer after my mom visited consisted of lots of hiking, geocaching, and grilling out. There is nothing like Alaska in the summer. During this time, I completed some training and earned my "Expert Infantryman's Badge" I started my OCS packet in September after waiting the obligitory 6 months after arriving at your [View Full Entry]

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Wow! It's been a long time since I have posted anything on this travel blog. Please excuse our silence. I'll post again soon to bring you all up to speed on the last several months and post some picture so stay tuned, but more importantly, Selah Ryan Erskine made her dramatic enterance on April 6, 2006 at 1754 (5:54pm for you civilians). She was 6 weeks premature, weighed 5 pounds 14 ounces, and was 19 inches long. That's the news in brief. For those of you who want the full story, read on. By the way, everyone is havin a hard [View Full Entry]

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Austrailia G'day Mates! I'm back from a walkabout Down Under. Every two years the US and Australian militaries get together for a joint training exercise called Operation Talisman Saber. My unit was deployed for two weeks to support that operation and to train with the Aussies. I spent most of my time there in the bush, which was pretty. It reminded me a the flat dry scrub land of Texas. There were some mountains, but we flew over those in Blackhawk helocopters instead of walking. Thank God! I saw some kangeroos, which act remarkably like deer. The Aussie soldiers seem rea [View Full Entry]

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June 13, 2005 - Sunrise 4:24 am - Sunset 11:37 pm - High 70 F The past week or two has been pretty eventful. It started out with a "fun jump"/picnic. My whole company jumped from C130's (that's a medium sized cargo plane) and landed on the drop zone where the wives, children, and soldiers who couldn't jump had set up a picnic. It was a pretty fun day. The mosquitos were again quite impressive. I saw a small child carried away and drained like a raisen. Best of all, no one got hurt on the jump. I may not have [View Full Entry]

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May 26, 2005 - Sunrise 4:43am - Sunset 11:09pm - Actual Dark Hours 12:45am-3:30am Today is our third anniversery, and we celebrated last weekend by going to Seward for the weekend. I can't tell you how beautiful this state is. Some of you asked me to see more pictures of the landscape up here, and I will not disappoint. Highlights Before we get to Seward, lets hit the highlights of the last couple of weeks. First, I completed my combatives course and tied for third place in the honor graduate tournament. My body hurt for the next week. Then, I [View Full Entry]

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I've spent this week learning modern Army combatives (ie hand to hand combat). It's really great stuff based on Brazilian Ju Jit Su (the art of fighting in a telephone booth). It's all wrestling, chokes, and arm bars. I'm really enjoying the training, and I'm really good at it. I wrestled about fifty guys today and only lost once. The downside is I wrestled about FIFTY guys today! I am beat up and sore and have a nice black eye to show for my troubles. Tomorrow we have to try to shoot in on the instructors while they pound us with [View Full Entry]

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Laura finally got up here with Jaeden right before Easter. We were separated for about two week, but it was hard because we didn't know how long we would be separated. Now that she's up here things are GREAT! We found a church through my company XO (executive officer). We've already met a few families in the neighborhood that we hang out with. I bought an old Jeep Cherokee with big tires and a two inch lift. The movers finally brought the last of our stuff on yesterday. Last but certainly not least, Jaeden is starting to say a few words [View Full Entry]

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