we miss you and wish you a very merry christmas!
Love,
Adam and Anna
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Random Image #6
This is the area we work in...you are seeing the dirt lot that is now mud..but you cansee how fine the dirt was when we first got here.
Random Image #3
We didn't start the fire....it was always burning since the worlds been turning...lol. This is how we get rid of trash....they have a huge pit and they burn it 24/7.... we'll die of cancer because of it...but at least we can claim it for disability when we get back to the rear! Lol...really I just wanted to show you a little bit of the base.
Random Image #2
Yup....this is a lot of what the Marines see when standing post. You can see how remote it is where we are.
random images
Over there...we are shooting over there...lol. If you look at the green ammo can that has what looks like gold balls in there...they are actually grenades linked together for the Mk-19 (Mark
19) automatic grenade launcher. Why shoot rounds from a machine gun when you can shoot grenades from a machine gun???
Go big or go home...that's my motto.
19) automatic grenade launcher. Why shoot rounds from a machine gun when you can shoot grenades from a machine gun???
Go big or go home...that's my motto.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Wendell's cookie decorating... Orders...
Hello to all of you:
So obviously I won’t be at cookie decorating this year. I’m a little saddened about this but I’ve already received my allotment of Christmas cookies for the season. It pays to know people in high places. None the less I fell it is my moral duty to repeat the rules to you even though I won’t be there. I know what you are thinking…he won’t be there so he won’t know….WRONG! People do you see how many we make? And do you see that even if you took a dozen home (each of you) there would be cookies left over? Ever wonder why we are eating them at the BBQs in the summer? (oh and yeah if you don’t have them at the BBQ’s it’s because you’ve flaked out again and didn’t show up J).
So here are the rules:
1) If you lick your fingers you can’t touch cookies again until you wash your hands……don’t be nasty we share them! If you brought kids or husbands (big kids) then you are responsible for them.
2) Frosters………..slow down. One cookie per person when decorating them. It is not a race to the finish. Mona that means you.
3) Frosters………..put the frosting on evenly and flat so the decorations don’t fall off. Master Frosters (Mom, Christine & Holly) Please explain to the rookies!
4) Use the decorations in moderation. Less is more.
5) Using the leftover decorations in your pie tin to create multi colored/abstract cookie is not cool or pretty. You are not Picasso and it only looks good to you. Nana would break your fingers for doing that and I’m happy to take on that responsibility.
6) If you use more than 2 silver balls on any cookie I will kick your ass when I get home! Stephen……….this means you but it goes for all of you!
7) Bring your own Tupperware if you want to take cookies home. Don’t bring the biggest container you can find. Josh and Ernie…………that means you!
Ok I’ll be watching. We have the best spy satellites in the world so you better believe I’ll be watching.
And have a Merry Christmas…………that’s an order!
Master Decorator,
ws
So obviously I won’t be at cookie decorating this year. I’m a little saddened about this but I’ve already received my allotment of Christmas cookies for the season. It pays to know people in high places. None the less I fell it is my moral duty to repeat the rules to you even though I won’t be there. I know what you are thinking…he won’t be there so he won’t know….WRONG! People do you see how many we make? And do you see that even if you took a dozen home (each of you) there would be cookies left over? Ever wonder why we are eating them at the BBQs in the summer? (oh and yeah if you don’t have them at the BBQ’s it’s because you’ve flaked out again and didn’t show up J).
So here are the rules:
1) If you lick your fingers you can’t touch cookies again until you wash your hands……don’t be nasty we share them! If you brought kids or husbands (big kids) then you are responsible for them.
2) Frosters………..slow down. One cookie per person when decorating them. It is not a race to the finish. Mona that means you.
3) Frosters………..put the frosting on evenly and flat so the decorations don’t fall off. Master Frosters (Mom, Christine & Holly) Please explain to the rookies!
4) Use the decorations in moderation. Less is more.
5) Using the leftover decorations in your pie tin to create multi colored/abstract cookie is not cool or pretty. You are not Picasso and it only looks good to you. Nana would break your fingers for doing that and I’m happy to take on that responsibility.
6) If you use more than 2 silver balls on any cookie I will kick your ass when I get home! Stephen……….this means you but it goes for all of you!
7) Bring your own Tupperware if you want to take cookies home. Don’t bring the biggest container you can find. Josh and Ernie…………that means you!
Ok I’ll be watching. We have the best spy satellites in the world so you better believe I’ll be watching.
And have a Merry Christmas…………that’s an order!
Master Decorator,
ws
Friday, December 4, 2009
Wendell Update
Hey my peeps,
So I keep really busy out her and I know everyone wants to know what’s it’s like. I may not answer all your questions so if I miss something just shoot me an email and I’ll get back to you soon.
