What's That Smell?

What's that smell? No it is not a new game show or reality show coming out this fall. Although if a show does come out with this title, remember you heard it here first. It is something we often ask ourselves as we travel around Afghanistan and encounter the environment and the local people. Because this is a third world country, sanitation is not something that is practiced on a regular basis. There are no modern sewer systems, no regulations regarding pollution and not a lot of running water. As you travel around you encounter many things you might find unbelievable in the US. We in the US are used to showering daily (well most of us) and are concerned about body odor. In Afghanistan this is not so important and possibly not very practical due to the conditions. It is part of the culture and the Afghans don't seem to mind, whereas the Americans find it a little bit disturbing. You can guarantee that if you are in a room with 4 or 5 Afghans your nose will be met with the distinct smell of body odor or worse. We had this happen the other day and some of the sailors took it upon themselves to provide some soap, shampoo and deodorant to a few Afghan civilians we work with. The funny part was that our sailors had to explain to the Afghans what shampoo, conditioner and deodorant was. So now my quest is to teach the Afghans about deodorant and provide it to them for use. If you would like to donate to this cause, please send solid deodorant to me and I will make sure the people get it.

This week I had the opportunity to share a traditional Afghan meal with some of our Afghan counterparts. It was very delicious. They actually slaughtered a lamb for me and other guests and served rice, naan and vegetables. We also had some cherries and the some of the best mango I have had in a while. Rebecca and the kids went to an Afghan restaurant in San Diego with our friends Gordy and Linda last week and they also had a great meal. They all wanted to get a sense of the food that I have been experiencing. I am sure by the time I get home, I will have had my fill of Afghan food and will head out for some sushi.

Work has been relatively smooth. The team is working hard to bring up the capabilities of people and operations so we can completely turn over the operations to Afghanistan. We are on our way to getting there and our group will be able to leave knowing they have made a difference for Afghanistan. Of course it is way too early to be talking about leaving, we still have about 10 months to go in country. If you have been counting this is day 70 since boots on the ground day.

Back on the homefront, Rebecca has been doing some fixing up in the house, putting shelving in the office and in our bedroom, painting the guestroom and putting some screen doors up to get ready for summer. The kids are enjoying their summer break so far and have some fun adventures planned. Their cousins Kathleen and Elizabeth are busy working their jobs and helping with painting. It is nice that they like helping with what I am sure would be on my "to do" list.

Peace to you all,

Pat

TV

You might notice this update is a little late. Our internet service was out for a while, but now I am back. You also may have been reading news stories about events in Afghanistan, there is more activity going on now from insurgents and this puts everyone a little on edge. This is the time we really need to focus on our security and all the training we have had. Everyone has to make sure they do not take any unnecessary risks. We are all reminded that this is a war zone.

This was a pretty standard week for work, no special visitors, just business as usual. Still working on inventory, improving processes and training our Afghan counterparts. It is really quite rewarding to know we are making a difference for Afghanistan. Our Navy team is working hard and they are still quite enthusiastic. It has been two months here in Afghanistan and I know that it will get tougher for our team as the length of time away from family and friends wears on people. There is free time to relax; you just don't want too much free time. Being busy helps, idleness just makes you think of what you are missing. My job as a leader is to make sure we all do our jobs and come home safely.

One of the things we can enjoy in our free time is TV. It is called AFN, Armed Forces Network. There are 10 channels that show regular TV including sports (I was keeping up with the US Open), news and prime time shows. We tend to get the prime time shows a little late, but it is better than nothing and for the most part they are new to us. We also have a movie channel, no HBO which is a bummer because I missed the Sopranos (don't tell me how it ends). The strangest thing about TV is that I sort of miss regular commercials. At home I have the DVR and can fast forward past the commercials if I want, so it is funny that I miss them now. On AFN, we get commercials that tell us about how to drive courteously, or remember OPSEC (Operational Security) or not to drink and drive (kind of a waste since we can't drink anyway). Basically, it is filled with public service messages, so now I have no idea what to spend money on. I must rely on the fact that Rebecca will figure out how to spend our money.

