Ralph Dagza

Air Force has the most intelligent enlisted people

Ralph Dagza — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:30:47 +0000

There is no doubt at all in my military mind that, of all the Services, the Air Force has the most intelligent enlisted people. This is not just theory, it’s provable fact and this is one of the many reasons I joined the Air Force:

Take the Army, for instance. When the stuff hits the fan, the young Army private wakes up from a bellow from the First Sergeant. He grabs a set of BDUs out of his foot locker, gets dressed, runs down to the chow-hall for a breakfast on the run, then jumps in his tank. Pretty soon, the Platoon Commander arrives, gives him a big salute, and says, “Give ‘em Hell, men.”

Now take the Marines. When the stuff hits the fan, the young Marine recruit is kicked out of bed by his First Sergeant, puts on a muddy set of BDUs because he just got back in from the field three hours before. He gets no breakfast, but is told to feel free to chew on his boots. He runs out and forms up with his rifle. Pretty soon, his platoon commander comes out, a young Captain, Gives his Marines a Sharp Salute, and says, “Give ‘em Hell, Marines!”

Now take the Navy. When the stuff hits the fan, the young Sailor is eating breakfast in the messroom.. He walks 20 feet to his battle station, stuffing extra pastries in his pocket as he goes. There he sits, in the middle of a steel target, with nowhere to run, when the Captain comes on the 1MC and says, “Give ‘em Hell, Sailors! I salute you!”

Now the Air Force. When the stuff hits the fan, the Airman receives a phone call in his off-base quarters. He gets up, showers, shaves, and puts on a fresh uniform he had just picked up from the BX cleaners the day before. He jumps in his car, and stops at McDonalds for a McMuffin on his way into work. Once he arrives at work, he signs in on the duty roster and proceeds to his F-16. He spends 30 minutes pre-flighting it, signs off the forms. Pretty soon the Pilot, a young captain gets out and straps into the Plane. He starts the engines. Our Young Airman stands at attention, gives the Captain a sharp salute, and says, “Give ‘em Hell, Sir!”

Somewhat related

Air Force quality of life

Ralph Dagza — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:26:06 +0000

This classic joke is the best way to explain the quality of life in the Air Force…. Its not bad but for some people, its not good enough.

An Army grunt sitting in a foxhole, eating MREs and wearing 50lbs of gear after having marched 12 miles, says: “This sucks.”

A Navy seaman sitting on his 5′ X 2′ bunk, in a closet-sized room smelling of oil and rolling from the waves, which he shares with 6 other men, after not having seen the sky for 30 days says: “this really sucks”.

A marine, doing push-ups in the mud during a downpour, after an 18 mile march with 60 lbs of gear, says: “I love the way this sucks, oorah!”

The special forces green beret crawling through a leech-infested swamp, eating nothing but bugs and tree bark for 6 days, sneaking around past armed terrorists, says: “I wish this could suck some more!”

An Air Force pilot sitting in an easy chair in an air conditioned hotel, holding a remote control, says: “no cable? this sucks!”

Somewhat related

Never take a girl for granted

Ralph Dagza — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:28:24 +0000

Remember when you were younger, when your parents tried to get rid of your toys that you never played with and you got mad because you’ve realized that you still want to play with them. That’s how I feel right now about this girl, I should’ve not taken her for granted. The moral lesson of this story is you should never take a girl for granted especially when everything is doing just fine.

PS.

I do regret this. Oh well, Happy Holidays!

Random Posts

At this moment

Ralph Dagza — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:04:22 +0000

At this moment, I am saving the world! I did not turn the volume down, I just dont have time to share my useless ideas/opinions. I invite you to check out a random post, add me on Myspace or Facebook, follow me on Twitter, and look at my recent internet discoveries on my Tumblr which I try to update everyday.

Christmas is next week, I have tons of gifts and cookies (thanks). I cannot believe NORAD is still tracking Santa Clause.

Somewhat related

Ralph Dagza is back

Great Ziggurat of Ur (Pictures)

Ralph Dagza — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:09:49 +0000

The Ziggurat was dedicated to the moon Nanna (or Suen. The name Nanna is Sumerian for “illuminator”.), in the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq, near Nasiriyah south of Baghdad. . The construct, a huge stepped platform, was built approximately in the 21st century BC by king Ur-Namma. In Sumerian times it was called Etemennigur. Today, after more than 4000 years, the ziggurat is still well preserved in large parts, and partially reconstructed, as the only major remainder of Ur in present-day southern Iraq. Its upper stage is over 100 feet (30 m) high and the base is 210 feet (64 m) by 150 feet (46 m).