So the part of Afghanistan I’m currently in is a big open desert for the most part. There is open desert that stretches as far as the eye can see. The ground is either a little rocky or mostly a fine moon dust like powder. It really looks like tan baby powder. You walk around and some of it is 12” deep. Most of it is 3” deep. It gets everywhere and we are constantly cleaning weapons and electronic equipment. The weather is a lot like So Cal. It has been warm most of the time and then it cools off. We had a week of cold weather where it was down in the 40’s and 30’s. It’s drizzled a few times in the morning but nothing big. Still waiting for the heavy rains any day now. The ground will go from soft sand to muddy peanut butter. Just another issue to deal with when riding in vehicles (not LAVs) that get stuck in soft sand because they are so heavy.
Things to know about what to do or not to do in Afghanistan:
-don’t pet the dogs…they bite.
-don’t pet the Marines….they bite too.
-use hand sanitizer as often as possible and keep some on you at all times.
-after you pat down a local…use hand sanitizer. They don’t know what personnel hygiene is.
-when you are patting down locals…hold your breath.
-not everyone is your enemy, so smile and be nice to them….but have a plan to kill him anyways.
-if they are not Marines…don’t trust them.
-if they are not in your platoon….don’t trust them to watch your back.
-if in doubt do what I do….revert to the HE (high explosive) solution. It solves most problems and you won’t get complaints.
If that was too much for you then you need to work on your sense of humor and not read anymore of this email. J War is hell and it sucks some/most of the time. So as we say in the Corps: “Welcome to the Suck!”
Our living conditions are good. As an infantry guy (Grunt) I expected to really be roughing it. I expected to have a tent like you see in old M*A*S*H TV shows. But we live in these Force Provider tents that have climate controlled units. So we have heat or A/C when we need/want it. They run constantly to keep good air flow inside. They are completely sealed and have a hard floor. No carpets…darn..lol. Oh yeah I expected to be sleeping on a cot too (when I’m not sleeping on the ground) but I have bunk bed with a mattress (the mattress sucks but it’s a mattress none the less) and I’m not sharing the top rack. Just one perk to being an Officer/Staff NCO. The chow hall is really good. Better than some of the chow halls back at Camp Pendleton if you can believe it. It’s open 24/7 or at least the sandwich bar is. And the sandwich bar is like Subway but no subway bread. Breakfast is always the same: Eggs, hash browns, bacon or sausage, biscuits/gravy, and either pancakes, waffles, or potato cakes. Canned fruit, cereal, soy or regular milk, OJ, Cranberry, grapefruit or V8 juice. We only drink bottled water but there is also Gatorade (flavors vary each day), sometimes sodas and non-alcoholic beer. We have coffee and hot water so you can make cocoa, tea, or whatever. It’s good to go. We also have a variety of fresh fruit depending on what they can get: apples, oranges, grapefruit, grapes, peaches, plums, mangos (not very good though) cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon (brotha melon for us dark green Marines), etc. There is a salad bar for lunch and dinner. So we eat well. Probably too well but I’m not complaining. Good chow is high priority out here because it is a huge morale booster. The main chow line changes every day (for lunch and dinner). Once a week we get steak and lobster….yeah no joke steak and lobster tails. Now the stake is broiled (so it’s grey) and the lobster tails are boiled (so they are over cooked) but we have steak and lobster. A1 sauce makes things better and we have a butter sauce to go with the lobster tails. Oh yeah we have king crab legs too! Once a week! Now none of this is top of the line 5 star restaurant quality but hey we have crab legs and I’m not complaining. You guys just know how I like to cook and more importantly how I like to eat so I hope I don’t come off like a jerk telling you like it is out here.
We have showers too! We have to take NAVY showers (and no that doesn’t mean we share a small shower with another Marine…well the Navy guys might do that but not Marines) so we wet down, turn the water off, soap up, rinse, and get out. No long showers here. We have 3500 people on the base so we have to conserve water. I don’t take a shower every day because we are on the honor system of only using 2 minutes of water. So if I take a shower every three days I get 6 minutes. Oh but I didn’t mention that the water is freaking cold most of the time. I got to take my second hot shower two days ago (after not showering for 5 days) and it was wonderful. I was like a kid in a hot tub….just no farting to get the bubble effect! Again we use bottle water to brush our teeth because you’ll get sick if you don’t. And yes we have port-a-$h!ters spread throughout the camp but we have real toilets that flush. So if you can handle your business accordingly depending on where you are. It’s better than the guys outside the wire who use wag bags…..I’ll tell you about those when I get home….but imagine in the days when you would dig a hole (old school like when I was in scouts) now you have a bag to use and burn. We don’t “stir the $h!T and burn it like they did in Vietnam. New generation of warriors out here and we are doing the best we can to keep germs away from us. It may sound nasty to you but I’m laughing my butt off when I’m writing this.
