Kelly Smith Weblog Aficionado: Just a guy vs. Life

Early Handover It seems that the sovereignty of the Iraqui people has been handed over to them early. Regardless of what anyone says, I think that this was done to make sure that the insurgents could not stage a coordinated large-scale attack on that day in order to take away from the proceedings. Of course, I don't think that this symbolism will do anything to deter the insurgency. We have Al Quaeda, Ansar al Islam, the Fedayeen, Saddam Loyalists, Al Sadr's followers and many other foreign fighters who have crossed the border out of neighboring countries solely to inflict damage upon coalition U.S. Forces. I see us being in the Middle East for a very long time. I am not sure how well established the so-called Iraqi defense forces will be if we were to leave. I don't think that this symbolism will do anything to deter the scheduled beheadings either.

Father's Day Weekend... Despite being TDY, I was still able to see my wife and kids over Father's Day weekend. Because my Fraternity Brother was getting married in Columbus, Ohio, I flew to Cincinnati where Renee and the kids met me. We stayed the night and went on to Columbus in the morning. It was so wonderful to wake up and hear the boys arguing over the TV, and Alexandra fussing over her Finding Nemo toys. You just don't know how much I miss them. Though I talk to Renee and the kids a few times per day, it had been almost a month since I had laid eyes on them. Some of the ordinarily subtle changes in Alex's behavior and growth were blatantly obvious when I saw her. I can really see a lot of myself in her, and she is starting to get so tall. Robbie seemed to have grown a bit as well, the difference in height between him and his older brother are becoming less and less....much to Devon's chagrine. We ended up eating a Father's Day brunch at th...

Happy Birthday U.S. Army Today is the 229th birthday of the United States Army. Happy birthday to all of us, and good luck to all of our Soldiers who are in harms way. Not to forget, today is Flag Day as well, did you fly your flag today?

Ronald Reagan is dead... Last night I was enjoying a great day off from our rigorous training calendar when I saw the newscast that told of President Reagan's passing. Immediately I was bothered by it, and I wasn't sure why. Of course I think that any person's passing should be observed with respect, it seemed like I felt his death on a personal level. Of course, I am a registered Democrat, and an ideological and political moderate. I did like Reagan's stance on the military, though. After I thought about it, I realized that I literally grew up with Ronald Reagan in the White house. I vaguely remember some of my father's complaint's about Jimmy Carter. I also vaguely remember the remarks that people used to make about him being a "peanut farmer." But, I became more aware of the world around me, and world events when Reagan was in office. He is the first President that I can remember observing. I can remember being in 3rd or 4th grade wh...