In Hell?


-Snuggle cuddles Kojack.- I hope everything gets better hun, I want you happy and safe.

*snuggles back* I've come to terms with what's happening.....it looks like i may be able to keep this from happening but i'm not gonna say anything until i know for sure whats gonna happen....and don't say anything to Nadine....i don't need her stressing over this just yet


and no that isn't the right answer

-Keeps up the snuggles.- Ok hun my lips are sealed. Just stay as safe as you can.

will do Kim =)

Though this journal entry is a month old I hope everything worked out for you in the end. It is a tired saying that we all have bad days especially when you are the one on the spot.

Well, if it means anything, I hope you are all right and that whatever had happened was able to be overcame.

yeah i got over the problem so all is well for the time being....just gotta do what the army wants me to do lol

Oh man, no wonder why you were so grumpy! Yeah, things in the military sometimes makes no sense, but I reckon the best way to look at the situation is to remember that in the end of the day with your experience hopefully you will become a law enforcement officer like you had planned, isn't it?

well the law enforcement thing is one of my plans...in the army you gotta have plans A-Z and sub sections of said plans like plan A.1 A.2 B.1 etc. so yes I do have a plan to be a cop (oink oink lol) but it's on of many a plan i have...the only reason why this thing is such a big pain is because i'm gonna have to leave my GF for a year until i either separate from the army or go into the Nat' Guard.....so it's off to Ft. Riley KS for me =[

Yeah, you are definitely right about having multiple plans especially because you never know what could happen in a deployment. At least you are thinking forward which is why I am surprised you are only a PFC! You would think you would have been a corporal by now in light of your intelligence!

Leaving your girlfriend is going to be tough, but at least you will be back on the mainland allowing her to visit you (though I suppose she could do so in Germany, too). At least Kansas is in the centre of the country, and depending on where she is I would think she would not be more than a two hour flight to see you.

Well, I can totally picture you being a police officer especially with those sunglasses you wear! Now someone is going to have to keep the stools warm at the area doughnut shops, and I think you are just the man to do that!

well i actually got fucked over for my promotion to SPC...it's a long story that i hate explaining and hate even more to write it all out...so as of now it'll be a while before i sit down and share it

and my GF is in Germany so she wont be able to visit me as easily as i would like =(

and yeah it would be a pretty sweet gig...and I will never be able to wear those shades on duty unless i grow a mustache to go with them...only then will i be able to chill out at a doughnut shop!....ONLY THEN!!!! XD

Don't worry about explaining your situation, and I can pretty much imagine what had happened to you without your having to go into detail. I know dealing with the military, its bureaucracy, and rules can make a sinner out of a saint. You are definitely not alone in that area because I remember reading that when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was assistant secretary of the Navy he could not make a dent in the way it operated despite his high position. I would not get discouraged because things will work out for you in the end because despite your rank you will always have veterans preference for jobs and will have access to the VA and other veterans programs irregardless of your rank. Rank, while important in the military, does not necessarily tell the whole story when it comes to an individual from my experience.

If your girlfriend has a German passport, then visiting you in the USA should not be a problem for her. Germans do not require visas to come the USA, and they can stay here for up to 90 days without a visa. The only time Germans need a visa for this country is if they plan on immigrating to the USA, work here, or study here. As a result, all your girlfriend has to do is get on an airplane to Kansas to visit you (when you are stationed there) assuming she has German citizenship.

Maybe I am missing out on something here and have watched "Supertroopers" one too many times, but why do you need a mustache to wear shades and be a police officer? Haha! Well, as long as you have a uniform, then that will be enough to get you into a doughnut shop at least where I live!

I take solace in knowing I'm not the only one this has happened too.

And it's stupid expensive to visit each other so I'm not gonna get to see her until Nov .

The moustache thing is not for the job but for the sunglasses.......yeah I could wear them and be a tad cliche but if I am ever to be cliche then by God I'm going all out lol

As for trips between the US and Germany, actually plane tickets can be pretty reasonable depending upon the destinations. What I mean is that direct flights between Frankfurt aM or Munich to places such as Chicago, New York, Houston, and Atlanta are quite reasonable because there are so many flights between those cities and Germany. From there your girlfriend can pick up a domestic flight to Kansas which is not really too bad price wise. As long as your girlfriend purchases tickets well in advance and goes through major hubs such as Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and Houston, then finding reasonably priced air fare to visit you should not be too much of a problem. Lufthansa in particular has weekend getaway trips from major German cities to New York which might work towards you benefit.