Ok so most of you know I roll in an LAV (light armored vehicle) because I’m an LAV platoon Commander. There are not enough LAVs here in country so we have MRAPs (mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles). They remind me of Tonka toys really. This big A$$ vehicle that weighs as much as my fire engine that is so protected because of all the Armor very heavy and moves not too fast but not slow. We have 5 point seatbelts we always wear because the ride is so rough. Even with the seal belts my butt comes off the seat when we hit bumps. There are no roads….we wouldn’t take them if there were because the IED threat is so bad. (don’t’ worry the vehicles have protected those who have hit IEDs time and time again) So we drive where we want to most of the time. We are armed to the teeth. I’d tell you all the cool weapons we have but most of you would believe or understand what I’m talking about. You should know what a .50 Cal machine gun is…it’s been around since WWII. Got those plus an automatic grenade launcher machine gun. It’s bad A$$ and the enemy will not fight us when they see us coming with that gun. Yes is wrote automatic grenade launcher…like a machine gun that shoots grenades…..great weapon system. And not to mention our personnel weapons. And if that wasn’t enough we have helicopters armed to the teeth too that are with us. So if we needed support they are the angles on our shoulders.
I won’t get into the missions we are conducting out here. Just know that we take every precaution possible. In war there are risks that we must take. But all my Marines are safe as can be. It is dangerous but “knock on wood” everyone will be fine. The enemy is smart. They know the difference between Marine Corps uniforms and Army uniforms. You might think I’m being bias (and maybe I am a little) but they don’t mess with the Marines. And they know the difference between Marines/Soldiers in the infantry too. And we are infantry or at least my platoon is.
I want to thank all of you for sending me emails, packages and prayers. It really means a lot to me and my Marines. The PX here (like a mini general store) is always empty. Supplies sell out the day they come in. So everything you send me gets used. I can’t use every item I get so I share it with my guys. And they love it. I love you for it. Emails are great! I have to check my email every day for various reasons here. So please drop me a line and I’ll get back to you when I can. Some of my days are busy. I’ve been assigned some recent additional duties (which I’m happy to do) so some days I’m none stop. There are some other projects I took on because, as Coach Veeder once said, “good enough isn’t”….and I refuse to do nothing when my Marines are in harm’s way and I can make a difference to help keep them safer or make them a hard target. As an Officer it’s never about me………it’s about my Marines. They are the true Warriors. I’m just the guy who leads them into battle.
Ok…. I’m off to my evening brief. Lots of excitement today…kind of but not really. Ask me and I’ll tell you what I can. I hope you are all doing well.
All of you have made a difference in my life. Thank you.
Much love,
ws
PS: Thanksgiving was good here and so will Christmas. Martha sent us a tree with a skirt that has the EGA & USMC on it. It rocks! It is in the main office area lights, ornaments and all. Moms cookies are already gone…but more are on the way…I only shared with Gunny Ma. J Jeff I got 12 boxes so far. The guys thank you.
So I keep really busy out her and I know everyone wants to know what’s it’s like. I may not answer all your questions so if I miss something just shoot me an email and I’ll get back to you soon.
So the part of Afghanistan I’m currently in is a big open desert for the most part. There is open desert that stretches as far as the eye can see. The ground is either a little rocky or mostly a fine moon dust like powder. It really looks like tan baby powder. You walk around and some of it is 12” deep. Most of it is 3” deep. It gets everywhere and we are constantly cleaning weapons and electronic equipment. The weather is a lot like So Cal. It has been warm most of the time and then it cools off. We had a week of cold weather where it was down in the 40’s and 30’s. It’s drizzled a few times in the morning but nothing big. Still waiting for the heavy rains any day now. The ground will go from soft sand to muddy peanut butter. Just another issue to deal with when riding in vehicles (not LAVs) that get stuck in soft sand because they are so heavy.
Things to know about what to do or not to do in Afghanistan:
-don’t pet the dogs…they bite.
-don’t pet the Marines….they bite too.
-use hand sanitizer as often as possible and keep some on you at all times.
-after you pat down a local…use hand sanitizer. They don’t know what personnel hygiene is.
-when you are patting down locals…hold your breath.
-not everyone is your enemy, so smile and be nice to them….but have a plan to kill him anyways.
-if they are not Marines…don’t trust them.
-if they are not in your platoon….don’t trust them to watch your back.