I forgot to mention last week that I moved to a new room in what we call Legoland (a bunch of containers all lined up together on top of each other). (Editor's Note: You can tell this is Patrick's room... who else would decorate with a WD-40 Can Sticker in their window?)I am now in a "double wide" room. You might be a redneck if... when you move into a double wide, you think it is a palace. I think part of the strategy for making me move into a small room (remember it was 9' by 7') is that when you get upgraded, you do think you have really moved up in the world. My new room is 18' by 7' and it has a separation. So one room is the bedroom and the other room is the office, living room, dining room, kitchen, and family room. The bathroom is still down a walkway about 30 yards. I am sure that will be fun in the winter. I bet if I moved into this right away I would not have been as pleased with the accommodations as I am now.

Back on the homefront, school is out for the summer. I am sure it will be fun filled summer with lots of activities. Rebecca's job is keeping her very busy and she is planning Madigan's 6th birthday party, helping with a wedding shower for our former babysitter, Stacey (can't believe she is getting married, time is flying) and planning our good friend Linda's 60 th birthday party. My life is simple compared to Rebecca's.

Did you know what June 14th was this week? Yes it was one day after my wedding anniversary. It was not our best anniversary so far; kind of hard to celebrate long distance. Too bad because this one was our 15th wedding anniversary, and I think that is supposed to be something special. I know 16 years will be way more special. I am very lucky to have found (and kept) Rebecca. OK back to June 14th, I bet you said it was Flag Day and you are right, but it is a special day for one other reason... it was the 231st birthday of the Army. You should have seen the celebration here. I even had a beer (near beer, but it tasted like beer as far as I can remember). OK it was not that big a celebration, but we should remember the Army's birthday. We should also remember the Navy's birthday on October 13th (1775 same year as the Army)... and don't forget the Marine Corps who celebrates their birthday on November 10th (1775). Wow 1775 was a busy year. And I guess we should remember the Air Force who celebrates 60 years on September 18th (1947).

Since its birth on 14 June 1775-over a year before the Declaration of Independence-the United States Army has played a vital role in the growth and development of our nation. Soldiers have fought more than 10 wars, from the American Revolution through the Cold War, the Gulf War, to the current Global War on Terrorism. This year's theme is "Call to Duty – Boots on the Ground." (I can relate to that).

For all you fathers out there, Happy Father's Day (a day late). This wasn't my best Father's Day either if you were wondering.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Yeah, You Blend

I went to church this week. I hadn't been since I arrived at Camp Phoenix as Sunday is a regular workday and Mass was previously only celebrated at 3 PM. The time was changed last week to 5 PM, but I forgot it was Sunday so I missed last week. It is easy to forget what day of the week it is because everyday is the same; I remembered this week.

Also, I visited the ISAF compound this week. That is where most of the European forces have their headquarters. In this compound each country has a dining facility and I chose to eat at the French one. I figured that the French have got to have good food and as a bonus I could use the 5 French words I still remember from high school French class. Well, the dining facility was much nicer than our US one. They had real plates and utensils, we use paper and plastic. It's funny how a simple thing like real silverware can be a highlight in your day. The food was pretty good and I was able to have a little Brie and Blue cheese. And of course the bread was excellent. It is nice to have a small diversion from the usual routine. I also saw some of the German vehicles they drive around in. So there is a huge difference between the US and Germany, we are driving around in SUV's (they are Toyotas) and the Germans are driving around in a space age tank looking vehicle that has racing seats and all kinds of cool equipment in it. The vehicle is about 10 feet high and it is impressive rolling down the street.

This week we continued working on inventories and trying to get a handle on all the material. We had some more process review meetings and everyone is very enthusiastic about making change. We also had our team meeting which went well. I presented some future plans and goals to the team and others as well as conducted training sessions on various topics. We plan on having monthly team meetings so we can all keep moving in the right direction.

By now you are wondering about the title to this update. The other day I was meeting with some of my ANA counterparts and we started talking about President Karzai and his hat.

