Hello!

Maybe I haven’t spent much time on this site but it doesn’t mean I have forgotten it and those who continue to blog. It seems like Clarkies keep marching, fighting, and continuing to defend CCN.

Well I haven’t been fighting in a political arena but three weeks ago, I had a bit of a taste of what our soldiers go through during training and war and that was playing paintball. Of course, paintball is considered an adventures sport and it’s not a matter of life or death. It will hype-up all your senses and the split second decision making becomes your best weapon. You realize that strategy and being prepared in every way is extremely important because there is always room for unexpected situations and mistakes. Perhaps you are going to find yourself cursing because everything is happening very quickly or/and pray to God for protection and victory.

First, let me give you a brief description of what it was like to play paintball. We had split in two teams, one in yellow and one in green, and the purpose of the game was to get the opponent’s flag and if you were shot with a paintball you were eliminated.

I was in the yellow team and the first game we lost because there was no strategy, I though I was part of Bush’s team! The second round we did better but no one gave us a sense of direction and what we needed to do as individuals, sounds familiar? I was not even sure who got the flag and who won in that round. Of course, I thought, "Where was Gen. Clark when we needed him!" Well the second round we exchanged team members and we were lucky to get someone who had experience and knew how to lead. He gave us a quick plan and divided us accordingly, and that round we had strategy and of course we one... Well we played four terrains and total of eight games, and in between we had three breaks to eat and to load with more ammunition (paintballs). The overall feeling was to continue to play until you drop dead and I don’t mean it literally.

There were other factors that I had realized from playing paintball and they were: I sensed a great deal of brotherhood and sisterhood; we were very dependent on each other and gave best of ourselves; following orders and having guidance were crucial; I had to shout, "enemy at 2 o’clock, 9 o’clock…" accompanying with some "s" words (I know, I have to go to confession); keeping others and my back protected as we moved from one point to another; constantly looked around in 360 degrees as I was trying to shoot the enemy or keeping them distracted so that others could move forward etc. Indeed, A lot went on in a very short period and this was only playing paintball, imagine being in a real battlefield! It also gave me a glimpse of what our soldiers go through and how strenuous it could be physically, mentally, and emotionally; and for this Administration not to have a good strategy, to neglect our troops by not giving adequate equipment and the right treatment when they return is unimaginable.

In fact, it was a paradox to compare paintball to real battlefields and appreciate what real soldiers go through, but at the same time it did reminded me that it was time to donate to http://www.saluteheroes.org/.

Please also consider donating as well, we all know that being a soldier and vet is not easy even if we have no experience in battlefields and in this case, playing paintball.