It's Tuesday at the Mess Hall, That Must Mean...

They're serving the same crap, just a different day! LOL

Hello everyone!

Well, what an eventful week we've had.

The Talibannanas have just up and gone suicidal!

Hold on, they do that all the time anyway. Let's just say they upped the loony quotient ten-fold this time around. Remember that whatever you're reading in the papers is nothing close to what's on the ground. They are not sufficiently organized, they lack the firepower, nor do they have the ability get enough loons together to "over run" a base regardless what the NY Times says. Most of the time they end up causing us to expend several thousand dollars of small arms munitions and showing them an early release from their mortal coils and a one way ticket to hell.

Having said that, sometimes they get lucky and ram a car full of explosives into a bus full of their own people, and blow up the one or two Westerners that happen to be on it. But the damned fools will never, not ever, win going toe to toe with the brave and resourceful young men and women of the United States.

Well my idea of having a post all done up and ready for publishing fell afoul of yet another military security measure. No thumbdrives allowed. All the ports are disabled so you can't plug anything in! Seems some mellon headed Colonel left a thumbdrive lying around, a local national stole it, it ended up at a bazaar where a private bought it, and much to his surprise he found it full of unencrypted secret squirrel stuff! Surprise! What else is new...

Well friends, I'm off to the flight line to check things out and make sure we are keeping everything safe and secure! Sometimes it's just a matter of keeping ourselves from doing harm to ourselves. Remember the Soviets left this place just chock full of party favors! In some cases they have even double stacked their exploding parting gifts! Clever fellows... But my Mozambiquans are cleverer.

I miss the day to day reparte we've had over the last few years, but soon enough I'll be back again for more fun and frolic!

Remember stay vigilant, stay safe!
Best regards!
Albert

Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner, Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A RaschAlbert A Rasch So, you want to be a contractor. Handfeeding a Baby Mockingbird Clean and Repair your Ruger 10 22 Magazine

If it's Friday, it Must be Surf and Turd day!

Hello my friends!

Thanks for all the great comments, and all the well wishes! I am limited by the usual rigmarole that the Military puts out there, to wit: Bloggers are a danger to Operational Security. Well, that may be so, but Bloggers manage to get through anyway.

I am fine and dandy, but the same can't be said for those silly, hashish hopped, Talibanannas that assaulted the base a couple of nights ago. Lets just say that they took a royal ass whipping, the likes of which they haven't gotten in a while. We had a couple of casualties, and all things considered (The first IED was a doozy!) we faired well.

Well, back to the line!

(I'll have pictures ready next time I get on, now that I have this all figured out... sorta.)

Best regards,
Albert

Bag Your Limit, But Limit Your Bag!

© 2010 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
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Well my friends,

Afghanistan is still the same dirty and dusty crap heap it was when I left last time! Some things never change...

But, I think often about all of you back in the states, and fishing is right at the top of my mind.

I'm guess that many of you have either been out, or are getting ready to start hitting the water looking for some fish to peel line from your reels. I am willing to bet that lots of you are accomplished fishermen, that actually catch fish, unlike me, who spends a lot of money so that my kids can show me up! But to make my point, when you boat one, what are you going to do with it? Are you going to keep it, or release it?

I rarely keep anything I catch. It seems that when I am prepared to take something home, the fish don't cooperate. And when I have an empty and iceless cooler, the fish practically jump up on shore... Go figure.

Anyway, some folks are real good at catching fish, but not so good at releasing them, good eating fish or otherwise. On the fishing piers I see lots of undersize fish, inedible fish, and out of season fish, lying on the hot concrete, or head first in a plastic pail.

I've seen it on lakes too. Largemouth Bass on a stringer. I don't know about you, but runoff fed lakes in Florida are full of fertilizer and pesticides, are you really going to eat that bass?

Catch and release, that's my thing. Unless it's a redfish that's in the slot, or a Spanish mackerel that I can sushi slice right there, it all goes back in the drink after the fight. With the kids I am a little more lenient, they know that in the evening the fish they catch are going to be on the menu.

I'm not against anyone keeping their catch, quite the contrary, I like to see folks cleaning their catch and icing their fish. But it's the wasted fish that drives me mad.

And it makes the Game Warden of FWC mad too! In Florida we are very fortunate that the FWC patrols the piers and jetties frequently. I have personally seen them ticket plenty of folks for fishing without licenses, having undersized fish in their buckets, and my favorite, getting clobbered for about $300.00 for having a juvenile Goliath Grouper.

