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Published: July 24th 2005
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TajMaHooch
Scout team 3 hiding from the rain under our high class hooch. 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 really squared away to me. Although I heard some negative things about their regular units, I worked with their Recon guys; and they were top notch. Nothing bad could be said of their hospitality to be sure. They took great care us us down under. I can't wait to go back sometime to see the "civilized" side of Aussie land.
Here's some pictures of the exercise.
Talisman Saber Photos Back Home When I left for kangeroo country, Jaeden was tentitively taking a few steps from one piece of furniture to the next. Now that I'm back, she's doing 4 miles
a day on the eliptical trainer. I can't believe how bold my little walker has become. She's charges ahead while I quake with fear when she walks on the sidewalk or asphalt. She's trucking around as I write.
The other thing Jaeden loves now is the pool. We have this massive blow up pool that take about four days to inflate. Jaeden loves it. She runs around and splashes in the water. She like it so much that we bought a $7 plastic pool from Walmart that is more her size (no assemble required).
Spreading the Gospel Laura and I have been very frustrated as we try to get plugged into a Christian community up here. We really miss Fair Oaks and the friends that we had there. On the positive side, our neighbors are Christians, and we are going to be starting a couples group with them. Laura is already meeting weekly with the wife as accountibility partners.
Also exciting, while I was in Australia and shortly afterwards, I had the opportunity to share the good news of Christ's love with some of the non-Christians in my platoon. Please pray for the guys I work with
and for me to be bold yet gentle. Please also pray that Laura and I would become close friends with some strong Christian couples.
Ranger School A blessing and a curse. I have the coveted priveledge of attending a two month school during which I will sleep one to four hours per night and eat one meal per day. I'll walk over two hundred miles through swamps and mountains with a 65-90 pound ruck sack (backpack). During this time I will be expected to perform complex mental and physical tasks and lead other men in doing the same. Should be a blast.
Seriously though, Ranger school is a great opportunity, but it comes at a high price. I'll have to be away from my family for a couple of months again. Please be in prayer for Laura and Jaeden while I'm away; and pray that I perform in a way that would honor God and that I don't get hurt. If I get hurt, they'll recycle me and I'll be there a lot longer. After Ranger school, I think that I'll probably start working on going to OCS. Though I'm not sure if God wants me to stay
Hey Don't Look At Me!!!
Jaeden covers up... sort of with this unit and go to Iraq with them. There is a very fruitful mission field with the soldiers there now. Please pray that God would give us wisdom when I get back. For now, just pray us through Ranger school. Looks like I'll be going in September and October.
Mom Visits My mom is up from Colorado visiting her grandbaby, and I'm on leave till Aug. 1. We are having a great time. We drove down to Portage to see Byron Glacier. The hike was short but really rocky. I'm suprised no one twisted an ankle. I hiked up to an ice cave that had broken off the glacier, but I didn't go right up to he glacier itself.
We also hiked up Flattop Mountain and got a great view of Anchorage. The real treat was Denali (Mount McKinley). Denali is about 140 miles from Flattop mountain, but we could still see it. It's that big. It is so beautiful! I took some pictures (about 20) but they just don't do the view justice. I just kept looking back, I think I'm hooked. It's amazing that God created all this beauty for us - so that we
could better understand His majesty.
Jeep I've been doing some off roading with my Jeep lately. That Jeep can really tear up some dirt. I was even hauling loads of sand bags (HEAVY) off road in the woods. I was knocking down little trees and everything till one snapped back and knock off my driver's side mirror. Luckily it just popped back on and away I went. I did finally get it stuck - behind a gate! I took my mom
geocaching up Arctic Valley and forgot they lock the gate at 10 pm. It's hard to remember since the sun is still high in the sky at 10, so we got locked inside the park. We were going to walk two miles home till we ran into some high school kids on a date that were obviously looking for a secluded spot to watch the submarine races. We hitched a ride back with them, and I had to come back this morning at 5 am so they wouldn't tow my car. The MP that opened the gate looked at me like I was an idiot. Oh well, he's probably right. :-)
It's been so long since
the last blog that I'm sure I left some stuff out, but oh well. I hope this blog finds you happy and healthy.
The Erskine Family
Interesting Alaska Fact #6: What is the tallest mountain on Earth?
If you said Everest, you're wrong. Everest is actually shorter than Denali (it has a smaller vertical gain), but it sits on higher ground. While Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, Denali is the tallest.
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