Gosh, a moustache seems so 1970ish to me, and wearing one of those nowadays seems kind of old fashioned. Then again, if you want to have the "Supertrooper" look going on kind of like that film, then a moustache might be the way to go. Personally, I think you look really good the way you are now, and a moustache might be a bit of a distraction. You already have the police officer look going on if you ask me! All you need is the uniform and walkie talkie to complete your look!

well i suppose but she wants me to go to her....as do i because KS is fucking boring lol and i'm sure i could find a pretty cheap ticket if i wanted to

and yeah i do look like a cop.....i may just be one.....but i mean the 'stache would look pretty sweet XD

Even going from Kansas to Germany is not too bad assuming your girlfriend is in the old Federal Republic (West Germany) which has very good airlinks with the United States. The former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) has a lot fewer options with flights, and if your girlfriend is from there, then flights to and from some of the smaller airfields in that zone are pricey.

Out of curiousity, aren't you from California? Why doesn't your girlfriend and you just meet up in California? I mean few folks in Europe would turn down a trip to California, and at least you can hang out with your family, too, while visiting your girlfriend, right? I think flights from most major cities in California to Germany are going to be reasonably priced especially if you folks book the ticket well advance. Especially with fuel rates going down I am sure your girlfriend can find plenty of good round trip deals.

If you do go to Germany, then about the only time you might not be able to do too much stuff over there is the period between December 24th - January 1st. Germany kind of shuts down during that timeframe with there being quite a few holidays mixed into that period of time. However, if you will be spending Christmas with your girlfriend's family, then going to Germany for Christmas is all right because places such as Nurenburg in particular have excellent Christmas events.

Please pardon me if I appear to sound nosey, but are you in Germany or Kansas right now? I had assumed up until this point that you were somewhere in Bavaria. If talking about your location would compromise security for you or your unit, then you can ignore my question because your safety is what is most important.


Oh man, you with a mustache would just look odd, but then again, I guess anything is worth a try. After all, a mustache worked out well for Tom Selleck all of those years he was on "Magnum, P.I.," and I suppose you can have the Wyatt Earp look going on, right?

my GF is an east German and I would like to go see her, mostly because her family wants to spend time with her as much as possible before I take her to the states to live with me.

Currently I am in Kansas and i have never been to Bavaria lol

well i would love to grow a mustache but sadly it isn't in my genes to grow more then stubble so i'll never be able to grow a full on mustache.....God i wish i could though

I totally understand why your girlfriend would much prefer to spend as much time in Germany especially if her long-term plan is to join you in the United States. With that being said, my guess is that with the backlog at the Bureau of Immigration it will take a while for your girlfriend to get permission to legally come here thus enabling her to spend a lot of time with her family. My guess is that until her visa is approved you will be doing a lot of trips to eastern Germany than her coming to the US.

Especially since your girlfriend lives in Germany I am sure the only costs you would incur going there would be your airplane tickets. Especially if you book ahead of time you can get round trip tickets on most airlines to Germany for around $600-$800. Everything depends on where your girlfriend lives, of course, but if you are willing to do a stop over in Frankfurt aM, Munich, Dusseldorf, or other European cities such as Warsaw, Zurich, or London, then you should be able to find affordable fares to where you want to go.

Especially with your being in the Army I am really surprised that you have not been to Bavaria. Most of the remaining Army bases in Germany are in southern Germany in Bavaria or the neighbouring state of Baden-Wuttenburg. Then again, you might have been at a place such as Wiesbaden or K-Town which probably would have kept you out of Bavaria. I know that a lot of old US Army installations in Germany have closed over the last 15 years due to the BRAC, and I am sure soldiers are kept in a lot fewer places than before. When you go see your girlfriend next time, then try to make a trip to Bavaria most especially to Munich because there are nice things to see there.

Haha! I noticed that your skin looks really smooth, and at least you do not have to worry about shaving all of the time which makes you lucky! Are you just not a hairy guy at all, or do you just have trouble growing facial hair?

yeah that's why I want to go to Germany, and I've been told that once i marry her she is recognized as a citizen because I'm a service member, and I would love to go see all those places once I have the time and money for it but i did look online and yeah in advanced the tickets aren't expensive but all i have to do i make sure i have the leave days for it and i can go.

I just can't grow facial hair, the most i can get i thick stubble (which I've been told make me look attractive) but that takes at least 10 days or so to fully grow out...but it nice not having to shave everyday, i can skip a day and get away with it.

