Honoring the California Fallen

Army Sergeant Raymond C. Alcaraz, 20, of Redlands, CA was assigned to the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Bamberg, Germany. SGT Alcaraz died in the Lobar Province of Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Also killed in the attack were SSG Vinson B. Adkinson III, PFC Matthew E. George, and PFC James A. Page.

Honoring the California Fallen

Army Specialist Andrew J. Castr0, 20, of Westlake Village, CA was assigned to 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, KY. SPC Castro died in Babur, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

Also killed was Sgt. Patrick K. Durham.

Honoring the California Fallen

Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James M. Swink , 20, of Yucca Valley, CA was assigned to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Forces, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Corpsman 3rd Class Swink died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Study Buddy

In an attempt to further build my resume I am studying for yet another certification. I don't study well on my own so Cleo and I have been going through my review book and flashcards together. She is a great study partner in part because she doesn't ask stupid questions. Although there are times she seems to get bored with the topic...as evidenced by her sleeping through our last study session.

Our DC Weather

drove to work this morning during an amazing storm.

had maybe 20 feet visibility at times...

there were some awesome lightening strikes during the trip in

on the drive home this afternoon the other side of the road

was closed for about a mile due to down trees and power lines

I had just gotten home and turned on the news to see the damage

from this storm when this flashed up on the screen.

And to show how much WRAMC cares, everyone was called to see if they had power at their home. Not that there was any plan in place to shelter us if we did not have power and needed a place for the night...just calling to check on our power status.

Last time it took three days to get power back to everyone. I hope this time we can be quicker as it is still pretty hot during the day and A/C is very much needed in some areas.

Congratulations CPT Oz

In the midst of everything that is happening in our world here at Walter Reed AMC we are enjoying celebrating each other's accomplishments and milestones. On July 10 CPT Katy Olson got married in MN. After a month of paperwork and waiting for approval signatures she finally got the word that her name has been officially changed on all her Army records. She is now CPT Katy Zahner! And for fun we had an "unofficial" changing of the name tape ceremony at work. Lots of smiles and lots of fun! And we have retired her month old nickname of CPT Mrs. and have adopted her new nickname of CPT Oz.

Therefore, all me to introduce CPT Oz!

Finished Product

Yup, this is my Department of the Army photo.

We keep them updated for our WANTED posters...

Good People and Good Food

Julie and I went to OBC together at Ft Sam in 2006. We met hauling our luggage from our cars up to our rooms. After OBC we were both stationed at Walter Reed AMC. While I went to the ICU course she went to the Labor and Delivery Course. After we both graduated I stayed at Walter Reed and she and her husband headed down to Louisiana to be stationed at Ft Polk.

Well, it has been four years since we started our journey at OBC and Julie's Army adventure has come to a close. She has finished her active duty commitment and is enroute to her home in NY with her husband Chris and their adorable 8-month old Jake. Thankfully their route home took them through DC and I got to spend part of today with them and got to meet Jake for the first time. He is so cute and such a happy baby!!! Like the dork I am I failed to get a picture of the happy family.

For lunch they wanted to try out one of the restaurants owned by a Bravo Top Chef contestant. I don't think the guy won, but his place sure does have some good burgers! If you are in the Capitol Hill area of DC you should check it out. It is pretty popular as it is so close to the Capitol Building so there is always a line but they get the food to you pretty quick. I recommend the "Good Stuff Burger", it was delicious!

After the Storm

We had an awesome storm roll through a few days ago that rocked the area. Trees were down all over the place keeping some people in the dark for 2.5 days. It took even longer to get all the street lights up and running again. People in the DC area can't drive anyway so imagine them trying to drive when the street lights are down...it was bad!

I went out for a ride today to stretch my legs and really just to get my heart pumping again. My ride was cut about three miles short due to a tree across the trail. Oddly enough the is the second tree on this same trail in the last 4 months that completely blocked the path.

Guess I owe my bike an extra three miles on my next ride...

Hello August

Cleo and I spent this beautiful afternoon reading on our balcony.

A great way to spend a day off.