Hello to everyone! As we wind down our training here in Germany, it is time to start planning for our final leg of the mission. We are heading to Kosovo soon. For all of you with soldiers in the KFOR 12 rotation here is the mailing address. Name and Rank of your Soldier KFOR 12 (insert Task Force and section here) Camp Bondsteel APO AE 09340 If any of you are planning to send a care package to a U.S. military service member serving in Kosovo, there are flat-rate boxes from the U.S. Postal Service that is 50 percent larger and delivered for $10.95 to an APO/FPO address. The Priority Mail Large Flat-Rate Box (12" x 12" x 5 ½" or 800 cubic inches) are available in Post Offices nationwide. You can pick them up at ... read more

THIS BLOG REFLECTS TRAINING ACTIVITIES ONLY… It has been absolutely crazy since I arrived here in Germany. I thought maybe that I would just be tagging along with soldiers and having the opportunity to take some pictures, catch up on my sleep and have a day or two outside of the military post so I could get a real taste of the German culture. That was a short lived thought though. I hear, “Dobie, report to the First Sergeant”. I scurred as fast as my little legs would take me. My heart was racing and I was so out of breath by the time I arrived that I had to stand outside his door until I regained my composure. “First Sergeant, reporting as ordered!” My voice was a little shaky, but I stood with confidence. “Dobie, ... read more

Well everybody I am finally done with training at Camp Atterbury! This has been an absolute blast and I am so thankful for the opportunity to train with these soldiers going to Kosovo. After Davina left for Germany I only had one last training event. It was probably my favorite because it was all about being sneaky. We would form these 6-8 person teams and practice creeping around buildings, peering around corners and quietly tip toeing around so that we would not be noticed by anyone. I always like it when I get to wear all my cool army gear, especially those oakley sunglasses that nobody can see your eyes. My boots are finally broke in so now I have no blisters, my flak jacket is real weighty and hopefully I will get used to it ... read more

It's amazing how sometimes you just stumble upon things that have impact on your life. Here we were bee-bopping around Munich, enjoying the sites and snacking on the local foods. After the bus tour we really wanted to find the building that we could see people standing at the top of a tower. Didn't know what it would be or where exactly it might be located. So just like most tourists, we walked around, necks straining to look at the rooftops in search of our desired destination. We walked along one of the back allies, nearly deserted except for a young couple quietly talking on the back stairway and a few bikes propped up along side the structure. We were clueless to what we had stumbled upon until we rounded the front of the building and ... read more

So finally after our fiasco of driving into Munich the vans unloaded and my simple instructions were, "Be back here in six hours." Sometimes I feel like protecting the soldiers from any little bad thing that could possibly happen. It must be the motherly side of me, so at times it takes everything I have to just let them go and have a good time without me. Plus, I needed to start enjoying my partial day off. The challenges of traveling in a foreign country are always lurking around each corner. How do you make the parking meters work, where did we really park, why don't they speak more english, and did I really bring soldiers to the worlds largest beer drinking festival? Oh my. Oktoberfest in Munich Germany, what a dream, what an opportunity and ... read more