TravelStream™ news feed for member kzecchini on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kzecchini en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:01:44 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/13/1237648320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/13/1237648320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/13/1237648320/tpod.html Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:01:44 -0400 TF-16 Honduras, C.A.

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Comayagua, Honduras

As a newly commissioned Second Lieutenant, I was assigned as Support Platoon Leader of Delta Company, 372nd Engineer Battalion under Task Force 16. My mission was to build a section of road between two remote areas in Honduras enabling the farmers and locals to travel more freely from their homes and farms into town.

Soto Cano Air Base (commonly known as Palmerola Air Base) is a joint Honduras and United States military base near Comayagua in Honduras. A large concentration of US troops and the Honduran military Air Force academy use the airbase. The airbase became operational in 1981. Oliver North once used Palmerola as a base of operations for the U.S. backed Contras in the 1980s. Now the U.S. military uses Soto Cano as a launching point for its war on drugs efforts in Central America as well as humanitarian aid missions throughout Honduras and Central America.

We were there before the formation of the US military's Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-B) which is headquartered at Soto Cano.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/12/1210854300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/12/1210854300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/12/1210854300/tpod.html Thu, 15 May 2008 08:31:10 -0400 Jamaica - Building a Jungle Road

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Kingston, Kingston, Jamaica

While it was not a glamorous mission, what the heck...we were in Jamaica. My rotation was the last of the Task Force and our mission was to clean the equipment and prepare it for transport back thru US Customs to Ohio.
We made the most of an otherwise crappy tour of duty.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/11/1210773840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/11/1210773840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/11/1210773840/tpod.html Thu, 15 May 2008 08:14:56 -0400 Viet Nam - Chu Lai Economic Zone

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Da Nang, Da Nang, Vietnam

The schools were designed to provide the students with a wonderful place to learn and grow. They feature modern conveniences, quality construction, and upgraded furnishings.
The schools have a several great features that will greatly improve the quality of life for the students, Stogner said. Each school was designed and built to U.S. standards for handicapped accessibility. "This is something new to the area and meant so much to the teachers and students. You could see the excitement on their faces when they saw their new schools." Other features include indoor restroom facilities, a kitchen area, and a place where the children can sleep during the week. "The children live at the school during the week and go home on the weekends. Now, they have a nice place to stay and quality furniture to sleep on."
Humanitarian Assistance missions are part of Pacific Command's Theater Security Cooperation Program. This construction project marked the second U.S. Army Engineer effort north of the 17th Parallel, formerly North Vietnam, since the end of the Vietnam Conflict.
This mission also marked a first for Stogner, an Active Guard Reserve engineer.
"I just came on active duty in November and this is the most fulfilling job I've ever had," he said. "I left a civilian career to be able to come here and be a part of Humanitarian Assistance missions like this. It was so rewarding to be involved with something like this and to see how much the children and community appreciated the work we did."
About 100 children will attend school at the different complexes, which are located about 30 miles apart in an area about 500 kilometers from the capital city of Hanoi. Quang Binh Province spreads along the northern part of central Vietnam and is the narrowest part of the country. This area has a population of over 810,000 people.
"The new schools were built on existing school campuses so that they can be expanded to educate more children in the future," he said.
USARPAC and the 412th Engineer Command (Forward), Hawaii take projects like this one from the beginning to end.
"We are essentially the project manager," Stogner said. USARPAC works with the host country teams to determine the requirements, needs, and site location. "We plan, design, provide quality assurance, and work with the host country to develop these projects. Once complete, we turn the projects over to the communities for their use," Stogner said.
Planning for Humanitarian Assistance missions like this one takes many months and involves coordination with various United States and foreign government agencies.
The whole process takes about 12 to 15 months, with an actual construction time of six to eight months, Stogner said. Part of that time is spent determining what services and equipment are needed at the new facility as well as soliciting for and awarding contracts for these items.
For Master Sgt. Steven Walton, mission contracting officer for the Army Contracting Agency, Pacific Region, working on Humanitarian Assistance missions is one of the highlights of his job.
"To see a project through from beginning to end and see it's affect on people is a wonderful thing," he said. "With so many things going on in the world, to be able to be a part of something so positive for others makes me very thankful to be in the Army."
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, many of the students and their parents attended the celebration. USARPAC personnel were also on hand to welcome them to their new center of learning. The school was officially dedicated March 15.
"There are two things I think I'll remember most from this mission - the faces of the children and the reaction from the community," Walton said. "Their smiles really touch your heart.
"It makes you feel good to look back at the end of a mission and know that you've helped a lot of people," he added. "It's also good to know that the work we've done helps create an atmosphere of goodwill towards the American people."
Stogner said that in addition to helping children, the experience gained through working with other cultures was an equally important lesson.
Humanitarian Assistance missions allow Army personnel to gain experience working with foreign nationals and contractors. "Through missions like this one we are able to build on relationships and foster cooperation between countries and people," he said.
These schoolhouses are the most recent examples of ongoing Humanitarian Missions in Vietnam. Prior to this, there have been eight medical facilities constructed in the Hue Province and a primary school in Dong Hoi.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/10/1204923660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/10/1204923660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/10/1204923660/tpod.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:05:57 -0500 Tikrit, Iraq - Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07

