Juliet Drop Zone

There is a little patch of land approximately 100KM north of Venice where you can regularly find people jumping out of perfectly good airplanes by the hundreds.  Juliet Drop Zone (DZ) is where the 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team conducts its airborne insertion training.  A common misconception is that being a Paratrooper is so much fun because you get to conduct parachute jumps on the Army's dime.  Well...like a lot of other things that would otherwise be a good time, the Army has a tendency to remove the fun aspect.  The fact that static-line parachuting involves an often painful opening shock caused by jumping out of the side door of an aircraft traveling at 130+ knots combined with the inevitable ground contact creates a situation that pretty much guarantees some level of pain and discomfort.  That being said, there is no greater deterrent to world tyranny than highly trained Paratroopers that can deploy, insert, organize, and fight under the cover of darkness.  Bottom line - within 18 hours of an enemy country initiating a severe hostile action, an entire brigade or even division of lawn darts can be raining down on them, which can be rather unpleasant for the enemy.

Although gravity does most of the work, it takes quite a bit of training and proficiency to execute large unit airborne operations with follow on combat missions.  I recorded this video and pictures from the DZ on 15JAN while fulfilling the role of Drop Zone Safety Officer (DZSO).  On this particular jump we dropped about 500 Paratroopers during hours of daylight and darkness.  The DZSO is responsible for setting up the DZ and coordinating all of the ground operations to include medical coverage, parachute recovery, and communicating weather and conditions to the Air Force pilots. 

The orange VS-17 panels on the ground are arranged in a "code letter" that points along the azimuth of flight for the aircraft.  This lets the pilot know that he is dropping on the correct DZ along the correct direction of flight.  The final confirmation occurs as the aircraft is approximately 2KM from the lead edge of the DZ (1 min before green light) when the DZSO gives the wind readings and transmits "clear to drop" to the pilot.  

It is not the nice soft landing that occurs in movies or while skydiving with steerable parachutes.  Thanks to the new T-11 parachutes we now fall at 18ft/sec instead of the extremely painful 22 ft/sec that came with the previous T-10D model. 

What am I complaining about though?  Despite all the agony, pain, and suffering associated with an airborne operation we are well compensated to the tune of $150 extra per month.  I'm pretty sure that's only about $23 more than what it was 55 years ago so maybe that just makes us stupid.  Don't go spending it all on some fancy record player...

Check out the rest of the pics HERE.

Dino Excavation!

One of the biggest hits for Christmas this year was a Smithsonian T-Rex excavation kit (thank you, Grandpa Marty and Grandma Bobbey!).  Right out of the box it is a pretty cool plaster/stone cast that you chip away with the supplied Paleontologist tools to reveal dinosaur bones that are ultimately assembled into a full skeleton.   But if Liam really wants to be a Paleontologist he needs to realize that prehistoric fossils are not simply pulled out of boxes found under Christmas trees...you gotta get dirty and dig for them.  On 27 DEC, we got some perfect dinosaur digging weather so I (Zeke here) buried the bones in the backyard and sent Liam out exploring to find the excavation site.  Of course we didn't send him out in the wild alone and unprepared; he had a full day's supply of water, MREs, and his hard hat.  I also gave him the technological advantage that we enjoy so much in combat - the ability to see into the invisible spectrum of light (specifically thermal and IR), a device acquired from hypothetical unsanctioned activities in distant lands.  So, armed with the same vision capabilities as the Predator (from the 1987 classic film) , Liam began his hunt.

He scanned the yard vigorously from different vantage points in order to locate the distinct heat signature that is only given from  miniature Tyrannosaur bones.  Once located, he used his specially engineered fossil rake and shovel to unearth this beast.

**Admin note -- I realize that the item he dug up in the yard looks like a package of uncut heroin; however, the aluminum foil was necessary for the thermal effect.  We are in no way involved in the opium game.**

After the initial retrieval and clearing of the site, we moved indoors and set up our workstation (and yes, Liam took his pants off. He has been in a no-pants kind of mood lately. Whatever.).  We chipped and dusted, chiseled and cleaned, until all the bones were revealed and assembled into a perfect little T-Rex skeleton!  Not only was it fun-filled educational experience; we were later contacted by the real Smithsonian Museum because it turns out that the skeleton Liam discovered was actual size.  The Westminster Kennel Club has also been beating down our door.  Something about genetically engineering the newest fad in pet breeds.

Liam is now fully convinced there are other dinosaur skeletons in our backyard. Namely, a velociraptor is rumored to be hanging around somewhere.  Be sure to check out the rest of the pics HERE.

Buone Feste e Buon Natale!

Liam is one lucky guy. He has experienced a few all-American Christmases (creepy department store Santa sittings and all); he has marveled at the splendors of the Deutschalnd Weihnachten (minus the Glühwein... Mommy didn't want to share); and now, he can check "Rock the Buon Natale in Italia" off his Bucket List.

The overseas curse did strike again, as we are awaiting at least one more batch of presents for Liam, but this Christmas was spectacular. According to Zeke and me, the best Christmas ever, hands down. We are all peaceful, happy, content, and blessed. And together! Having our family nestled under one roof is a beautiful, rare treat for us, given the pace of the past 7+ years.

So what happened this Christmas? We caused some trouble at a book exchange/cookie decorating party hosted by our friends, the Kovics. We also continued with our tradition of making pasta from scratch on Christmas Eve. I prepped the pasta dough, Zeke and I rolled it out, and Zeke used the sheets to make an amazing lasagna and a crazy good batch of tortellini. I *tried* to help make the tortellini, but ultimately, I was best at the task of folding it and then passing it to Zeke to do the twisty magic. The most amazing part of it all? No cursing. No sweating. No crying. Just quick and easy, pasta-making brilliance. For those of you tracking our pasta history (and that Fruit Barton incident), you know how violent our scratch cooking can quickly turn. But since moving to Italy, every single culinary attempt has been absolute poetry -- and Christmas was no different.

Christmas morning opened with presents and breakfast, followed by an afternoon and evening with the Khalils, some of our dear friends with whom we have established another tradition: sharing food and fun on Christmas.

Liam didn't wake until close to 0930, and when he did, he had completely forgotten about Christmas, little tiny baby Jesus, Santa, presents... everything. He went straight to the kitchen for his daily bowl of oatmeal. We managed to capture on video the surprise and sheer joy of a child embracing the wonder of this blessed holiday. Enjoy! (And yes, he does say, "Is it Christmas??" after seeing Santa's bootprints throughout the room. Too perfect.)

Also, as always, here are some snapshots for you to peruse. My favorite? The explosive excitement on Liam's face when he sees that SANTA BROUGHT HIM A BAG OF SKITTLES. No joke. I mean, Liam appreciated everything he received, but that cackle and grin over a bag of Skittles? Priceless.

Buon Natale -- Merry Christmas -- and enjoy the pictures!