Toby Johnson’s Blog

If you’re like most computer users, you view the web with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (”IE”) browser. You probably do this not because you compared it with other browsers and found it to be better, but because it’s what comes with your computer, and it works well enough. In fact, you may be unaware that there are even any other worthwhile browsers you can choose from.

Well, I’m here to tell you that you do indeed have a choice of which browser to use, and if it weren’t for the fact that IE came with your computer, I seriously doubt you would choose it for its merits. Keep reading and I’ll try to convince you to change the way you browse the web.
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Well, we just got word today that we are being sent back into Iraq. This is in accordance with the DoD’s new 365-days-in-theater policy for National Guard troops. We thought that we might be spared from extension, but it turns out that wasn’t the case.

We have not been given a definite timeframe for how long we’ll be here, but since we got here in early February it stands to follow that we will be home by then. We are being told that we will begin the process of returning home in the late December – early January timeframe.

We do not know exactly where we will be going. It will probably be somewhere just south of Baghdad. We will not be leaving Kuwait until early to mid November, so I will still be in touch up until then.

That’s really all the information I have right now. I’ll let everyone know if I find out anything else that I can pass on.

I have finished moving all my photos over to my New Photo Gallery. I also have quite a few new pictures up from my deployment, including some from Jordan and some new additions to the Tallil Airfield (Iraq) section.

I’ve also added a lot more pictures of Aloysius, plus a few assorted family pictures. Plus, everything is much better organized and easy to find. If you haven’t been there in a while, go take a look!

The National Guard Bureau has put together a video of our sister battalion, the “Nightfighters” (1st Battalion, 293rd Infantry). You can download the video here (You must have RealPlayer installed to view the video). This file is over 9MB in size.

My company was attached to the 1/293rd while we were in Iraq (we arrived on ground there a few days after they did). You will hear them refer to the “Ammo Supply Point” or “ASP” several times in the video; this is the position that my platoon took over once we arrived.

The latter portion of the video shows them conducting force protection operations back in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan; while they are at a different camp than we are, we both are now doing essentially the same jobs at these two camps.