Owen Temple Supports Our Wounded Warriors!!!

I just got off of the phone with what I consider to be one of the best country music singers

(http://www.owentemple.com/) out there, one Owen Temple. I have been through some trying times in my life, and I can honestly say that Owen's music has kept me company on many a night, even when there wasn't ample electricty for hundreds of miles. I sang his songs in Camp Udairi, Kuwait waiting for a Blackhawk to fly me across the berm in our invasion of Iraq in 2003...I sang his songs in Karbala on April 5, 2003 when the Widowmakers exchanged punches for the better part of 10 hours with the Fedayeen Freedom Fighters...I sang his songs in Ranger School in 2004 when I was hallucinating so badly that I thought for a couple brief moments that I was Owen Temple, until the ever friendly Ranger Instructor brought me back to reality. I have enjoyed his music for quite awhile, and it did not surprise me that he is an awesome singer/songwriter that genuinely cares about this Nation's wounded heroes.

Just to fill ya in on how this all transpired, I'll go back a few days. I recently learned that one of my best friends in the whole wide world, CPT Jimmy Howell, is going to be awarded the Macarthur Leadership Award (http://www.armyg1.army.mil/macarthur/) at the Pentagon on May 8, 2009. They don't draw your name out of a hat for this award, people, I assure you. You have to be one of this Country's top tier junior military leaders to even be considered for such prestigious recognition. As I sat outside my home in Katy, Texas last Thursday night enjoying a nice cigar and a cold Guinness, I started thinking about Jimmy and how he and I first met on that day in 1997 in the Jefferson County Airport enroute to the United States Military Academy Preparatory School. Turns out, he and I were roommates at the Prep School for awhile and we became very good friends over the years. Homemade wine in the Burger King parking lot, sitting on the roof of Bradley Barracks playing guitar, Sharky's...just a few good times between Jimmy and I...

Jimmy has and always will be a brother to me, and to anyone who has watched the NBC Evening News of late, they have more than likely seen footage of Richard Engel as he has tromped around the treacherous terrain in Eastern Afghanistan shadowing a courageous and battle tested U.S. Army Infantry unit. Those young men you see there on the television screen are Jimmy's boys, the men of Bravo Company, settled deep inside the Korengal Valley as they battle every day with an enemy that is determined as ever.

I was sitting there thinking of those fellas and began contemplating what I have done with my professional life lately. I thought about the actions that I have embarked upon in order to actually increase the quality of life for my children, my wife, my friends, and the others that I care deeply about. I have taken on this "burden" as others have called it, to raise as much money as I can for the Wounded Warrior Project. I've entered one big race thus far and plan to enter a few more, of course, but I felt I was missing something. I felt that I was missing an opportunity of some sort that I had no idea was out there. And then, as just about every other American is doing these days, I checked my Facebook account via my Blackberry. Nothing big going on, it appeared, but then I started roaming through statuses, and then it hit me. It was a shot in the dark, but why not. I pulled up Owen's name and sent him a brief note asking him if he would be interested in helping me raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. Before I went back inside, I had the reply from Owen: absolutely!

So, today I called Owen up and we talked for about 30 minutes about how we could go about raising some funds. I am heading out to the Armadillo Palace (http://www.thearmadillopalace.com/events.aspx?id=1212) this Thursday night, with my wife if I can convince her to go honky tonkin' with me, to see Owen perform. Owen has kindly offered to donate some autographed items that can be auctioned off for the benefit of the Wounded Warrior Project. He has also agreed to pass my website on to others that he comes in contact with in an effort to gain more exposure. In addition, Owen mentioned something that sounds very worthwhile. Whenever the calendar permits for Owen, he has offered to have a house concert where he will bring his acoustic guitar and play for about an hour at my home or a home of a neighbor in order to raise funds and awareness. What a good person, folks. Owen has tour dates in New York, New Jersey, Maine, Wisconsin, and numerous other places in this wonderful country of ours, but he has offered to stop on by the Bartels Home and play a few tunes for a very good cause. Doesn't get much more American than that if ya' ask me.

Folks, after you donate a couple dollars to the Wounded Warrior Project, visit Owen's website and pick up a CD, you won't be disappointed. It's my opinion that it's some of the best music out there, and his CDs have been to Baghdad and back via my Army issued assault pack. I might have ran out of water or ammo, but I never ran out of Owen. That's it for today folks, thanks for reading, and thanks to Owen for helping out!

My 1st Charity Run !!!

Trail Races in the Pineywoods of Texas

ETUR- Hog's Hunt - Rocky Raccoon

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, VISIT THE LINK BELOW TO DONATE!!!

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=272436&lis=1&kntae272436=35C187595B8547FBA370022611ED41FE&supId=241317094

Ok, folks, here we go. As many of you know, I've been searching high and low for some sort of race to run in an effort to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. I've spent most of my time training, running usually about 15 miles a week over a span of two days. I usually run 4 miles every Wednesday after work, and then on my weekends, I wake up at 530ish on Sunday morning and run between 8 and 9 miles while I watch the sun rise in beautiful Southeast Texas.

In between my training sessions, I have attempted to spread the word by every mode possible: Facebook, personal and work email, work relations, family in New York, friends, former classmates and former instructors at both West Point and Kountze ISD. I have made some significant strides thus far in spreading the word. Within the last two weeks, I have received my first two donations. This makes it real. It is fine when a person starts toying with their own money, but when you start having folks invest money in you and your cause, it brings the level of devotion and committment up a couple notches. It makes it a duty to me, not just a fund raiser.