I found out that his hat costs over $1,500 and is made from the skin of a just born lamb. (Editor's Note - I found an article from 2002 saying that the hat cost $35 and was made from an aborted lamb fetus, which I think is better and worse - in that order. Nonetheless, Patrick don't even think for a second about bringing the pelt of any animal - be it aborted, just born or dead by natural causes - back home. Yuck! http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=008rjK ) Kind of a sick thought. I don't believe that PETA has made their way to Afghanistan or there would a ban on these hats. The ANA officers started saying how they would like to take me out in town. Of course we are not allowed to do this, unless on convoy, for security reasons. They said they could dress me up in local clothes and since I had dark hair and dark features I could blend in. I imagine I don't blend that much and I am sure most Afghans can pick out Americans without too much problem. So this reminded me of the movie, "My cousin Vinny" when Joe Pesci was saying how he fit in down South and Marisa Tomei (she won a best actress Oscar for this role) said, "Oh yeah, you blend." There I go with another movie reference. Rebecca often remarks that if I did not have any movie quotes I would have nothing to say. I just say, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." (Yes that is from Gone With The Wind).

(Editor's Note, To which I respond: "What we've got here is failure to communicate." COOL HAND LUKE 1967. I've been a Wade for 15 years, I can play this game now too.)Back on the homefront, Madigan had a Father's Day event at school, fortunately my brother Matt who flies for FedEx had a layover in San Diego and was able to stand in for me. He looks enough like me that I am not sure anyone knew any better, except of course Madigan. (Editor's Note: Matt tried to convince Madigan that having him was BETTER than having Dad, but she didn't buy it. Matt also helped us put up our yellow ribbon flag on the front of the house... I had a little trouble because it had grommets not a sleeve.)The kids have a few more days of school until summer break and then they are off to summer activities and driving Rebecca a little crazy. (Editor's Note: Too late, I'm already crazy.)

Until next week, I will continue to blend into my surroundings and stay safe.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Momma Mia

I know you are thinking, how does Pat come up with these goofy e-mail titles? Well, follow me on this one and you might understand. I was meeting with Pat Meriwether (see Pat, I did get you in the update) about his operations at the Central Issue Facility where he issues uniform items and gear to the new Afghan Army recruits. We were meeting with an Afghan Colonel who oversees the supply and logistics for the training command in Kabul. The meeting went well, and we actually successfully used a couple of words in Dari. So after the meeting, Pat decided to give me and Nathan Duffy (he oversees our main warehouse) a tour of the training command. The first area we saw was a dilapidated pool that had not been in use for some time. We learned that this was the pool that the Taliban used when they were executing people. After they shot people, the bodies would fall into the bottom of the empty pool. Thankfully, the pool is closed.
Editor's Note: I found this description of the pool. (http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/26/opinion/edrashid.php)

Next we passed through a gate and were greeted by a terrible stench of wet garbage that had been left to decay. I began to wonder what wonderful thing we would see next. We came to the top of small hill where a run-down building stood. It was the bakery where they make all the bread for the Afghan meals at the training facility. Afghan bread is called Naan and we watched as the "bakers" rolled dough into flat, round pieces and then flung them into a fire burning clay oven using a big oven mitt. The dough would stick to the walls of the oven and be removed, after cooking, with a long stick with a hook on the end. I thought, there is no way this could be sanitary, but I tried the Naan anyway. They made a special batch of sweet bread for us and it was delicious. As I looked at the round flat piece of bread, it reminded me of a pizza crust (you are starting to get the title now aren't you) and the three of us thought about how we missed real pizza. It would not be a far stretch to take this bread, add some sauce and cheese and make a mighty fine pizza. So that is our next mission, to get some ingredients and make some pizzas. We even thought we could turn the little bakery into a pizza parlor, we will just have to think of a catchy name, something that translates well into Dari. Perhaps Afghanistan Pizza Kitchen or Papa Mohammad's.

My team is making great progress in all operations. We began doing inventories this week; it's more like a treasure hunt than an inventory process because we keep finding things that we didn't know we had there. The team is working hard and everyone is working well together. I was fortunate to have Chief Armstrong visiting from downrange. Since he wasn't doing anything that day, he agreed to help out with our inventory. We also had more visitors. This week General McNeill (4 star), the Commander of ISAF came along with Major General Durbin, CSTC-A Commander and visited Depot 1. We showed a small display of clothing we issue and also gave them lunch at the warehouse. Then we went on a tour of the warehouse including our weapons area.

In addition to visits there were several meetings to run through various processes at the warehouses. We continue to look at all processes and determine ways to continue the improvement process. We are all in basically the same position, new to the theater and trying to understand all of the relationships and procedures. All our efforts are leading to our long term goal of turning over the operations to our Afghan counterparts and we are making progress.