The ziggurat was a piece in a temple complex, which was thought to be the dwelling of the moon god, the patron deity of Ur, on earth. Temples and Shrines are built on top of the trapezoidal base. It is said that ziggurat serves as a tool to bridge the distance between the sky and the earth. The Gods are believed to descend down and visit the temple where only a selected group of priest and government officials may enter. The construction of the ziggurat was finished in the 21st century BC by King Shulgi, who in order to win the allegiance of cities, proclaimed himself god. During his 48-year reign, the city of Ur grew to be the capital of a state controlling much of Mesopotamia. Later though, the fortunes of Ur declined, and it was sacked by the Elamites. (via Wikipedia)

Ziggurat of Ur

Abraham's house

COB ADDER

Ali Air Base

Another pic from the Ziggurat

Capt. pose at Abraham's crib

I know nothing about the City of Ur, Thanks to Wikipedia!

Random Posts

How is Iraq?

Ralph Dagza — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:36:11 +0000

It has been a long time since I looked at this site. I’ve been deployed here in [redacted], Iraq for almost 3 months now and I’ve been keeping myself busy 24/7. Iraq is not that bad, it is hot and dusty and muddy when it rains. I appreciate all of your emails, packages and your support, its hard for me to keep up so I am making a list of what’s going on with me.

I’ve been going to the gym everyday for almost three months now. I’m down to 5% body fat
I made some new friends from all over the world… (Romanians, Iraqis, Brits, and Red Necks)
I’m starting to hate the song “Shake it” by Metro Station because they play it on Freedom Radio every hour
I am also tired of AFN and their stupid commercials
I have a bag full of POGS, (they use POGS here instead of coins)
My iPhone is still working after being exposed from hazardous elements
Food is so good here… yum yum yum
I go to Taco Bell every Friday and Smoke the “Hookah” on Saturdays
We have a network drive called the “morale drive” it is full of movies and my goal is to watch every movies… Im still in “C”

I wish I can go on but I really can’t tell you about what we do, we have some “OK” days and we also have some “Not OK” days. Its getting repetitive, but life goes on. My communication with my family and friends is better than what I thought it would be, we have computers and WiFi, AT&T and satellite phones.

In conclusion, I am doing alright. If you want to send me something just use the contact form, I want some homemade cookies!

Somewhat related

Stuck in Al Udeid

Ralph Dagza — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:08:08 +0000

Al Udeid Air Base is a military base west of Doha, Qatar. It houses coalition personnel and assets. It is the home of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing of the USAF. Blah Blah Blah…. This place is better than most Air Force Base back in the states. I am only staying here for a couple of days until they get us a flight to our final destination. The Quality of life here is fucking great, this is more of a vacation than a deployment.

You can go to the pool, then go to Dairy Queen, they also have Subway, Popeye’s, and Pizza hut, you can buy a brand new car if you want and they can ship it to your door, The movie theater is playing 24/7, They have internet cafes and Starbucks, Several game rooms with Xbox’s and PS3’s, A gym, and everyday you are entitled to have three beers or any mixed drinks.

There are so much to do here, and wifi can be found everywhere. It sounds fun but I’m sure it will get old. I like it here but there is no place like home. Al Udeid is not a war zone, the only thing you have to worry about is the long lines on the beer line.

Somewhat related

My duty as a Combat Lifesaver

Ralph Dagza — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:52:24 +0000

CLS (combat lifesaver) are trained soldiers or airmen that are non medic such as infantrymen or engineers who receive moderate emergency medical training to provide point of wounding care, and to act as a link between “buddy aid” and the standard Combat Medic. This is one of the training we had to do during CST (Combat Skills Training) the course is about 40 hours long plus an exercise which tested our skills under intense pressure, with fake bloods, explosions, and smoke grenades! It was a lot of fun.

My primary job is not to hunt and kill insurgents but the enemies will try their best of interrupt our mission by placing IEDs, ambush, and etc. The mission is halted if we’re under attack and if we have casualties needing medical attention. We have to get rid of the threat (If necessary) by following the ROE (Rules of Engagement) and also evacuate the casualties by requesting MEDEVAC so they can get medical treatment if needed before we can continue with our mission.

