Contest winner!

A few weeks ago I blogged about Darin Steele, the 2012 "Draw a Mythological Creature" contest winner. (Scroll down to find the original post.) This is a picture of me giving him his award. As you can see, he is all smiles.

   Darin is a member of the Everafter Fan Club. You, too, can join the club HERE.

Liam Phillip Harmon

Dear son,

I know that one day you will grow curious and look back at some of your father's old blog posts just to see if he wrote anything about you while you were still in your mother's womb. Well, this post is for you, my son. You may be seven years old when you read this, you may be thirty-seven, but what I have to say will never change. Today, as I sit here typing this, your mother is almost 30 weeks pregnant with you. That means that you will be born sometime within the next two months. Your mother and I both have never been so excited about anything! I just want to say that you are a blessing to us. I know that there will be times when you are older when you and I will have our disagreements. We may not always see eye-to-eye about things; this is normal. But just remember that, through it all, I love you. And if ever I slip and fall and I do something to hurt your feelings, I ask that you please forgive me, just as I will forgive you. I understand that life can be tough, and I speak from experience when I say that growing up and finding yourself is one of the hardest things a person will ever go through. But remember that I will always be there for you. Even when my job places a thousand miles between us, you and the rest of my family will always be in my heart. No matter what. I am, and forever will be, proud to be your father. So as you read this, wherever you find yourself in life, never forget these words: I love you, son.

Love, Your dad

Civil Affairs Selection Course

I just received my official travel orders to attend the Civil Affairs Selection Course for May. According to the itinerary, this will be a rigorous ten-day course, designed to test candidates both physically and mentally. If (when!) I pass the course, I will be put on orders to PCS (move) from my current duty station here in Germany back to Fort Bragg, NC. There, I will attend a rigorous year-long pipeline, which will include Airborne school, language school, and the CA NCO course, among other things. According to the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion:

Civil Affairs Soldiers are the field commander's link to the civil authorities in his area of operations. With specialists in every area of the government, they can assist a host government meet its people's needs and maintain a stable and viable civil administration. Civil affairs units help military commanders by working with civil authorities and civilian populations in the commander’s area of operations to lessen the impact of military operations on them during peace, contingency operations and declared war. Civil Affairs forces support activities of both conventional and special operations forces, and are capable of assisting and supporting the civil administration in the area of operations. Civil affairs specialists can quickly and systematically identify critical requirements needed by local citizens in war or disaster situations. They can also locate civil resources to support military operations, help minimize civilian interference with operations, support national assistance activities, plan and execute non-combatant evacuation, support counter-drug operations, and establish and maintain liaison or dialogue with civilian aid agencies and civilian commercial and private organizations. In support of special operations, these culturally oriented, linguistically capable Soldiers may also be tasked to provide functional expertise for foreign internal defense operations, unconventional warfare operations and direct action missions.

To learn more about U.S. Army Civil Affairs, CLICK HERE.

Please keep me in your prayers, and wish me luck! HOOAH!

The New 2012 Ford Ranger (not coming to the U.S.)

I have always been a fan of Ford trucks. Before coming to Germany, I owned a 2007 Ford Ranger...my first truck. However, because the streets in Germany are so narrow, my wife and I decided to trade the Ranger in for a Honda Civic. (Also a very good vehicle!) I miss my truck. Quite often, I find myself searching the Internet for new Ford trucks, and I have to keep myself from drooling on the keyboard. (Not really!) My favorite Ford truck to date is the new Raptor. (Holy cow, that's a NICE truck!) Second to the Raptor is the new 2012 Ford Ranger.

According to Car Connection: "The new 2012 Ranger is powered by a 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, or a 3.2-liter in-line five-cylinder turbo-diesel, making 200 hp. The larger engine makes 347 pound-feet of torque—as much as some V-8s. Those engines come mated to six-speed manual or automatic transmissions; a version of the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission are also offered. While the exterior of this truck bears a strong likeness to the 2011 F-150, the interior carries some design cues that are part of Ford's new global look (with a central controller and high-mounted screen), as well as some detailing borrowed from the F-150 as well as Bosch and DeWalt power tools and G-Shock watches, according to the automaker. The new truck comes with the all the updated connectivity features including an iPod connector and Bluetooth, as well as steering-wheel controls."

Want to know what SUCKS about the new 2012 Ford Ranger? Can you guess? IT'S NOT COMING TO THE U.S. Yep, you heard me right. This beautiful, awesome truck will NOT be sold in America.

Want to know why? Here's what Car Connection has to say: "The new Ranger that was just introduced at the Australian International Auto Show in Sydney is a good deal larger than current versions—so much larger that it might overlap, to shoppers, with smaller F-150 models."

So what they're saying is, they will not be bringing the new 2012 Ford Ranger to the States because THEY'RE AFRAID THAT AMERICANS WILL CONFUSE THE TRUCK FOR AN F-150?! I agree that the body style looks a lot like a small F-150, HOWEVER there are enough differences between the two trucks (in appearances, especially) that I honestly don't believe that Ford manufacturers need to worry about Americans getting the two confused. Even so, the worst case would be that someone might look over at the 2012 Ranger and say, "That's a NICE F-150! I want one of THOSE!" Just saying...