Back on the homefront, my nieces Kathleen and Elizabeth did get jobs, in fact two jobs each. They will be working catering at USD and working at Legoland. Rebecca has been planning lots of parties and end of the year school events. One of the parties was going to LIPS for Kathleen's birthday. For those in San Diego, you may know LIPS, it is a very unique venue where men dress like women and put on a singing and dancing show. You have to experience it to understand. Editor's Note: This is Patrick celebrating his 39th birthday at LIPS in May 2003. I prefer to think of this as "Mama Mia"!Also WD-40 Company invited Rebecca and the kids to the zoo for the WD-40 family day. I am sorry I am missing it, but I will be back for next year's event.

Until next time, arrivederci, and I hope to have a fine pizza soon.

Peace to you all,

Pat

Flies

Have you ever seen those clips of people in starving countries just sitting around as flies crawl around their faces and they don't seem to care? I don't know what it is, but recently the fly population in Afghanistan seems to have quadrupled. Everywhere you go there are flies circling around you waiting to land on you and make you flinch. I am trying to work up the nerve to let them crawl on me without swatting them away just to see if I can do it. It may be a while. For now, not only am I armed with my M9 pistol and M4 rifle, but I have my fly swatter with me. I bought a handy little holster for it at the bazaar. Every time I think of flies, I get the image of the movie "The Fly" not the newer one, but the classic one with the scene of when the half-man, half-fly is caught in the spider's web screaming, "Help me!"

(Editor's Note: For those of you not like the Wade's (who have seen every movie ever produced, and who have certain movies quotes committed to memory to insert in every day conversations)... here is what Pat is talking about: The Fly (1958). A Canadian scientist has a horrific accident when he tries to use his newly invented teleportation device. As he attempts to transport himself, a fly gets inside the machine and the two are hopelessly scrambled together. The scientist emerges as a half-man, half-fly hybrid— a human with a fly's head and insect claw. Pathetically he tries to reverse the process and return himself to normal, but fails and, his mind overtaken by that of the fly, ultimately commits suicide. In the famous twist ending, the scientist's brother (Vincent Price) hears a tiny voice coming from a nearby spider's web; he makes the dreadful discovery of a tiny creature with the scientist's emaciated head and the body of a fly, shrieking, "Help me! Help me!" as it is about to be devoured by a spider. However, a policeman then casts a stone into the web and kills both the human head and the spider, ending the suffering the head would have ensued had it been eaten.)

We have been making good progress at work getting a good handle on resources and priorities. There are still the fire fights, but we are handling all the business. I am thankful I have such a great team of people to work with; they are really doing great things. We had a visit this week from the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Logistics and Material Readiness, the honorable Jackson Bell. That is quite a title. We did our usual tour of the facility and fortunately LCDR Steve Parks, the Public Affairs Officer from Kandahar, was in town to take some pictures and will write up a story about our facilities.

I attended some regular meetings and spent some time with our ANA counterparts at the Logistics Command which is the ANA headquarters for logistics. It is truly a learning experience to work with the Afghan military and gain a deeper understanding of their culture. This week we also had a big meeting about reorganization. Our US military organization is changing to better support the combined security forces made up of both the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police.

Did you know that the Afghanistan is the number one exporter of poppy seeds? This is an area of concern for the US as Poppies are used in the production of heroin and the Taliban gains part of its funding from this source. For those who want to learn more about Afghanistan and poppies, here is link to an article.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/05/21/afghan.drugs.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Here is an interesting story about one of the gate guards at Camp Phoenix. His name is Rambo, so named by the American soldiers, and he is an Afghan who has worked at the gate for years.

A couple months ago while we were still at Fort Riley, we heard the story of how Rambo stopped a car bomb from getting into Camp Phoenix. Here is a link to a story about this unique individual. http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=25831&archive=true

Back on the homefront, my nieces Kathleen and Elizabeth are visiting for the summer from Boston.

(Editor's Note - This is Grandma Dill's Ford Contour with MA license plates in our driveway in San Diego. This is the car that our nieces, 19 & 20, drove across the country. Thomas cannot understand how they made it in such a small car without XM radio and, heaven forbid, without a DVD player.)

