"Diarrhea of the Keyboard"

Well, ladies and gents, it happened - I essentially missed last week in terms of making a substantive post. Oh yes, I wrote a little bit, announcing the posting of the official MARADMIN regarding Olmsted nominations (see below), but that hardly counts. Today I will make it count.

First, since I mentioned Olmsted, you should know that I am heading to the Washington, D.C. area next week for an interview, in person, with their people. This is an exciting development! Yes, it is not much of a surprise that an interview will take place; after all, that was the next logical step of the selection process. But the fact that it is going to happen so soon - wow! Of course, that is by choice. I could have waited longer to do the interview, but I had no guarantee of my availability next month (that was the other time window they offered) to make the trip, while I knew that I could be available next week to go see them. So I jumped at the chance.

My interview will be on Thursday, 20 December. I will have the opportunity to visit with Patrick and Maxine while I am in the area, which is always nice. Of course, I was going to be seeing them again quite soon, anyhow, with the upcoming pilgrimage to Nebraska for the holidays, one that, I might add, I have not been able to participate in the previous two years due to deployments in support of the Global War on Terrorism. (Or is it The Long War now? At any rate, I was in Iraq in 2005 and in the Philippines last year; I am happy to be home here with Barb and John this year and even happier to be heading back to see all the family and friends in Nebraska this holiday season!)

The Olmsted Foundation offered two ways to interview: either by phone or in person. To me, if you can make the trip and interview in person (and knowing that not everyone will be able to; some candidates are no-doubt "downrange" right now, i.e. in Iraq or someplace else taking the fight to the country's enemies), that is always preferable to taking the easy way, i.e. the phone. I think it shows more of a commitment to the program, that you want it more. Of course, it is still of vital importance to have a good interview; you can't just show up and throw your foot in your mouth and come away better than a person who maybe had a tremendous phone interview. But I digress... just wanted to let everyone know that I am heading out to DC this week to take care of business. Wish me luck! (Although when I say that to folks around here, they often say that they decline to do so, because, according to them, I don't need it. Instead, they wish me continued success. It's nice either way!)

I also wanted to write a little bit about running. Readers may find it interesting that there has been no mention of "thrashing" in this web log for a long, long time. Most of that time can be accounted to simply not making entries at all, but since I started back at this last month, there has been a different reason...as some of you already know, I have suffered this year my first real injury from running. Sure, everyone turns an ankle or tweaks a hamstring now and then in the athletic business , but those injuries are by and large of the minor type that sideline a person for a week or two, tops, most of the time. Me, on the other hand, I have been suffering from chronic Achilles tendonitis for most of this year. To this day, I still do not know what exactly caused its onset. All I know is that when I came back from the Philippines in April, running was not the same for me. My left Achilles tendon would ache in the days after I would complete a run. And the funny part about it to me was that the runs I was doing were not what I would consider to be "hard" - they were between 3 and 5 miles in length, mostly on flat terrain, maybe a few rolling hills thrown in here and there, all conducted on base here where I live. These were the types of runs only 6 months earlier I could have done two to three times in succession without being particularly spent. Now I was struggling with what was formerly so easy...what gives?

My theory now, looking back, is that it was the relatively sedate daily routine that I endured over the 5 months of deployment to the Philippines. Yes, I did some running, but not nearly as much as I had become accustomed to prior to the deployment, and I did a heck of a lot of sitting in front of a computer (unfortunately the main staple of almost all "leadership" or "management" positions nowadays, even for Marine platoon commanders, believe it or not, at least when they are assigned to a position on a staff somewhere and not in charge of taking the Marines out for daily physical training or field training evolutions), working 14-16 hour days, 7 days a week for 5 months. Then I came home and figured I could go (run) like I did before the deployment. Times were, I probably could have (about 10 years ago). But (this refrain will sound familiar to a lot of you out there, methinks...) I am not as young as I used to be, and the left Achilles may just be a weak point on me (an aptly-labelled piece of anatomy, in my opinion).

So, you're thinking, you realized something was wrong with your left leg in April...how come this is something that is still a problem? There is another part of me that I must tell you about, not related to anatomy that plays into this. It's called being stubborn. I have this trait by the bucket...ask my mother or Barb. :-) I decided that I was not going to let a bum ankle stop me, it couldn't be anything serious, and that it would work itself out. I was going to continue to run, just at a somewhat reduced rate compared to the 30 - 40 mile weeks that I was putting in before I deployed. I would heal up and be able to run then Honolulu Marathon in December, setting a new personal record. Fat chance. I struggled along with my running over the next few months, never feeling like I was doing well enough to enter in any road races or triathlons, things that I normally love to do. Finally, after a run I did in Korea on 25 August, I was so frustrated with the nagging injury and bothersome discomfort it caused that I decided to do stop running. This was a drastic step for a guy who loves to run and race. Bear in mind, I still had not sought medical attention. I did some self-therapy for the injured limb sporadically (icing it, stretching it, massage), but these things never really seemed to do much good. All I could think is that I needed to stop running to let it heal. It was a tough decision to make.