-if in doubt do what I do….revert to the HE (high explosive) solution. It solves most problems and you won’t get complaints.
If that was too much for you then you need to work on your sense of humor and not read anymore of this email. J War is hell and it sucks some/most of the time. So as we say in the Corps: “Welcome to the Suck!”
Our living conditions are good. As an infantry guy (Grunt) I expected to really be roughing it. I expected to have a tent like you see in old M*A*S*H TV shows. But we live in these Force Provider tents that have climate controlled units. So we have heat or A/C when we need/want it. They run constantly to keep good air flow inside. They are completely sealed and have a hard floor. No carpets…darn..lol. Oh yeah I expected to be sleeping on a cot too (when I’m not sleeping on the ground) but I have bunk bed with a mattress (the mattress sucks but it’s a mattress none the less) and I’m not sharing the top rack. Just one perk to being an Officer/Staff NCO. The chow hall is really good. Better than some of the chow halls back at Camp Pendleton if you can believe it. It’s open 24/7 or at least the sandwich bar is. And the sandwich bar is like Subway but no subway bread. Breakfast is always the same: Eggs, hash browns, bacon or sausage, biscuits/gravy, and either pancakes, waffles, or potato cakes. Canned fruit, cereal, soy or regular milk, OJ, Cranberry, grapefruit or V8 juice. We only drink bottled water but there is also Gatorade (flavors vary each day), sometimes sodas and non-alcoholic beer. We have coffee and hot water so you can make cocoa, tea, or whatever. It’s good to go. We also have a variety of fresh fruit depending on what they can get: apples, oranges, grapefruit, grapes, peaches, plums, mangos (not very good though) cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon (brotha melon for us dark green Marines), etc. There is a salad bar for lunch and dinner. So we eat well. Probably too well but I’m not complaining. Good chow is high priority out here because it is a huge morale booster. The main chow line changes every day (for lunch and dinner). Once a week we get steak and lobster….yeah no joke steak and lobster tails. Now the stake is broiled (so it’s grey) and the lobster tails are boiled (so they are over cooked) but we have steak and lobster. A1 sauce makes things better and we have a butter sauce to go with the lobster tails. Oh yeah we have king crab legs too! Once a week! Now none of this is top of the line 5 star restaurant quality but hey we have crab legs and I’m not complaining. You guys just know how I like to cook and more importantly how I like to eat so I hope I don’t come off like a jerk telling you like it is out here.
We have showers too! We have to take NAVY showers (and no that doesn’t mean we share a small shower with another Marine…well the Navy guys might do that but not Marines) so we wet down, turn the water off, soap up, rinse, and get out. No long showers here. We have 3500 people on the base so we have to conserve water. I don’t take a shower every day because we are on the honor system of only using 2 minutes of water. So if I take a shower every three days I get 6 minutes. Oh but I didn’t mention that the water is freaking cold most of the time. I got to take my second hot shower two days ago (after not showering for 5 days) and it was wonderful. I was like a kid in a hot tub….just no farting to get the bubble effect! Again we use bottle water to brush our teeth because you’ll get sick if you don’t. And yes we have port-a-$h!ters spread throughout the camp but we have real toilets that flush. So if you can handle your business accordingly depending on where you are. It’s better than the guys outside the wire who use wag bags…..I’ll tell you about those when I get home….but imagine in the days when you would dig a hole (old school like when I was in scouts) now you have a bag to use and burn. We don’t “stir the $h!T and burn it like they did in Vietnam. New generation of warriors out here and we are doing the best we can to keep germs away from us. It may sound nasty to you but I’m laughing my butt off when I’m writing this.
Ok so most of you know I roll in an LAV (light armored vehicle) because I’m an LAV platoon Commander. There are not enough LAVs here in country so we have MRAPs (mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles). They remind me of Tonka toys really. This big A$$ vehicle that weighs as much as my fire engine that is so protected because of all the Armor very heavy and moves not too fast but not slow. We have 5 point seatbelts we always wear because the ride is so rough. Even with the seal belts my butt comes off the seat when we hit bumps. There are no roads….we wouldn’t take them if there were because the IED threat is so bad. (don’t’ worry the vehicles have protected those who have hit IEDs time and time again) So we drive where we want to most of the time. We are armed to the teeth. I’d tell you all the cool weapons we have but most of you would believe or understand what I’m talking about. You should know what a .50 Cal machine gun is…it’s been around since WWII. Got those plus an automatic grenade launcher machine gun. It’s bad A$$ and the enemy will not fight us when they see us coming with that gun. Yes is wrote automatic grenade launcher…like a machine gun that shoots grenades…..great weapon system. And not to mention our personnel weapons. And if that wasn’t enough we have helicopters armed to the teeth too that are with us. So if we needed support they are the angles on our shoulders.