They made the long drive across country and hope to have summer jobs soon and of course enjoy the sunshine and the beach. Rebecca organized a big crew of people (19 total I think) to go to the movie Pirates of the Caribbean III. They make an event of it going to Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood with VIP tickets to watch the movie and I am sure they will be wearing their pirate t-shirts. I will have to catch the movie sometime while I am out here.

Well that is my world for this week, I hope you are all well.

Peace to you all,

Pat

I Love This Game

Every few days some of us get together and play basketball in the gym. Now you get the "I love this game" title. We enjoy getting some exercise and competing. For the most part the games are friendly and everyone has a good time. Well, I guess I am not as young as I used to be and this last time I played was Thursday this week. I use the term "last" because I am out for a while as I sprained my ankle pretty badly. There I was going up for the rebound (I did get it by the way) and came down on someone's foot which caused my foot to roll completely on its side. You can guess what happened, all my body weight hit on that foot and twisted my ankle in unnatural ways. The pain was severe, but I managed to get off the court and someone called the medical people. They took me on a short ride to the medical facility where my ankle was X-rayed and found I had no break. That was the good news. The bad news was it was a pretty bad sprain and my ankle swelled up and is bruised all around. I am out of basketball for a while and I also can't convoy so I am staying here on Camp Phoenix recovering and working from my office. I spent the first day of recovery in my room and fortunately my good friend John Z came to my rescue and got me meals while I rested and iced my ankle. The next day I was able to get around with crutches and go the short distance to my office. Getting injured really is a pain in the ankle. I am taking care of myself and I should be able to get around with a limp in a few days. Interestingly, the basketball court causes more of the injuries around this place than the Taliban, that is a good thing. Do they give purple hearts for basketball injuries?

So this gave me an opportunity to sit in front of my computer and catch up with e-mails and task many people with all kinds of interesting things I could think up. I was also able to do some planning for our operations and take care of some unfinished business. There is always something going on around the warehouses and serving the ANA, whether it is filling orders or tracking down shipments or working up ways to improve operations. It keeps us all busy.

This week I received a great surprise. WD-40 Company sent me 4 huge packages of stuff. The boxes weighed almost 50 pounds a piece so our mail clerk was none too happy with me. They loaded me up with magazines, snacks, baby wipes (they are for cleaning your hands because there is not a lot of running water at the warehouses), cards, puzzle books, soaps, shampoos, chapstick, WD-40 Smart Straw post it notes, and some stuff for kids like pencils and lollipops. The greatest thing in the packages were notes written by the employees saying how they respected what I was doing and missed me, oh yes and Happy Birthday. It was my birthday (May 3rd just in case you want to put that in your calendar for next year, where of course I plan to celebrate it at home). It was really a great surprise and I thank all my WD-40 family. (Editor's Note - We also received a box at home, toys and candy for the kids and a Starbuck's gift card for me! Thank you WD-40!)

I also received a package from Rebecca with a some requested items. Although there are stores here, there are things that are truly hard to get. She has actually sent me four packages; all things that have made my life a bit better. I now have a web cam so I can do video calls with Rebecca and the kids and also my 2 brothers and their wives. My sister is not very tech savy, so she has yet to join the webcam revolution. I believe she still has a rotary phone, she likes to think it is artsy. I remember trying to use it once, it took forever to dial the number and I made several mistakes. Rebecca also sent me a Tempur-pedic mattress cover and pillow to match, it is just like home now. She also sent a couple of 2 GB memory sticks, it is hard to believe they are storing so much in a little stick. I also received a balance board and stability ball so I can do a little workout in my room when I am up to it. I am pretty well set up now, and basically have everything I need.

Back on the homefront, Rebecca and the kids are doing pretty well. They keep busy with school, Rebecca's work, church functions, and they recently went to a Pirate show and then to Knott's Berry Farm. They seem to be having a lot of fun without me. I also forgot to mention in my last update that Thomas received his First Communion, I wish I could have been there for that. He looked very handsome in his suit. Fortunately family friends, Annie, (Editor's Note - I added Annie because really, Clare and Kristin will agree she did all of the work) Clare, and Kristin were there to help with the celebration afterwards. There always has to be a party. Madigan is doing well and has begun to speak in "tongues" it is interesting to hear her on the video call, its almost as if she is saying something. She is quite a character. I miss them all and can't wait till Christmas when I take my leave and see them again.