I think the most important thing you can do is try to arrange leave as soon as you can so that you can book tickets to Germany. You might want to look into purchasing trip insurance as well just in case something happens where there is a sudden emergency (which is like always for the Army) which might prevent you from doing things as planned. Also, in light of your being the military you might be best off buying refundable tickets which are more expensive but will at least allow you to get your money back if your leave is cancelled or changed. If you can, then try to take break during a time that no one really usually goes such as in September, October, or the first two weeks of December because tickets tend to be cheap, and I doubt you would face much competition from folks in your platoon for those times unlike say for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I am not sure how much break you had and whether or not you might also want to do a trip to see your own family which is definitely something you might have to factor in your plans.

As long as your girlfriend has family in Germany and they are willing to let you all stay with them, then you can easily visit Germany affordably. I know that things in Germany are really tough right now, and I am not sure how generous Germans are, especially those in the East, due to the bad economy. I can always tell how bad things are in Germany by looking at what folks buy at Aldi, Lidl, etc. because the more that I see of basics and the fewer I see of extras such as candies and alcohol, then I know times are bad. Going under the assumption that your girlfriend's family is doing all right, then you can definitely use them as a springboard to visit other places in Germany and the nearby countries. The only country in that general area which is going to be really pricey is Switzerland. A Big Mac meal goes for something like $12 in Switzerland which makes that place outrageously expensive. Germany itself is pretty expensive, too, but I have found that Turkish restaurants in Germany are very affordable with good service and a relatively large amount of food for a low price. Of course, stores such as Aldi, Lidl, and Real are all your friends when doing shopping over there. Karstadt and Galleria Kauphauf are great places to shop for the finer things in life.

While the citizenship process for soldiers' spouses can be expedited it is not going to be a super fast process because you still have to deal with the Bureau of Immigration *shudders* which I think is now called the USCIS. All I can say is that the process is not going to be easy though at least in your case assuming your girlfriend is a German citizen she might have an easier time of immigrating than someone say from Turkey. Due to Germans not immigrating here in as large numbers as they did in the past I believe Germany does not use up its immigration quota numbers unlike countries such as China and India. I would check out http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us.....00082ca60aRCRD from the USCIS just to see what you and your girlfriend need to do especially since it appears you are very serious about her.

You are so lucky that you cannot grow facial hair, and you should consider yourself lucky! Facial hair, and body hair for that matter, is a pain, and at least you can go without shaving for a day or two. Especially in your line of work that requires folks to be well groomed your not having a lot of facial hair at least gives you one less thing to do everyday. Do you have a lot of body hair, or are you just not hairy at all like your face?

yeah i just found out that I'm deploying again for 9 months...and it will be in Septemberish so I'm gonna miss our anniversary but i will have block leave in august so i'm gonna take some days off and surprise her on her birthday....to make up for the deployment, and the fact that i we stay with her family makes it pretty cheap too.

And when i get close to the end of my service...around 6 months I'll have her fill out all the paper work she needs and then get to work on getting her here to the states.

and i am a pretty hairy guy. I dislike the fact that my body and head hair can grow but my facial hair can't.....it's bullshit lol

It is great that you have a block leave in August though I am sorry to hear about your having another deployment. I hope you will not be going to another hot spot. I think you have had several deployments at this point, isn't it?

Normally, I would say that surprising your girlfriend is a wonderful idea kind of what I see on YouTube with soldiers showing up unexpectedly at their kids' schools or shocking their spouses. However, in your case you have a German girlfriend who lives in Germany which is a place which is not very friendly at all to spontainaity. Germans can be very, very bureacratic especially when it comes to getting time off. Especially if your girlfriend has a job at a German employer it would be really, really tough for her to get time off if you show up suddenly. Most German employers post vacation schedules at the beginning of the year, and it can be hard to change the schedule once it is made. I would suggest, knowing what I know of Germany, that you coordinate with your girlfriend about a potential trip though it will ruin the surprise. It would make things so much easier on you, your girlfriend, and her family (if she lives with them) if they can have advance notice of your arrival. Germans tend to be very formal about visits and planning for them, and if your girlfriend lives with her family, then you can avoid issues if you plan ahead with your girlfriend so that she can ensure that your visit does not conflict with any family events or vacations.

If you and your girlfriend as so inclined, then a good trip that you both can take is to Turkey. Istanbul is especially nice during August, and it would be worth a trip to anywhere in Turkey especially along its coastlines. There are a lot of direct flights between Germany and Turkey, and there are a lot of vacation packages to Turkey from Germany in which round trip flights, hotel, food, and sightseeing are all included for a pretty cheap cost. Turkey is a very affordable destination which makes it quite popular among Germans. Just remember that American citizens require visas to go to Turkey, and apply for a visa well in advance if you would be interested in going to Turkey.