Windshield displaying medevac reporting procedures

Combat lifesaver skills are exactly that, for use in combat conditions. However, skills may be applied in non-combat conditions where soldiers are concerned. The combat lifesaver is instructed in various techniques to treat and stabilize injuries related to combat. To include, but not limited to, blast injury, amputation, severe bleeding, penetrating chest injuries, simple airway management, and evacuation techniques. The combat lifesaver doctrine was developed as an effort to increase survivability in combat environments where the combat medic may not be readily available. The combat lifesaver is a bridge between self aid or buddy aid, and the combat medic. The combat lifesaver can augment the combat medic as the situation necessitates.

Skills of the Combat Lifesaver

Basic casualty evaluation
Airway management
Chest injury and tension pneumothorax management
Controlling Bleeding
Intravenous Drip therapy
Requesting medical evacuation

Just to make myself clear, a combat lifesaver is not a combat medic. We are there to provide aid to casualties to keep them “alive” until the “real” medics arrive so they can get proper treatment if necessary.

What do I think about the CLS course

Death by PowerPoint! I’m not going to lie, it is really boring but the hands on part was fun plus the instructors taught us the practical way to give aid based on their real life experiences. I learned how to stick an IV (Intravenous Solution) and a saline lock. We had to stick an IV to each other and somehow my partner missed my vein and when he started pumping the saline solution, it infiltrated my skin, it felt that my skin was burning and there was a lump size of a ping pong ball and it was filled with saline crawling in my arm it felt like it was a little creature trying to get out of my skin so he had to do it again and now I look like a heroin addict with all holes in my arms

Me giving a saline lock to Senior Airman Boyd

When it was my time to give him the IV solution, I did it right on the first try…. Maybe I was meant to become a Combat Lifesaver. Anyway, this is a good knowledge to have but I hope I will never have to use it. I hope you know what I’m saying.

Random Posts

I can’t wait to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Trailer)

Ralph Dagza — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:39:00 +0000

zack and miri make a porno

Sounds perverted eh? Actually, Zack and Miri is an upcoming movie written and directed by Kevin Smith. The movie is about a lifelong platonic friends Zack played by (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) look to solve their respective cashflow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.

This movie features our favorite stoner from “Knocked up” and “Pineapple Express”, he is also the writer of the movie “Superbad.” Our favorite “Mac guy” from Apple’s Mac and PC commercials Justin Long is also in this movie.

MPAA’s NC17 rating for this movie has been changed to “R” without making any cuts. You can watch the red band trailer after the skip.

Don’t forget to check it out in theaters on October 31st. I’ll be in Iraq!

Somewhat related

Deployment Necessities

Deployment Necessities

Ralph Dagza — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:03:10 +0000

In case you have not noticed, I am deploying pretty soon. Since I practice safe OPSEC I can’t tell you when I’m leaving. Deployment is going to be boring unless you make the best of it, that’s why you bring toys with you. I already have 3 bags to carry, and I’m expecting to get more stuff when I get to CST. Here are the things that I am going to bring to make my deployment a little bit more fun and somewhat productive.

PSP - I am not a big fan of the Sony PSP but I got a deal on the Madden 09 edition, for 199 USD it comes with the PSP console, Madden 09, 1 GB Memory stick, and this new PSP comes with a pre-installed Skype software so I can call my friends/family at home (my skype ID is “ralphdagza”). I’m going to use this primarily just for gaming because Its too big to use as an MP3 player. What I really want is a Nintendo DS but I can just get one when I get to my final destination.
Canon SD1000 - This is a really good point and shoot camera and it does videos as well. While deployed, you want to bring some memories back home like all the friends you made, pets, and more. When you take pictures make sure that you are not taking a picture of something that will put operational security at risk.
iPhone - Why the hell not? They call it the Jesus phone and it can pretty much do everything and it does include a calculator especially for battlefield calculations. I already put my AT&T account on hold because I wont be using my iPhone for calls and SMS but I can still use it for MP3s, video podcast, games, photo gallery so I can still look at my ex’s photos, email and Safari for web browsing because most likely they’re going to have wifi, and varieties of useless apps to keep myself busy.
Laptop - I’m not bringing my Macbook PRO because its not mortar proof so unfortunately I’m bringing my HP laptop with Vista installed because Windows are pretty much disposable if I want to touch an apple I’ll have my iPhone with me. Its redundant if I tell you what I’m going to do with it (see iPhone)

I think those are good enough but I am always welcome for suggestions. Thanks and more power!