The 250 foot Jump Towers

Goodbye and welcome back

Hey guys Just a real qick update on my whereabouts and whats going on here. I am now back at home, my military home that is, in Ft. Benning getting inprocessed for Airborne school. It is so good to be back here. I really did hate Ft. Gordon. I hated the place but loved the people. I had to say goodbye to alot of friends that I made. It was harder than I had expected it to be. I really got close to so many people, much closer than I have ever gotten to anybody before. Civilian life and Military life are so completely different and the relationships you form are on a different level. Luckily, I still have Zupo, Miranda, Heidelberger, and Dixon here so its not like Im completely alone but I did have to leave a few good ones behind. Thompson was probably the hardest to say goodbye to. We have gotten real close over the past 5 months and I am going to miss her tons. Hopefully our leave times match up and we can hang out (she lives in SE Michigan. Shes a Michigan fan but I forgave her of her sins a long time ago) Alex, the civilian that reminds me of my sister, came over to say goodbye at 0700 yesterday morning before my bus left. She is an amazing person who is strong and firm about her beliefs and she is going to be missed. We had a lot of good long chats about stuff going on in our lives and it will be something I hope to continue in the future (coffee will probably be the medium as it usually is with me) Mitchell is still in class at Gordon and he was a member of the gang that I talk to all the time, eat all meals with and spend all the weekends with. Hopefully he can convince his soon-to-be wife to release him for our Vegas trip in Dec. If not, we will just have to kidnap him. Woo left last week and seeing how he was my roommate and battle from basic it was especially tough. He is home in Cali now and having a good time so Im glad for him. He is also on the list for the Vegas trip so the reunion will be complete. We also left a whole company of friends and aquaintances at Gordon. Yesterday morning at 0445 formation, I must of shook hands and hugged 50 people, most of them people I went to basic with also. Overall, a rough past week so please excuse the lateness of this post.

I guess an explanation is due for the 80's night pictures below. Last Saturday night, we went to a party with Alex but not before raiding the Goodwill store for some horendous clothes I think we suceeded. I was going for a Don Johnson look but it looks like it collidided with a Blues Brother. Miranda went as a 80's rocker and pulled it off magnificantly. Thompson looks like Punky Brewster but totally 80's all the way. We spent the night horribly dancing to horrible 80's music and laughing at each other. The great thing about 80's music is that you ca dance as pathetic and stupid as you want to and its ok because thats how they did it back then. I was pulling out all the classics, The Running Man, The Robot (which I am stellar at by the way) and I even broke out The Sprinkler follwed by a Moonwalk. Almost brought down the house.

So now I am at Ft. Benning and, whodathunkit, its hot and humid. God hates Georgia. I dont think Ill ever come back to this state after I leave unless they station me here. I really didnt plan this whole Airborne/RIP thing out. Something tells me its going to be a lot of sweating and stinky laundry for the next 7 weeks. Oh well, build a bridge and get over the river full of tears.

Alright guys, I think its time to start running so I dont fail my PT test Monday morning. I guess if you fail it, you automatically get dropped from the school so there wont be too much partying this weekend for us. Its Zupos birthday today so we are going to go out and celebrate that tonight but the rest of the weekend will be spent hydrating and running a few miles to get the legs warmed up. Wish me luck and enjoy your AC, Ft. Ohio.

Your newest Airborne student,
Frank

All dressed up for 80's night

The Headbanging continued...

Ok Ok I know I said I would finish this post some time ago but just imagine how the suspense building up will make this post worth it. I got a lot to cover because the past few weeks have been quite busy so grab your favorite beverage (Diet Coke for 75% of my family) and a comfy chair, sit back and enjoy.