I won’t get into the missions we are conducting out here. Just know that we take every precaution possible. In war there are risks that we must take. But all my Marines are safe as can be. It is dangerous but “knock on wood” everyone will be fine. The enemy is smart. They know the difference between Marine Corps uniforms and Army uniforms. You might think I’m being bias (and maybe I am a little) but they don’t mess with the Marines. And they know the difference between Marines/Soldiers in the infantry too. And we are infantry or at least my platoon is.
I want to thank all of you for sending me emails, packages and prayers. It really means a lot to me and my Marines. The PX here (like a mini general store) is always empty. Supplies sell out the day they come in. So everything you send me gets used. I can’t use every item I get so I share it with my guys. And they love it. I love you for it. Emails are great! I have to check my email every day for various reasons here. So please drop me a line and I’ll get back to you when I can. Some of my days are busy. I’ve been assigned some recent additional duties (which I’m happy to do) so some days I’m none stop. There are some other projects I took on because, as Coach Veeder once said, “good enough isn’t”….and I refuse to do nothing when my Marines are in harm’s way and I can make a difference to help keep them safer or make them a hard target. As an Officer it’s never about me………it’s about my Marines. They are the true Warriors. I’m just the guy who leads them into battle.
Ok…. I’m off to my evening brief. Lots of excitement today…kind of but not really. Ask me and I’ll tell you what I can. I hope you are all doing well.
All of you have made a difference in my life. Thank you.
Much love,
ws
PS: Thanksgiving was good here and so will Christmas. Martha sent us a tree with a skirt that has the EGA & USMC on it. It rocks! It is in the main office area lights, ornaments and all. Moms cookies are already gone…but more are on the way…I only shared with Gunny Ma. J Jeff I got 12 boxes so far. The guys thank you.
Monday, November 30, 2009
1st Leiutenant Wendell Simmons
what looks like a moustache... is only dirt...
Hurry up and come home!
Miss you, brother
!Congratulations 1st Lieutenant!
Word on the Street is that you've been Promoted...I noticed that your emails said 1st Lt. and Mom explained that you would be officially Promoted on Dec 1st then Martha Sent an email recently saying Nov 30th SO I'm trying to get some where in the middle so I don't miss it all together.
CONGRATULATIONS 1st Lt.
CONGRATULATIONS 1st Lt.
Just another reason to be PROUD OF YOU Brother! I assume this promotion means you're doing what you always do with any job, task or responsibility you're giving 110%
Keep up the GOOD WORK and BE SAFE!
Miss and Love you MUCH.
-Sister
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
It's amazing what he does....
Mom sent over some photos to share with us and I thought I would post a couple of them here for everyone to see. (If you haven't already...)
It's crazy the things we don't see, but only hear about. He has had an opportunity to write and man...the stories he shares is just amazing.
That's courage. That's bravery. That's Wendell.
Let's keep Wendell and "his Marines" in our thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Christine (his sister from another Mother!)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
HOPE ALL IS WELL
Hi Wendell,
We heard it's getting cold over there. We'll be sending something tomorrow to you and your guys. How is everything going so far? Hope you are staying safe. We miss you. Alex and Andrew said hi and thank you!
We heard it's getting cold over there. We'll be sending something tomorrow to you and your guys. How is everything going so far? Hope you are staying safe. We miss you. Alex and Andrew said hi and thank you!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Thank you
Today is Veteran's Day... You may count yourself among the elite and proud! Without people like you, we would not be so blessed.
Yesterday was the Marine Corps birthday... What an honor it must be to serve with such an incredible branch of our armed forces!
Stay safe, and we are thinking about you, and praying for you!
Yesterday was the Marine Corps birthday... What an honor it must be to serve with such an incredible branch of our armed forces!
Stay safe, and we are thinking about you, and praying for you!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Thinking of you
Your mom sent a message thanking us, on behalf of you as well as of herself for attending your going-away party...
I say PSHAW to that... and THANK YOU for spending YOUR time with us!
I say PSHAW to that... and THANK YOU for spending YOUR time with us!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
This blog is Dedicated to Wendell Simmons
All folks can post random thoughts, pictures, etc...
with the hopes that Wendell will be able to read them while deployed, as well as when he returns.
We are proud of you, brother, and we love you.
May God look after you, as you have pledged to look after us!
with the hopes that Wendell will be able to read them while deployed, as well as when he returns.
We are proud of you, brother, and we love you.
May God look after you, as you have pledged to look after us!
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