Until next time, this is "hop along" Wade saying watch where you step.

Peace to you all,

Pat

What's in a name

So what's in a name? When we are expecting a child, we spend months laboring (pun intended)over a child's name looking through books, studying family histories and remembering people who mean something to us. And ultimately, we choose a name that has some meaning and significance for us. I mentioned last week I would share some of the thought process that went into naming my blog and I would also like to share something about the name "Camp Phoenix".

First my blog. As you all know it is http://www.wadeaminute.blogspot.com/. Well the www and the blogspot.com part come as part of the site. The wadeaminute part had some thinking behind it. It started with a few people getting together virtually over e-mail brainstorming names. Many great ideas surfaced, such as something to do with the desert or sand or the Navy. As we thought about it those things were limiting in the fact that they only dealt with things happening while I was deployed and this too shall pass. So we looked at names that had a family twist to them and had staying power even after I returned home. Our name Wade seemed like it had to be in there and so it is. Wade sounded a bit like "wait" and then there was Wade a minute. Most of you know I love movies and one of my favorite movies is "The Sunshine Boys" starring Walter Mathau and George Burns. A great line that Walter Mathau uses when George Burns knocks on his door is "Wait a minute" said sounding like an old Jewish man's voice. It's a funny line you have to watch the movie. The words Wade a minute also sounded a bit like Wade in a minute. A brief recap of what is going on with the Wade's in a minute. Yes, I know there is no possible way to read these things in a minute and of course it takes me many minutes to write them. In any case it had a little bit of a news cast sound to it, you know, "News of the Wade's, up to the minute". So that is how it all happened, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Now a bit about the name Camp Phoenix. You might think it comes from that city in Arizona. It actually comes from a saying about Afghanistan, "Rising from the ashes".

Rising from the ashes, Camp Phoenix and its mission are local symbols of rebirth and renewal following the horrific impacts of Taliban rule and the chaotic aftermath of the U.S. led war on terrorism. With a compliment of around 700 U.S. and International troops, Camp Phoenix is dedicated to the support and training of the new Afghan National Army as well as significant public outreach/humanitarian programs such as building and supplying schools and assisting orpahanges. Camp Phoenix is a relatively small outpost located at an elevation of ~6100 feet, surrounded by 15,000+ ft mountains and is well within the western outskirts of Kabul, the largest city and capitol of Afghanistan.

For you Harry Potter fans, Dumbledore has a pet Phoenix, named Fawkes, that appropriately symbolizes the rising from the ashes saying.

Well it was a pretty busy week. I am really starting to get into my job and it is keeping me busy. It was my first full week on my own without Andy telling me what things meant. So far I am getting the hang of this thing. I have been doing a lot planning and setting priorities because there is so much to do and we can't do it all. And yes, there is plenty of fire fighting with emergencies that come from headquarters. It is funny how work is the same all over the world. It is a little more challenging here due to the culture of the Afghan people. They lived under Soviet rule and the Taliban and they have learned to hoard and basically live day to day. Long term vision is not something they think about a lot. It does make planning a bit more difficult, but we are making progress and that is what counts.

The excitement this week was a visit from two American Generals, Major General Durbin (that's a two star) and Lt General Dubik (a 3 star general). They had a nice tour of our facility along with their entourage and then were off again. It was nice to have some time with them and then it was nice to have them leave. There is always a lot of stress when Generals visit.

I thought I would leave you with some more items to keep with the name theme. In the military we have lots of words that most people wouldn't know the meanings of and overseas there are a few pertinent to here.

Watch your six = That is watch your back, when you use clock designations a 6 o'clock is your back.
Comms = Radio

SAW = Semiautomatic (squad) Assault Weapon, a 249 machine gun

Peddle to the metal like a slinky that is alive = you drive as fast as the slowest vehicle and vary the distance between the vehicles so the enemy can't time their IED
Warlock Systems jams radio/wireless activated IED (Bombs)
Crew Serve Weapons = weapons that need two people unless mounted on the top of a vehicle such as 240B and M2 (50 cal) machine guns.
Head by a Rhino = a boom that sticks out in front of the lead vehicle to trigger trip wires & laser trigged bombs (IED) or a 5 ton gun truck

Until next time, "watch your six".

Peace to you all,

Pat