I re-read the previous post and I think I left off at the Atlantic Ocean on the 4th of July. We preatty much spent the whole afternoon in the sun and trying to do as little as possible. Appartently I did the least because I fell asleep on my stomach and woke up to the smell of my back and shoulders sizzeling. I just wouldnt be a Warnock if I didnt go to the beach and get burnt. Oh well, I knew I would be peeling later so at least all the pain wouldnt be for nothing. (In case you didnt know, I am OCD about peeling...anything. Labels, skin, stickers, paint, wallpaper, everything that can be peeled will be peeled by me) We met up with some of Zupo's friends and ran into Thompson and Zawacki from Delta Co. so we took Thompson into the ocean, seeing that it was her first time in any ocean which was blatenly obvious when she took the first wave face first. We had to teach her to put her back to the wave and kinda jump into it. I think I had more fun picking her up after a wave washed her away than actually swimming myself. It was just plain funny, like watching a toddler walk for the first time. Anyways, the ocean rocked but we werent about to stay there all day. We went back to Thompson and zawacki's hotel to shower and get ready for fireworks in downtown Savannah. Made it downtown just in time for the finalle which is really the only cool part anyways. We dropped Thompson off at Outbacks so she could have dinner with her friends and then proceeded to this bar that Miranda has been saying we had to go to ever since we decided on going to Savannah. The band he toured with before the Army played a show at this bar and he was really impressed with it. To the rest of us, one bar is as good the next one so we headed for the Jinx. We got there and after getting our drinks, we found out a band was playing that night. Im in Savannah and have been to a few bars in this state where every live music act has been some redneck in a cowboy hat, boots and belt buckle butchering country musics worst songs. I expected more of the same that night so I started to pull out my iPod when the band came on. I pushed play and they did the same. A: I couldnt hear my iPod. B: It wasnt country. C: It was loud, fast, angry.....and not counrty! Do my ears decieve me? Did I find a hard rock show in the middle of the bible belt and home to the jacked up 4x4 pick up truck with a 12" lift and rebel flag in the back window? Why yes I did! Lucky for me, Miranda was there to headbang and enjoy the music because Zupo was going thru culture shock. I wish I could of taken a picture of his face when the started playing. "Why is it so loud? I cant understand what they are saying. They are just screaming. You actually like this stuff, Warnock?" haha priceless. Sweet, sweet revenge for all the counrty bars he has taken me to. I made sure he knew that and derived great pleasure watching him at the bar with that blank look on his face. I know that look all too well cause it was the same look I gave him at the last 3 bars. Well the first band played the last song and pulled up someone from the crowd to sing. He rocked and put on a better show then the whole band combined. Turned out he was the next band on so Miranda and I decided to stay and watch this guys band play. We released Zupo and Mitchell to leave and save their eardrums. It wasnt really their scene but it was right up me and Mirandas alley. The next band, A Girl, A Gun, A Ghost, got on and proceeded to blow my mind. I dont think I have had a better time at a concert or seen a better preformance out of a local band before. I was rocking as hard with those 25 people as I do with 5000 in a major show. We started the most pit, screamed with the lead singer and completly forgot I was in the Army untill I was headbanging so hard my dog tags almost came flying off my neck. Needless to say, an hour later we were spent. We rounded up Zupo and Mitchell and headed back to Thompsons hotel for another night on the floor cause we hadnt gotten a hotel room of our own yet. (Again, we guys only concern ourselves with the cooler and its safety) I awoke to a pain in my back and neck that a Advil quickly cured and we headed back for Zupos sisters to relax and watch tv, shower and be around non-military folks which i thourghly enjoyed. Its like I live in 2 worlds now. Military and cilivian. Its like I get to be two different people that share the same mindset. So after much channel surfing and long cat naps on the couch, we got ready for a house party at a friend of Zupos. It was just a lame garage party, typical of 20 somethings, and we all retired early so we could wake up early to head back to Ft. Gordon. We got back to Ft. 2 hours early and had time to shower shave and get ready for recall formation. Overall a weekend that I will never forget. It may be the last time I get to spend with these guys before we all scatter across the country.

Next up: Capstone. 4 days in the field (actually a parking lot with tents) and more sweating than actually learning. 98 degrees and full humidty will make you sweat a few pounds off. Really a great diet plan the army got going if you ask me. I thought it was a large waste of time and resources due to the poor planning. All we did was stand outside in formation with full battle rattle and do nothing. The only exciting part was the pinning ceremony on the last day when we got our signal crest to put on our class A uniforms. There was a lot of big wigs and saluting (my battalion commander, brigade commander who is a full bird conolel, and many majors and command sargeant majors) who all shook hands with each and everyone of us, 85 total, and made me feel real proud to be MOSQ (Military Occupational Speciality Qualified) and done with AIT. Just one more chapter done in my military career but it in no way means I am done training. I will go to my unit, after Airborne and RIP, and continue to train on equipment and combat skills. The training never stops. I really want to be the top dog in my MOS so that everyone comes to me with their questions and problems. I want to be the guy fixing the Sargeant Majors computer when it goes down or the radio guy for the commander when Iraq or Afghanistan comes. I want to be THAT guy.

