What I'm Reading and What I Wish I Was Watching Vol 2

tGreetings everyone.  I'm getting ready to transition to a new location in the near future, so this will be my last post for a little while.  It's time for another addition of "What I'm Reading and What I Wish I was Watching".

Reading


The Next 100 Years - George Friedman
This is a very interesting read about the way the world will evolve over the next 100 years.  Friedman (no relation to Thomas) evaluates the world in 20 year chunks, maintaining that the events that seem pressing and urgent in the present time pale in comparison to history.  For example, the two wars we're in and the "debt crisis" are issues that will have no significant long term impact.  Even the 2008 recession, when viewed in context, is just another part of the cycle.  His long term view is that the United States is uniquely postured to be a world power that will be challenged by various actors and coalitions, but that we will mature as a country and civilization as we progress.  I didn't agree with all of his ideas, but they were very interesting.  I give this 4 out of 5 Niall Fergusons.

Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand
I'd never heard of Louis Zamperini before reading this book.  I have no idea why.  This is easily one of the top five most amazing and inspiration stories I've ever read.  The things this man went through during the course of World War II are nothing short of earth shattering.  He endures so many various situations, any one of which would be enough to kill a normal person.  Throughout the book Hillenbrand does a great job of revealing the context of the war in the Pacific and the attitudes of the US in the context of WW II.  I give this book 5 out of 5 Band of Brothers.

Revelation: A Matthew Shardlake Mystery - C.J. Sansom
This is the next book in the Shardlake series.  Since I already wrote about the series in my previous post, I'll just say that this one is probably the best yet.  Our hero has to investigate a series of grisly murders based on the Book of Revelation.  Very much in the vein of a Dan Brown DaVinci Code book, but with much more English History.  I give is 4.5 out of 5 Tudor Roses.

What I Wish I Was Watching

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Horrible Bosses
Bad Teachers
Captain America
Cowboys and Aliens
NOT The Smurfs

Until next time...

The Last Residence of the Most Hated Man in Iraq

The Front Door to the Last House of Saddam

 On December 13, 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured by US forces near his hometown of Tikrit.  He was eventually brought to Baghdad to be held while awaiting his trial.  I was able to tour the prison cell where he was held.  It was a very interesting trip, because when I was here in 2006 I drove by the place that turned out to be his prison, and was only able to see a very tightly secured building in the middle of a lake on Victory Base.  There is a single causeway that drives out to the palace, which was secured by a vehicle barrier, locked gate, and armed guards.  The guards are gone now, and the key to the lock on the fence is available to anyone who wants to see the cells.

Saddam's bed and toilet

 As you can see, the conditions were sparse.  In addition to Saddam, they held several other "high-value" prisoners, including "Chemical Ali" Hassan, who was notorious for his use of chemical weapons to kill thousand of Kurds in northern Iraq.

"Chemical Ali's" Cell

It was a very eerie place to visit.  I wasn't able to talk to anyone who was here when the detainee operations were conducted, but it was very interesting to see nonetheless.

The Road to the Prison

Not a whole lot to say about this post.  Just some interesting photos that I thought I would share.  You can see that the prison itself is rapidly deteriorating.  In a few years it will be destroyed and another remnant of Saddam Hussein will pass into history...

Promotion, Better Than Relegation!

Yesterday I was promoted to Major in the United States Air Force.  The ceremony was on Sunday, the last day of July, but the "official" day of promotion was yesterday.  The rank of Major is a milestone in the military because it represents a step up from the "company grade" ranks to the "field grade" ranks.  This is supposed to represent the increased leadership responsibilities and burden as an officer progresses through a career.

This was the third time I've been promoted in the military (the first three are pretty regularly scheduled, 2nd Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant at two years, 1st Lieutenant to Captain two years later, and Captain to Major about 6 years later), and the second time I've been promoted in a war zone.  Each time I've been promoted I've been lucky to have someone I care about perform the ceremony.

My first promotion happened the day before I left Kuwait in 2003.  Mission Accomplished had been declared in OIF, and we had no clue what kind of hornet's nest had been stirred up.  I was at the end of a 190-day deployment, which back in those days was really an anomaly.  I remember being happy to have the ceremony in front of the Airmen that I served with in Kuwait, and having my good friend Derek administer the oath.  I also remember thinking I was cool for not having my squadron commander, who was not well liked, promote me.  I've grown up a bit since then...

The second promotion of my career happened on one of the best weekends of my life, Memorial Day Weekend 2005.  I married Ashley on the 29th, and her father promoted me to Captain on the 30th.  It was very impressive to see him put on his Army Service Dress more than 10 years after he'd retired, looking like he could step right back into command.

Even though those two ceremonies were very special, I think it will be hard to top this one.  My previous boss in Korea, a 3-star general, was able to connect to our building via Video Teleconference and officiate my promotion as about 30 of my colleagues looked on, and my mom and dad watched over Skype.  What's even cooler is that when Ashley's computer died, my dad was able to connect to her on his cell phone, which usually has worse service than in the Sudan, and she could hear the remarks from my old boss coming from a conference room on the other side of the world.  It was a very special ceremony because I had the people who mattered the most there, even if they were there via Skype.  I never cease to be amazed when I think about how people dealt with separation during World War I and II, Vietnam, and even the first Gulf War.  My generation is truly lucky to not be burdened by the utter loss of communication when they are away from their loved ones.

I plan to post at least 3 more times over the next week, and then I'll go quiet for a bit because I'm moving to a new base.  Until the next time, stay safe...