I was surprised by how easy it was to enforce the decision. I thought beforehand that I would want to go out and run and it would be hard to not do it. But the truth was that running with the injury was not very enjoyable at all and I was happy to not be forcing myself to do it. But I couldn't not do some sort of cardiovascular exercise...just think how quickly and completely my aerobic capacity would suffer! So I began to ride the exercise bicycle at the gym on a near-daily basis, building up from 30 minutes at a time to 60 minutes per session. I found that these early morning cardio sessions at the gym were a fairly good substitute for the running, at least in terms of keeping some modicum of aerobic fitness, plus they allowed me an hour each morning to read some of the periodicals and books that I have a hard time fitting into my schedule otherwise! So there was a silver lining to not being able to run - it gave me more time to do something else that I love, read!

So I continued this for several months, until finally in November I began to wonder when I would try to run again. I can't remember ever deliberately (consciously) making a decision about when I would try to start running again, but a date was set - after the Honolulu Marathon (it was on 9 December this year). Having missed the race in 2006 due to the Philippines deployment, I had been wanting to run it this year in the worst way (a large factor in why I continued to run even though it was not working for me - I had a deadline to meet!), and the injury was keeping me from doing so. So on Sunday, 9 December, consciously ignorant that the marathon was even taking place across the island, I got out my running gear, neglected for the past 3+ months, and packed it for Monday morning's run. What the heck? Why not start back at it tomorrow? I thought. It's worth a shot - see how the Achilles is doing. Maybe I can run pain-free again? I've waited a long time.

So I ran. I ran Monday, and it was good. Then I ran Wednesday. It too was good. Then Friday. It was good, with an asterisk (*). Let me explain. Monday was pain-free, all the way. I didn't run far, only a couple of miles, and only about half a mile at a time, with walk breaks in between. Aerobically, this was not challenging to me, nor should it have been. But with such a long time not running, I didn't want to overdo it on the first day back. Buoyed by Monday's successful run, I ran again Wednesday. This time, I lengthened the running portions to a little over 3/4 mile each, still walking between each one, and keeping my total run distance to only a couple of miles. No pain during or after the run. This is good. Let's try Friday: I used the same formula, lengthen the run portions a bit, walk in between. I may have gone a bit too far. After running for a bit over a mile continuously, I began to feel a twinge in my left Achilles. Not good. So I stopped running and walked for a time. Then I ran again, about half a mile. No pain. I completed the workout pain-free. Moral of the story: listed to your body.

So I am running again. I think it will be slow-going to to get back where I was (~18:00 for 3 miles), but even the longest journey starts with a single step. I have made that step - in a running shoe!

The Official Announcement - Olmsted

The much-anticipated Olmsted announcement MARADMIN is on the street! You can see it here. This is the official announcement of what I was unofficially informed of last week. As you can see, I have two weeks to respond whether I want to continue the process or not. Hmmm...I wonder what I am going to say? :-)

Welcome, December!

Ha! It's only been a week and I am back already! Now I just need to maintain the momentum going forward.


Let's start with a fun topic - John! Here are some new words he is saying:

• Lunch
• Walk
• Shoes

This little guy is such fun! He enjoys wrestling with his Dada and tickling my feet. Of course, I do my fair share (and then some!) of tickling him, too! He's quite ticklish.

Today we took him to see Santa at the local daycare center. This was his first meeting with the jolly old fellow. You can see he didn't like it much! :-(

But, by the end of our visit, he was on better terms with Santa, even saying "Santa" as he met a "friendlier" version of Old Saint Nick.

Good news on the Olmsted program front: I found out this week that I made the cut at the service (USMC) level! I have no idea how many folks submitted applications, but according to the message I got, eight of us were nominated by the Marine Corps to the Olmsted Foundation. Now we will undergo an additional screening process that will determine which of us will be allowed to undergo the outstanding language training and overseas study regimen that is so unique to this program. Traditionally, the foundation picks three of the nominated Marine candidates to become Olmsted Scholars, so wish me luck! Last week I said that a administrative message called a MARADMIN would announce the nominees and I provided a link to the web page where they are posted; last I checked, the message had not yet been posted. The MARADMIN is the "public" announcement; obviously, the message I received was in a different forum.

When I went to worship services last week, the pastor had listed in the weekly bulletin his reading list, i.e. what he is reading now. For some time, I had been considering doing something like that in this forum, too - maybe somebody out there is interested. At any rate, the pastor updates his reading list the first of each month, so I am going to emulate him. What follows is what I am currently reading. (Or listening to, as the case may be - I listen to audiobooks during my morning and evening commute, a strategy that I have found to be tremendously useful over the past 4 months of working across the island from where I live. Audiobooks are denoted with an (A) after their titles. Authors are also noted.