Ok Mom said I should put this in my blog so you all would know and I am a little proud of it myself so its time to brag a bit. I graduated with the highest grade in my class, a 97%. I graduate with honors and its something I pushed myself to do. I was tired of just skating by like i did in high school and most of college. I am going to prove to everyone including myself the type of person I am and want to be.

Yesterday I went through the graduation ceremony. Dont worry mom, you didnt miss anything. we walked across the stage and got our "diplomas" whick was nothing more than a rolled up piece of paper with a ribbon tied around it. Why is it that when ever you walk to get a diploma they never actually give it to you? Its always just a fake and they end up mailing the real one or give it to you when you leave. Kinda cheapens the whole experience if you ask me.

I have been getting a few requests for more details on the girl I mentioned in earlier posts. I am sad to say that I have to leave her behind when I leave and it just wouldnt be fair to either of us to continue a relationship long distance. Long Distance relationships never work if you ask me because they are too hard to maintain. It puts tons of stress on both people and its just something I, and definately her, dont need at this time. Plus there were a few issues that were too big to work around. First of all, she is 18 and too young in my opinion to be tied down to a traveling Army guy. She needs someone who can be with her all the time and show her how a proper relationship is susposed to happen. Second, she is pregnant (not mine Mom. Someone in the office please pick my mother off the floor and help her to her chair. She will need a Diet Coke IV immediately to revive her) from her previous relationship and I am in no position to help raise a child now. I just cant be the person she needs right now. We both agreed on it (she took a little longer to see it my way though) and have gone our seperate ways. I still talk to her and will see her again this weekend to say goodbye. If there is one thing I hate about the Army, its how hard it is to have a relationship. Got to take the bad with the good, I guess.

This week is going to be especially hard on me. I have to say goodbye to many friends as they scatter across the country to their various duty stations. Some of these guys I have known since basic and some I met at AIT but either way I have spent everyday with, eating every meal together and sharing every gripe and complaint with. Woo, our little Korean, who was in my platoon in basic, leaves tomorrow. We have shared the same room for the past 6+ months. Wow I dont even want to think about it. Thompson, Mitchell, Alex. There are many more that would be just to hard to list. Please pray for them just as you do for me. We are all doing the same thing, fighting the same fight. Anytime to think of me, put them in the same sentence. I came up with a quote that I think fits well in this situation. "We are all different in the same way."

Well I think that does it for me for this update. I got some outprocessing (yeah!) to finish up so yall take care and I will be home shortly.

Much love from the newest Signal Soldier
Frank
We

Sunburns and headbanging

Hello everybody. I trust everybody had a good Fourth of July. This holiday has really taken on a new meaning for me and my friends now. We are proud to serve this great counrty but even we need a break every so often. So that is exactly what we did this weekend. We took a well needed rest and went on a mini road trip to the ocean. We put the Army, the sergeants, the 3AM wake ups and the drama behind for a few days and decided to be regular 20somethings. Here is a recount of my weekend (a day early at that too!)