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Kirkuk, Iraq

I was assigned to the 555th Combat Support Brigade (CSB) as the Construction Chief for Multi-National Division North (MND-North) in support of the Global War on Terrorism. The "Triple Nickel" was the Engineer command and control headquarters for the 101st Airborne Division during OIF 05-07. It was a busy year!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204922220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204922220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204922220/tpod.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:39:05 -0500 Orlando, FL - Three Disney Theme Parks in three days

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Orlando, Florida, United States

We spent the first day of our vacation visiting Epcot after we spent nearly three hours listening to a time-share presentation. It wasn't worth the $50 cash that they gave us in return. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204921740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204921740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204921740/tpod.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:30:54 -0500 Orlando, FL - Three Disney Theme Parks in three days

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Orlando, Florida, United States

We spent the third and final day of our vacation at Animal Kingdom as I thought that we could see most everything there and still make our flight back to Ohio in time. I was correct! We saw almost everything in the park and still had time to spare.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204920780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204920780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/9/1204920780/tpod.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:16:28 -0500 Orlando, FL - Three Disney Theme Parks in three days

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Orlando, Florida, United States

We spent the second day of our vacation at the Magic Kingdom as this was the day when we had the most amount of time. We got there when the park opened and departed when the park closed. Smoked turkey legs kept us going.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/8/1204911600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/8/1204911600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/8/1204911600/tpod.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:44:32 -0500 San Juan, Puerto Rico - 129th NGAUS General Conference

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San Juan, Puerto Rico

Our hotel was pretty nice but the very small elevators were not fully functional and far from adequate for the large number of people who were staying in this hotel. It is close to the beach however and offers private access through the on premesis casino. I could see myself staying there again if they offered a discount rate.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/7/1204907100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/7/1204907100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/7/1204907100/tpod.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:19:48 -0500 Bagram, Afghanistan - Operation Enduring Freedom 2003

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Kabul, Afghanistan

"So we are up in the mountains at about 0100 hrs looking for a bad guy that we thought was in the area. Here are ten of us, pitch black, crystal clear night, about 25 degrees. We know there are bad guys in the area; a few shots have been fired but no big deal. We decide that we need air cover and the only thing in the area is a solo B-1 bomber. He flies around at about 20,000 feet and tells us there is nothing in the area. He then asks if we would like a low level show of force. Stupid question. Of course we tell him, yes.
The controller who is attached to the team then is heard talking to the pilot. Pilot asks if we want it subsonic or supersonic. Very stupid question. Pilot advises he is twenty miles out and stand by. The controller gets us all sitting down in a line and points out the proper location. You have to picture this. Pitch black, ten killers sitting down, dead quiet and overlooking this about 30 mile long valley. All of a sudden, way out (below our level) you see a set of four 200' white flames coming at us. The controller says, "Ah-- guys-- you might want to plug your ears". Faster than you can think a B-1, supersonic, 1000' over our heads, blasts the sound barrier and it feels like God just hit you in the head with a hammer". He then stands it straight up with 4 white trails of flame coming out and disappears."

Cost of gas for that: Probably $50,000
Hearing damage: For certain
Bunch of Taliban thinking twice about shooting at us: Priceless
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/6/1204904040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/6/1204904040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kzecchini/6/1204904040/tpod.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:38:23 -0500 Kumamoto, Japan - Yama Sakura 2001

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Kumamoto, Japan

My first trip to S.E. Asia was a memorable adventure and was the stepping stone to many other journies to the region. My experience in Japan opened many doors for me and enabled me to meet many interesting people and cultures.
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