If you are on a budget, then staying close to your girlfriend's home in Germany is the way to go. Doing daytrips to nearby cities such as Weimar, Leipzig, Magdenburg, Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), or even to cities in Poland such as Warsaw would be worth your time and would be quite affordable.

As for immigration, my strong suggestion is that you start the process at least one and a half years ahead of time. It will take six months just for you and your girlfriend to get the necessary paperwork required by the USCIS together, and the USCIS is an agency that takes a while to process immigration matters. Six months will not give you enough time to do what you need to do for the USCIS along with your also needing to handle your own paperwork when you leave the service. Also, remember that depending on your girlfriend's education she might need to get recertified in the US because the United States tends not to accept foreign degrees with few exceptions. For example, if your girlfriend is a nurse in Germany, then her German nursing license would not be accepted here and she would have to take a nursing test in the State in which you both plan to live to get certified over here. It is a big process for folks overseas to find jobs over here especially when it comes to getting their credentials "Americanized" to get interviews with American employers. If your girlfriend can, then getting a job with the US military or some big multi-national in Germany itself such as BASF, Afga, Bayer, etc. can be a big help so that American employers can readily take her on or your girlfriend asking for a transfer to North America within a large company such as Bayer or BASF.

Wow, I just do not imagine you being a pretty hairy guy! Well, I would take your situation anyday with not having to shave frequently because that makes life so much easier than for folks who get five o'clock shadows at 2PM! You less hairy guys just do not realize how lucky you all have it!

....damn I forgot about her job, well then I will let her know so she can get the time off, and I think we're just gonna hang out in lipzig where her family is at. I hate breaking the sad news to my GF about deployments because I hate seeing her upset it kills me every time I do. And this one will be 2 in a year.

And I hate body hair!!!! Lol

Deployments are super hard, and I would argue the hardest people to whom to break the news of a deployment is to a little kid. It is hard not to get emotional seeing kids watching their parents go off to places like Afghanistan and other hot spots because kids do not make a choice on who their parents are.

I feel especially for you because you have done your share of deployments, and it is too bad that you are like a boomerang heading right back to the fire. I have a great deal of respect for you folks in the military for the simple fact that you all are doing this voluntarily and are doing the hard work for Americans back here at home. If you need anything before or during your deployment, then let us know because I am sure you have an APO to where we can send stuff. At least the Postal Service offers discounted rates to APOs which makes sending things affordable.

As for your girlfriend, while I feel your pain about having to tell her about your deployment anyone who has a military person as a mate knows or should know the risks associated with your career. Your girlfriend has a right to be upset, but I am sure she understands that you have to follow orders and that your life is run by the military. My view is that the sooner that you break the news to your girlfriend the more time she will have to process the news and work with her support structure to work through her feelings. You are a man in high demand, and your girlfriend is going to have to get used to sharing you for a while with the military.


Body hair totally sucks, and I can never understand why those younger kids are so much in a hurry to be able to start shaving and get hair! Hair is such a pain, and I have nothing good to say about it. At least we guys have it easier than the girls in the sense we can be hairy and not have anyone say anything unlike girls who have to shave everywhere. Body hair reminds me of an old skit on MadTV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1W.....eature=related

the military life is hard on everyone one involved, family, friends...everyone who knows a Service Member.....my GF understands the nature of the beast but no matter how much she understands it doesn't lessen the pain...but it will only be for 9 months so it's not a full rotation....and if me or my troops need anything I will be sure to drop you a line...we honestly thank you for the support, it's nice to know there are people out there who appreciate what we do.

The only reason why i want facial hair is because I look damn sexy with....plus i don't look like I'm 15 when i have some XD

I suppose you might look good with facial hair, and assuming you will be going to Afghanistan, then you definitely need it to fit in.

You know, I vaguely remember reading a story on the BBC about a group of special operations British soldiers assigned to Afghanistan who had to grow beards. As it turned out, there were quite a few guys just like you who could not grow a beard even after a couple of months of trying! Basically, you are not alone with your lack of facial hair, and I am sure there are plenty of other guys like you in the services. Look on the bright side: at least when you get older you will not age badly, isn't it?

yeah i heard about that story, and it's cool to know i'm not alone on my struggles for facial hair......and i guess thats one way to look at it