Don't save me. I'm not Private Ryan.

From Austin Phillips whose Iraq address is Victory Base Complex, 6,372 miles from home in Hustisford, Wisconsin. He's a Team Leader in the National Guard 105th Cav. Background: Austin and his brother Matt ran a 9-hour marathon together in the desert heat at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico during pre-deployment training. The race was a commemoration of the Bataan Death March. The Phillips brothers ran in the Heavy Military category, meaning they wore packs weighing at least 35 pounds. They were among a handful of Wisconsin National Guard soldiers who finished the 26-mile race.

It was January of 1942 when five brothers enlisted in the Navy under the stipulation that they serve on the same ship. These five brothers served on the USS Juneau together and inevitably all died together in November of '42. The "Fighting Sullivans" were considered national heroes and their parents toured the country selling war bonds to help continue the fight.

What does this have to do with my deployment to Iraq? Let me explain.

I joined the Army to deploy with my brother and be involved in something bigger than ourselves -- together. I signed the papers with full knowledge of what "could" happen and we both understood the dangers involved.

I was recently pulled off a mission for the pure reason we we're brothers and no other.

After training together for months and working with the same soldiers, one of us was held back, and this is after we have already completed missions ... together. A letter was written to the person who made this call by my Mother and that still has yet to sway the decision. We have stated we will sign papers and do what ever it takes to make this work and yet to have an answer.

I would not be here or in this unit right now if it was not for my brother. Honestly, who would you rather have by your side; a person who cannot pass a PT test and doesn't want to be outside the protection of the base, or a person who you trust and wants nothing more than to be there?

Here is an excerpt from the letter that was written:

...My sons are very close to each other. As such, they understand each other completely, especially in times of danger or high stress. They feel it is important that they perform missions together, as a team, instead of being separated because they are siblings. ...There are no guarantees in life. As such, please allow my sons to live theirs and perform their duties, without focusing on the fact that they are brothers.

Now, due to the "Fighting Sullivans," people are under the impression that there is a law prohibiting brothers from serving in dangerous situations together. Well, that is BS. There is no such law, and filling trucks with less qualified soldiers puts more people at risk in the end. I am very adamant about fixing this or getting out of Btrp 1-105, because the ONLY reason I came to this unit was my brother. If anyone reading this knows of a solution, let me know. I could use it.

- Austin

Photo - Jessica Arp, a reporter from a Madison TV station, poses with Matt and Austin Phillips during pre-deployment training in Camp McGregor, NM.

Undeterred | Volleyball in combat boots

From Austin Phillips

During our days of static operations we pass the time with tournaments and sports. Unfortunately, playing in uniform is a necessity while on duty. There are Ugandans who like to come and challenge us at volleyball every once in awhile, and they usually win.

I am not a volleyball expert by any means (what I retained from watching games while I was in high school is that the girls wear tight shorts), but let's just say the Ugandans play by their own rules. This does not deter us from the challenge, but it does make winning a difficult task.

- Austin

Eggs, water, aggression | The road to Phuket

This post from Austin Phillips has been delayed by logistical issues. It was timestamped 0216 30Jun09.

I was given a personal day today so I decided to use it and attempt another entry. Nothing new is happening; with the pullout we will wait, observe and maybe my blog will get interesting. I would not hold your breath.
So this week is going slower than usual and I am fairly certain it will never end. You think that your energy would be high if you're not doing anything, but it is not. Just having to be somewhere from a start time to an end time will drain you physically and mentally. I would much rather be gainfully employed and have a feeling of accomplishment instead of this scenario.

People find different ways to deal with our current situation; some people literally just sleep and work, sleep and work. I am trying to decide if by sleeping more this deployment will be over faster. One would think, but I would have to buy stock in Nyquil to make it work.
I find it best to find ways to utilize (waste) my time. Reading caught my attention in Egypt and I find it a fine utilizer of time, but I will choose working out over reading any day. Going to the gym is a great outlet for aggression, and there is plenty of aggression on deployments. Things that form aggression from my stand point:

1. Being around some of the same dullards day in and out.
2. Watching rules mutate and deform as they are passed down the chain of command.
3. Micromanaging
4. Incompetence

To be quite honest I could expand this list but you get the idea.
The aggression caused by some of the daily activities recycles as fuel for me to miss sleep for the gym, and can/will cause me to take on tasks that seem ridiculous: eating 50 hard boiled eggs, drinking 1.5 L of water in 12 seconds without puking and Triathlons.
December 6th, the Laguna Phuket Triathlon (pronounced poo-ket, but guess my phonetic translation), Thailand. This brings me to a major point of this deployment; I am not coming back to the states for my R and R, but using my leave to travel Asia. I am also not using my leave for as much drunken debauchery as before, but to compete in my first triathlon. This brings up a few different issues that I will address in later blogs. I don't want to dish up all the information in my first two entries. Thanks for reading
- Austin

Photo: The training table.

Iraq is home away from home

From Austin Phillips, whose Iraq address is Victory Base Complex, 6,372 miles from home in Hustisford. He's a Team Leader in the National Guard 105th Cav.

My name is Austin and I am a soldier in the 32nd originally from Hustisford by way of Poynette and before that DeForest. This would be my third deployment if you considered my time in the Air Force but for all intensive purpose we will call this number 2. (Some people do not think eating filet mignon and lobster tail daily a deployment.)

I can only speak on things from my perspective. I cannot speculate on other missions or how other people feel about this deployment. I am on a security mission for a camp inside of the VBC (Victory Base Complex). We work long hours six days a week, but most of that time is spent static. It could be comparable to the main character of "Office Space" explaining his job and how much actual work he does to Bob and Bob. If you have not seen this movie I suggest you rent it and get caught up.

The living conditions are more than adequate. We have two to 3 man rooms with AC and access to bathrooms inside of the building. The bed is a far cry from my memory foam queen, but better than the ground. My brother and I share a room with another soldier and having family here makes life easier. Did I forget to mention that my brother and I deployed together? Yes, they let you do that and there are a number of family members in the National Guard that deploy in the same units. My sister is also in the Army, but she just returned from a deployment in Cuba and is now living in Florida scuba diving everyday. Yeah her life sucks.

I thought I would use this first entry to introduce myself and put a few pictures out there. I honestly have not a clue on what you can expect from this blog. I have never done anything like this before so we will have to see what happens. I will probably end up getting myself into trouble, but it will make for some interesting entries.

- Austin

Photos: Left, Matt and Austin Phillips training in New Mexico before their deployment. Right, Austin's sister Meghan cheers him up during his 4-day pass just before deployment.