• Better, Atul Gawande


• The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division, Bing West and Major General Ray L. Smith


• COBRA II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq (A), Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor (Note: when I took a graduate school course at Hawaii Pacific University last summer on the Korean War, the instructor was Dr. Allan R. Millett, a retired Marine colonel and renowned military historian in his own right (see his bio here). COBRA II had recently been published and he told us that the book was "about 98% right" with regard to its subject matter, according to contacts of his, the likes of whom, in my estimation, probably would know what they are talking about. I am over 2/3 of the way through the book and I have found it to be very interesting.)

Now I must say a few words about why I am reading what I am reading. Mr. Gawande, who also wrote a book called Complications a few years ago that I read, is a surgeon who writes very well (he writes shorter pieces for The New Yorker) on medicine and being a surgeon. Each chapter is a vignette on some aspect of the aforementioned topics. I really enjoyed Complications and had Barb read it after I was done. I plan to do the same with Better when I finish it. It's not hard to understand why she would be interested in a book about medicine, since she is a registered nurse. But why me? I can't say exactly. Those who have known me for several years, including when I was attending the University of Nebraska and working at Lincoln Benefit Life / Allstate Financial Services a few years back, know that I considered various medical fields as career options at various stages of my way through my undergraduate curriculum in exercise science. I just find it interesting, that's about the best I can say. I can't rule out someday perhaps indulging in some way my interest in medicine or a related field (for instance, attending some sort of medical-type school or training), but that is for later. Plus, as I mentioned, Gawande is a heck of a writer. I would probably find anything he wrote interesting, regardless of the topic.

It may be easier, given my current profession, to explain the next two selections, as that they deal with aspects of the fight that our nation is currently engaged in out in the Middle East. Anyone who wears the uniform today should be interested in these books and books like them, if you ask me. This is our recent military history. My strategy on the topic of Operation Iraqi Freedom (or OIF, in the common parlance of the military) is bombarding myself with numerous works on the subject simultaneously / near-simultaneously. I have quite a queue of books / audiobooks lined up to replace the current OIF works when I finish with them (see below for a list), and when I get a few more of these digested, I aspire to write a review essay covering all of them. Whether or not I can make a coherent piece remains to be seen. Maybe I can find a venue that would publish it - time will tell. (Aside from self-publishing right here or on Amazon.com - that's too easy!)

I came to the study / reading topic of OIF by following the chronological thread from al-Qaeda (AQ for short) before 9/11 (I listened to Lawrence Wright's 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 last month; and in 2005, while living in the Northern Virginia area (anyone who has done that and commuted by automobile can relate to having plenty of time to crank through audiobooks) I listened to George Crile's Charlie Wilson's War, which not about AQ per se, but it is about Afghanistan in the 1980's and how the US financed and armed the mujahidin fighters against the Soviets), to the 9/11 attacks (I've also read much of The 9/11 Report - haven't been able to finish it yet) and the subsequent Afghan War (Operation Enduring Freedom, or OEF for short) detailed in Bob Woodward's Bush at War which I listened to last month as well. I've also listened to most of Tommy Franks' American Soldier, which covers the range of his long military career, but focuses mainly on his tenure as the commander of United States Central Command in the 9/11 and post-9/11 eras. Now, I am working on OIF materials. Here are the additional OIF-related materials I plan to consume as time permits:

• In the Company of Soldiers, Rick Atkinson


• The Iraq War: A Military History, Williamson Murray and Major General Robert H. Scales, Jr.
  
• With the 1st Marine Division in Iraq, 2003, LtCol Michael S. Groen, et al (the principal author, it should be noted, was my battalion commander here in Hawaii for a year)
  
• On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom, COL Gregory Fontenot, U.S. Army (Ret.), et al
  

A colleague of mine who knows I am an avid reader asked me recently, after I told him what I was reading now, why I am reading what I am. My reply was this: I think we are now far enough away from (in a chronological sense) the events of 9/11, the Afghan War that followed, and the initial invasion of Iraq to begin obtaining the real lessons of these events. I hope to be able to distill some of this out in whatever I might end up writing in response to the consumption of all these relatively new submissions on the given topics.

If you're wondering where I get my audiobooks from, see the links on the right side of the page. Audible.com is the place. I'm not making a commercial endorsement, I'm just stating fact. Their system works out great for me - I can download entire books, load them into iTunes and store them on my iPod (again, not a commercial endorsement, just the brand of my digital audio), then use a commercially purchased "mount" in my car to cradle the device while I drive and listen. Like I said, it works great for me, I couldn't be happier with the setup I'm using. I hope to use this setup, in conjunction with my daily commute for the next ~6-8 months to knock out many more books!

As a final note on reading, the above only concerns the books that I am working on. I will write another time about the periodicals that I regularly read and other means I use to obtain professional or personal reading materials. Trust me, the list and rationale there is no less lengthy than this installment!



Finally, here is a new video of John clowning around in our back yard saying a version of "Hello". He makes me laugh - I hope he does it for you, too!

Aloha,

Gary, Barb and John