Well we werent able to sign out for our weekend untill 0800 Thursday morning even though every other company in the battallion was able to leave after class Wed night. Oh well, sucks to be in Bravo but Im sure you all already know that. Anyways, after we signed out, I rounded up my friends and got ready to go. After we found the last rental car available in a 100 mile radius, which was an adventure in itself, we cranked the radio and pointed the car south towards the beach. 2 hours and numerous fights over radio stations later, we found ourself on the welcome mat of Zupos sisters place. (ed. note: The friends in this trip include Zupo, Miranda and Mitchell and Zupo grew up in the greater Savannah area) We said hello, threw some laundry in the washer and headed out for McDonalds with her and her kid. You guys might be like "why did you get McDs when you could of had a good sit down meal?" Simple. We havent had Big Macs and Double Quarter Pounders in 6+ months and it sounded good. Real good. Plus they had a ball pit for the kid to play in. You cant really find that in your normal Applebees or Bob Evans. Anyways, after the chow, we headed back to the apartment to shower and get ready for the night. Zupos sister lives about 25 minutes away from Savannah which is right on the ocean. So we went into the city and had ourselves a good old time. It is such a beautiful southern city. Cobblestone streets and old stone steps so steep and narrow that you know they have been there since the Civil War. Of course, Mitchell and broken leg was having one hellava ttime trying to crutch it all. Haha it was so funny to watch him crutch those cobblestones and the stairs were a joke. I felt bad for him so when we had to do the steep steps, I picked him up on my shoulders and carried him to the top. A: it saved us a good 10 min waiting for him to make it to the top and B: it really impresses the ladies. I look strong and like a good friends and he get the pity for the cast. Oh we were working that one all night. So we have a good night out on the town and retire to a friends hotel room. Zupo jumped in the bed with Thompson and Gillian before anyone else could call it, Miranda and I shared some floor and Mitchell slept in the back seat of the car. After Zupo had a good night sleep and us three felt worse than we did before we fell asleep. We made Zupo feel bad enough to buy us breakfast (Burger King, we were on the fast food world tour) so that worked out. The whole reason for the trip was to get some beach time so we pointed the car in the direction of the salt water smell and put the pedal to the metal, but seeing how we were driving a Kia Optima that ment that we got up to a blistering 55 mph. Didnt really matter how fast we were going because there was a wreck on the bridge that took 45 minutes to get around and then another hour to find a place to park close enough to the beach so that crutch boy wouldnt have that far to go. It was near impossible to find a spot. 4th of July on the beach in 98 degree weather. Whodathunkit? Eventually, we took a spot right on the beach from someone who was leaving. We had to fight an old lady for it but we got it. She was a tough old broad, trying to threaten us, waving here walker at us but we just pulled out the crutches. We had a cripple standoff for a few minutes just like in the old west. A tumbleweed/Spiderman beachball rolled by. But alas, I digress. The beach. The sun. The ATLANTIC OCEAN! The last time I say the ocean was on my senior trip to Myrtle Beach back in '03 and it was about the same for Miranda so me and him put down our bags and headed straight for the water. Oh it was glorious. Warm and salty. Oh yeah I forgot about the salt the first time I dove under water and got a mouthful and eyeful of saltwater. Ah the memories came rushing back of summers in Myrtle with the family as I was coughing up half the Atlantic. After about 15 minutes in the water, miranda and I went on a mission to get some towels to lay on because we were guys who forgot to bring any. The only thimg we were concerned with bringing was the cooler. We were going to go ina hotel and grab some from the pool but that Army integrity got the best of us and we bought some. We got 3 green and blue ones and a preatty pink and purple one for Zupo. Oh it was funny watching him try to be all manly laying out on that thing.

Ok well my phone is about to die so I got to post this before I lose it all. I will continue where I left off when I get back on post and can plug my phone in.

The Korean Kidnapping Adventure

Ah a day late for the normal Monday post. Rest assured, faithful readers, there is a good explanation. Number 1: Mom doesnt work untill Tuesday anyways therefore she wuld not of been able to read it till today. Number 2: I got little sleep over the weekend and even less sleep Sunday night/Monday morning. Number 3: OK well there isnt a really good third reason, I just plain forgot. With all the stuff going on here, it just slipped my mind. But here I am, ready to light my thumbs on fire for a blazing recount of these past two weeks. So sit back, grab a Diet Coke Mom, and be prepared to be entertained.

