Guest Blog Thursday - Army Guy - Unclassified!

Hi everyone! Guest Blog Thursday is back. Sorry I had to take a few weeks off - those last few interviews with all that girly talk really threw me for a loop! But THiS week I have a GUY! He's Mr. Jared and he serves our country in the Army, which is pretty cool of him. Same as always , but just in case there's a new reader or two - questions are in black, answers are in blue and my responses are in red!

Enjoy!

How long have you been in the Army? What is your rank?

I’ve been serving for 20 years now. I am a Sergeant first class. (that sounds pretty cool, but honestly, I don't know what that means. Does that mean you get all the first class goodies?)

What do you do?

I am the Readiness NCO for an Engineer unit in Missouri. Some stuff is secret so I dare not tell. Like where you hide your favorite toy or the extra treats mom gives you! (I get it - you don't want everyone to know what you're up to, like when I lay on the bed and I'm not supposed to - that stuff is best kept secret)

What's your most favorite thing about the Army?

Being able to make a difference and protect the Country. (wow! That's pretty big stuff! and really cool!)

Least favorite?

Being away from my wife and daughter. (I don't think that would be fun at all - that must be really hard)

Do you have any funny stories you can share or is it all classified?

I once slipped off a wood walk way during the rain and bruised my shoulder, but my wife doesn’t know about it. The rest you have to have a secret clearance for….. (more secret stuff..... how do you keep all those secrets? )

What was basic training like? I hear you get yelled at a lot and have to do lots of exercises? That doesn't really sound like fun, at least the yelling part.

It’s kind of like obedience school for dogs, only the drill sergeants don’t say “good boy” and give you treats, they say drop down and give me 40 push ups now! (no treats?!?!? that doesn't make any sense! I'm not sure what a push up is but if you don't get treats then is the push up the fun part?)

You served in Iraq and I hear it's really sandy there - did you have to deal with that? What was that like?

It was very sandy and windy. Sometimes it looked like rain. (I think the sand in my fur would get irritating)

What did you soldiers do with your down time?

Well, there is some time to exercise and call home, but generally when I was there we stayed pretty busy. (I pretty much guessed you couldn't tell us much - what with all the secrets and all. Probably a good thing - you don't want those mean guys to know all our Army stuff - you're pretty smart for keeping it secret)

Is there anything the readers can do to help our heroes who are serving this country?

Greet them with cheer when they arrive home! Care packages are cool too! (that's pretty easy. Momma says care package donations can be made through the USO.org and that especially with the holidays coming up that it's a really nice thing to do)

Can dogs join the army? If so, what jobs do they have?

Yes, we have police dogs and bomb sniffers, how’s your nose? (Momma says I'm not a good sniffer, neither is Gus - but we do like to herd things - would that work? I wonder what kinds of dogs do the bomb sniffing? that must be scary)

Do movies show what the Army is really like? Like one of my Daddy's favorites is Stripes - Was that what basic training was like?

Stripes was funny, but not realistic. There are funny things that go on, but no UAV’s to drive. (not realistic, hhmmm? makes me wonder if other things in movies aren't real? craziness! No UAV's? That's Urban Assault Vehicle for those of you who don't know - I say that 'cus Daddy had to tell Momma what that was)

Any super cool gadgets that you get to play with that only the Army has?

Oh yes lots, but mainly I am stuck in the office. I did just get back from running lots of big equipment though. (that must be hard to know there's all those cool gadgets and you can't go out and play with them - I can sympathize. Like, I know that the ball and squirrel-on-a-stick are in the garage but I can't just go play with them - not fair. Did you get to crush things with the big equipment? that would be fun! although I'm not a real big fan of loud noises)

Is there a reason they call the necklaces you soldiers wear "dog tags"?

Not sure on that one, they look nothing like dogs! (I don't think they look like dogs either - and I don't like stuff around my neck - I tend to chew it off if I get bored - have you ever been tempted to do that?)

personal stuff about you

how many pets do you have? names? breeds?

4 pets: Chloe is an Aussie retriever mix, then there is the dachshund crew; Heidi, Phillip and belle. Phill is a dacha wawa mix. (they're all my bestest friends)

what kinds of things do you like to do with your pets?

Play with the squirrel toy and chill out to tv. (that squirrel-on-a-stick is the best!)

what human thing do you do that probably annoys your pets?

Not sharing my dinner. (yeah, I'm not a big fan of that one myself. Why do you humans do that? Considering we can smell what you're eatin' I think it's kinda rude you don't share. aren't you always telling us we should have good manners?)

who is your favorite cartoon character?

Bugs Bunny (he's pretty funny he gets into all kinds of things - he's still no Scooby though)

what is your favorite food?

Everything, but Brussel sprouts (I've never had those but I haven't met a food that I didn't like yet, either. I knew you and I got a long for a reason)

what is your favorite toy? My motorcycle (fun!)

If you could be anything other than human - what would that be & why?

Nope like being a human cause I can reach the frig door, although I have heard about a dog on tv that can open the frig so maybe a dog. They get to lay around on the couch all day…….. Thanks for chattin with me. Tell your mom and dad HI for me. (I'm not allowed to lay on the couch - but because we're buds I'll tell you a secret, and I know you can keep a secret, just don't tell Momma & Daddy - sometimes I lay on the couch when they're not around! ssshhhhh - don't tell! Figuring out how to open the fridge door would be awesome - there are some amazing things that come out of there)

Thanks, Mr. Jared for serving our country and taking the time to answer my questions. I still don't know what you do but I know you have to keep a lot of secrets and that can't be easy. I like to talk so sometimes my secrets come out - I bet you don't do that. It sure was fun chatting with you. Life is fun!