Farm News 07-30-06

On the Road Again

I'm not driving to Oregon, as I had planned, but instead went to northern Colorado, looking for the elusive Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana). To help in my search I used the Sibley Guide to Birds, published by the Audubon Society. The Sibley Guide is too big to fit in a jacket pocket, but it includes both eastern and western species, a convenience when one is on the divide between east and west. The Western Tanager can be found in eastern Colorado and the Scarlet Tanager, its eastern counterpart, can be found in western Colorado. Tanagers, generally, are not very good on geography.


Additionally, I'm carrying the Field Guide to North American Trees, Field Guide to North American Butterflies, and Field Guide to North American Mammals, all from the National Audubon Society. Joe Collins' Amphibians and Reptiles in Kansas is also in the box of field guides, as is Roadside Kansas. Not yet in my collection is Wildflowers and Grasses of Kansas, by Haddock. Haddock has an excellent web site for identifying wildflowers, too.

To help me see these things I use a Bushnell Sentry spotting scope with two mounts, one that clamps to a car window and the other a tripod.


Butterflies

Wednesday two Anise Swallowtail butterflies, Papilio zelicaon, fluttered past in aerial display of lepidopteran lust, delighting the eye and proclaiming the virtues of planting Bronze Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare. Fennel is the primary food plant for the Anise Swallowtail caterpillars, and it is the only plant I have that is fragrant in January when the temperatures are well below freezing.


Dr. M. Reports on Officer Basic

More lessons


Usually in my posts I try to be funny about my life here in the Army. Generally, I feel privileged to be part of an organization that constantly looks at itself and seeks to improve how it does things. This week though I am exhausted by the unrelenting heat here in San Antonio and the fact that I have 6 more weeks left down here. Oh, and my company STILL hasn’t learned not to form up downwind from the latrines.


So this past week, we headed back into the field for more training. We learned how to collect casualties from the forward edge of the battle back to the various levels of hospitals we have in the Army. Evacuating casualties is very serious business. If reports are correct, we can bring a soldier home from the front lines back to Germany or an American hospital in 36 hours.


Such a feat requires a staggering amount of organization. The Medical Service Corps makes the miracle of evacuation possible. They set up the hospitals and aid stations; they send doctors, often of higher rank off to work and have to make sure that those docs have everything that they need. Plus they train us in all the aspects of Army life so we can succeed and save lives.


Part of training of any soldier is leadership training. Leadership training is so deeply embedded in the Army that our “core values” are defined by an acronym LDRSHIP

Loyalty Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other soldiers.

Duty Fulfill your obligations.

Respect Treat people as they should be treated.

Selfless-Service Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own.
Honor Live up to all the Army values.

Integrity Do what’s right, legally and morally.

Personal Courage Face fear, danger, or adversity (Physical or Moral).


And every day I have the chance to live up to the ideals and not whine about it. Every day when I put my boots on I try and think of the millions of soldiers who would have loved the opportunity to bitch about spending $100 on boots designed like ours. My cotton/nylon uniform is hot and sticks to me, but hell, it isn’t wool. My beret makes me look like a mushroom, but makes me look like I know what I am doing. Small pieces of a larger leadership puzzle, but important.


So as my time in Officer Basic comes to an end, and my Vet Track starts, thanks to the Medical Service Corps officers, NCOs and civilians who bust their butts the best way they know how to make sure their doctors don’t get killed when they go downrange. Leading and teaching a bunch of docs, vets, and dentists who are pretty sure they know everything already is a pretty thankless task.

Three cheers for Dr. M! Going through basic at any time is tough, and in this weather it can't be pleasant.