Well lets start with the most recent first. Monday was just one of those days. I fell asleep Sunday night around 1100 not expecting to get up till 430 for Monday morning PT. As it turned out, our sergeants had other plans. I awoke to SGT McCollough crashing into our room, screaming to wake up. Actually, he kicked Zupos bed and told us to get up and outside in 5 min. I thought it was our PT wake up call, so I checked my watch to see how long I could "snooze" for but what do my blurry, sleep dust crusted eyes see? 0256 in bright blue from my watch. What the heck? We had to clear the barracks and form up on the basketball court so that the drug dogs could go through. I was ticked beyond words and Im sure the dogs were too because they didnt look too happy to be up at that forsaken hour either. We stood out on the court for an hour and 15 minutes so they could find nothing because who would be stupid enough to bring their drugs back to the barracks? We went back inside and I about fell asleep in the 30 minutes we had inbetween PT. I ended up shamming out of PT to do laundry detail. Much better choice because I already got chow before PT got back. Went to sleep for about an hour before they cleared the barracks because the fire marshall came through. Another hour or so and then they cleared it again because no one wanted to pass out the clean laundry. By that time, I was up for the rest of the day. I can only fall asleep so many times in one day. I swear, if I get more than 5 hours of continous sleep, I feel like its my birthday. We got back from class Monday night at around 1100 and they woke us up this morning to do 0445 PT again for some reason. Normally, third shift does PT at 0800 so we can get a little sleep but that is thrown out the window now too apparently. Oh well, 2 tears in a bucket. Deal with it and move on.

On a lighter note, there was a bit of harmless hazing that happened Sunday night that is too funny not to be mentioned. Dont worry, nobody got whipped with a pillowcase of doorknobs or anything like that so those with a weak heart, feel free to read on. A little back story is required though. My friends have a mini war going on with "The Black Council" durning chow. My friends being me, Zupo, and Woo and the council consists of Swoope, Sailor and Embry, all Guys from Benning so we are all cool with each other. Durning chow, we mess with each other bacuase we usually sit with our respective groups. If we pass their table while waiting in line, we will knock over their napkin despenser or sugar bottle, steal their salt and pepper, knock over their empty glasses. If we are done with our meals and pass their table on the way to turn in our trays, we will put our glasses or plates on their trays. Dont think its just us doing it. They started the napkin thing, we just expanded on it and made it better. Ok back story complete. Sunday night apparently, the council decided to get some revenge. Maybe it was because I left my plate and glasses on Swoopes tray, leaving me to turn in a tray of siverware. So their we are Sunday night, Woo passed out, Zupo just got done on the phone and I was texting some people. Next thing I know, Woo is in the air, being carried out the door. They kidnapped our Korean! They made it about halfway to the bathroom (for what was sure to be a swirly) before Zupo darted out of the door and grabbed an ankle. We wrestle for Woo about a minute and spend the next ten laughing uncontrollably on the floor. Here is the council, looking like a gas station robbery team gone wrong. Dressed in dark clothes, Sailor has a t shirt over his mouth and leaving a slit just big enough to see out of inbetweeb his hat and the Macgyvered bandana. Swoope is using a bath towel to cover his face. Just the mort riduclous thing you ever saw. Heres how they did it. Sailor unscrewed the hallway light so we wouldnt see the light when the opened the door, slowly opened the door and tiptoed over to Woos bed without being seen by me and Zupo and grabbed Woo right out of his bed. If they would of knocked out him out so he didnt struggle, we would of never known. I would be sitting here telling you of a ransom note. After we got done laughing about it, Embry goes to me and says "that'll teach you not to mess with us at chow" I about died. Good thing PT in the morning was a run day because I could not of done any sit ups. my abs hurt so much from laughing. Needless to say they spent the next 30 kidnapping various other Benning Boys whille we followed with our cell phones, capturing all the action on camera. We actually got Moreno to the bathroom but he went spread eagle on the stall so a swirly was near impossible. Good times at Bravo Company 369.

I have 2 classes left untill I leave for the Fourth of July weekend and as soon as I get back, I leave for 4 days of Capstone and I will be graduated! Signal Suport System Specialist MOS 25U qualified. I feel like I have been in class forever and it would never end but I am seeing the light at the end of this very long TRADOC tunnel.

Well hope this post finds you well and hopefully I should be back in Ohio sometime around Sept/Oct for about a month. Two weeks for HRAP (hometown recruiting assaintance program) and then two weeks just for me to do whatever I want. I wont know what to do with myself haha.

Your Almost Qualified Soldier
Frank