In addition to raising some funds, I posted a blog in Italy with the help of my good, good friend Cherrye Moore. Cherrye and her husband, Peppe, run a very successful Bed and Breakfast in Catanzaro, Italy. Paralleling the succes of their B&B is the succes of their website and blog, so when Cherrye offered me the opportunity to post in Italy to gain some awareness, I jumped at the chance. And as luck would have it, one of Cherrye's MANY blog readers has her own blog, and she in turn posted a note on her blog about my cause and my efforts, providing my website as well. So, the word is getting out there, and now it is time for me to keep my end of the bargain.

On May 16, 2009 at 700 am, I will be participating in the Hog's Hunt Trail Run in the Huntsville State Park. The run is a 25k trail run that circles a great deal of the state park and runs on all sorts of terrains: hard dirt, asphalt, sand, and pine straw coated trails. It has some hills and some valleys, so by mile 16, the legs should feel spent. I thoroughly look forward to the run, and I look more forward to mailing my manifest in to the WWP stating the amount of money I have raised for this great cause.

In spite of raising money and putting my body through some pain, I wanted to do even more for these young men and women who are paying the price for our freedoms and luxuries. I contacted one of my very good friends and former team mates on the Army football team, Tony Coaxum. Tony is now a Coach on the Army football team, and I knew he would do his best to help me out on my request. I asked Tony if he could get a couple footballs signed by the entire Army football team so that I can use them for fundraising. One of those signatures will be that of Colin Mooney, the Fullback from Katy, Texas that broke the all time Army single season rushing record just last year. When these two footballs arrive, one will be auctioned off and the other will have a different purpose. I plan to contact the Veteran's Administration in conjunction with the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas and see if we have any wounded veterans in Houston that need a pick-me-up. The second football will be presented to a deserving individual and I will let them know that their future Officers and Leaders truly appreciate their sacrifices. I have also reached out to the Army Rugby Team, who has recently fought their way in to the NCAA Final Four and will be playing Cal at Stanford soon to earn a berth to the NCAA Championship game. I am hoping that I can obtain a signed rugby ball from these warriors as well.

The bottom line, folks, is that it is not always about the money. Soldiers usually want to just be told "Thank You" or given a hearty pat on the back. I know when I was coming home from my 2nd tour in Iraq, we stopped over in Shannon, Ireland. As a large group of Army Rangers, we walked through the airport with a certain swagger and confidence/cockiness that let folks know that we were damn proud of our profession. We were given a standing ovation by a large group of "happy" Irishmen who then offered to buy each of us a pint of their land's favorite drink, fresh Guinness. Of course, we refused, we were in uniform after all and on duty and we had a few more hours to go before we touched down on our home land. But just the fact that these folks took time to notice us and clap for us and thank us for fighting for THEIR country and THEIR rights and THEIR safety made our hearts swell with pride.

So, in conclusion, do you know a veteran? Do you live next door to a person who spends months away from his family in order to be in harm's way? Do you know somebody that knows a veteran? Shoot an email, make a quick phone call, give a high five. Let those boys and gals know you care. For me, I will always be a veteran...but let's face the hard, bitter truth, folks...I am not a member of the Armed Forces any longer, at least not in the capacity that I once knew. I no longer give commands on a daily basis that affect hundreds of Soldiers, spouses, and dependants within minutes. I no longer have my own personal assault rifle, and I no longer have my own tactical vehicle and personal driver. I have had a very hard time coping with that because I rarely feel a sense of accomplishment anymore, in a professional sense. I have not felt that I have improved the quality of this awesome Country in quite some time.

As a guy that used to stand toe to toe with the enemy and exchange live rounds on a daily basis, I know that my life now lacks a sense of belonging in that sense, a sense of giving back to this Country, a sense of brotherhood, and a sense of a "I will die for you" mentality....and the only outlet I have found thus far is for me to run till I hurt. I like to run and think of the men of Bravo Company, commanded by my very good friend CPT Jimmy Howell from Beaumont, Texas who are fighting the good fight in the Korengal Valley in Eastern Afghanistan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/world/asia/20ambush.html?_r=2&hp

I like to run and think of friends that I have lost and friends that I have almost lost. I like to think of CPT James Gurbisz who left it all on the field in Baghdad, Iraq on November 8, 2005. I got your back, Jimmy, never doubt it, brother.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jmgurbisz.htm

I think of CPT Drew Sloan who fought his way back from a devastating injury that occured on October 10, 2004, an injury that could have ended his career if he would have allowed it to do so, only to ask his superiors to go back to war in order to finish what he started. He completed that "extra" combat tour and he now attends Harvard pursuing his MBA.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/07/AR2007040701308.html

I think of CPT Scott Smiley who also remained on Active Duty even though he suffered significant injuries due to a suicide car bomber attack on April 6, 2005. Left completely blind from his injuries, he gradauted from Duke with his MBA.

http://veteransairlift.blogspot.com/2007/07/meet-scott-smiley.html

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2006/07/scott_smiley_so.html

I run for them and I know they appreciate my efforts, as do all of you.

Again, folks, please donate in any way you can: money, handshake, a picked up tab at a restaurant, a pat on the back, even a simple "Thanks, boss"...any gesture is appreciated by these professional warriors.

As for me?

I'm running my ass off........