Before you keep that fish, think about what you are going to do with it. Don't put too many fish in the cooler or on the stringer. Think about next year and the fishing you are enjoying today!

Until next time!

Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member: Kandahar Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...

Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner, Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A RaschAlbert A Rasch So, you want to be a contractor. Handfeeding a Baby Mockingbird Clean and Repair your Ruger 10 22 Magazine

Greetings from Kuwait

© 2010 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
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Greetings from Kuwait!

Holy Smokes is it hot!

But as they say, “It's a dry heat...” Like that somehow makes it more bearable. Ok at least you don't have to chew your air before you breath, unlike some days in Florida where the air is sometimes so thick, that you can part it with a knife. But still, it's hot as the devil's own furnace.

You're reading that right. 112 degrees hot!

They are being very thorough on the in-processing this time around, and they sure do make sure that the dot the i and cross the t.

The Kuwaitis have been very solicitous and helpful, but their lackeys and servant are anything but. I'm not sure where they are from, but they are rude and surly. I guess I would be to if I was beaten regularly with a switch...

The Americans soldiers are also very friendly and helpful here at the base.

The flight in wasn't all that good. First United screwed up my boarding pass, so I had to go through security twice. Then they didn't give me the aisle seat I originally had. I managed to get that fixed. Then the service on the plane itself was poor. The food was mediocre at best. And boy is the leg room limited; I'm glad that I'm not six foot tall. After a tedious twelve and a half hour flight, we finally put down in Kuwait City, much to everyone's relief.

We cleared Customs without a hitch, and were immediately assaulted by a legion of shuttle operators wanting to take us from the airport to the base – for a price... about $50.00 and maybe your head if you pick the wrong one! Fortunately I knew that there was a free shuttle; it was just a matter of finding it, and thereby saving myself the money.

Once we reached the base, it was the usual hurry-up-and-wait so common to all things military. We are in 16 man tents, air conditioned I might add, and as comfortable as you might be at home. The food is abundant, if a little bland, and there's plenty of entertainment... If you like watching water evaporating.

I should be heading into Afghanistan in the next few days. We have some more gear that needs to be issued, and a couple more shots; and then it's back to work. I'll keep you all posted!

Stay safe!
Best regards,
Albert A Rasch
Albert Rasch in Afghanistan: She had Beautiful Green Eyes…

Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner, Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Albert A Rasch Albert “Afghanus” Rasch Albert A Rasch Scott Croner Nebraska Hunting Scott Croner Merriam's Turkey Hunting Albert A RaschAlbert A Rasch So, you want to be a contractor. Handfeeding a Baby Mockingbird Clean and Repair your Ruger 10 22 Magazine

Here I Go Again! Off to the Graveyard of Empires.

© 2010 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
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My Friends,

I should be half-way across Eastern Europe by the time you read this. After an all too short R and R, I am off to the Graveyard of Empires again.

A bloggers job is never done.

This one's a PSD gig, and once again a very safe and secure type of operation. As I am fond of saying, the statistics are in my favor. Bicycling in Sarasota, heck bicycling anywhere in Florida is far more dangerous than Afghanistan has ever been!

I am going to try real hard to blog from there more frequently this time around. I have a new Kodak M381 point and shoot, and it takes some awesome pictures. Maybe, before the end of the year I'll get the SLR I've been wanting, either a Cannon D50 or the Nikon D300.

Yesterday, Bubby and I did a walkabout behind the complex we live in. Little did I know that he had traversed this area in all directions. He took me on a two hour hike throughout the edges of the marshes and up into the drier pine and oak hammocks.

Of course we bumped into our usual pointy headed friend:

Cottonmouth junior...

And we found lots of tracks and sign:

Deer...

Greater Heron...

Raccoon...

Raccoon's repast of crawfish...

Lotsa flowers too...

Bubby scouting out tracks...

We had a pleasant time, found a couple of great branches to make a walking stick or two for Grandfather Rasch, and I was pleasantly surprised how much bushcraft he has absorbed over the years. He spotted the majority of the tracks, the cottonmouth, and suggested the paths to take to avoid either the wait-a-minute vines, or the muck in the swamps. As I said, alll in all a very enjoyable time!

So my friends until next time, remember to keep the outdoors in your heart if you're not in it!

1890s vintage 6 inch rifled cannon on Mullet Key.

Best regards, your friend,
Albert
Member: Kandahar Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...