A Needle In A Haystack

Eighteen year old Justin Gaines disappeared without a trace from a Gwinnett County nightclub on November 1. He is a nice-looking, 5'10" tall, 235 pound, athletic young man. He placed a call to a friend in the early morning hours looking for a ride home, and has not been heard from again. The request for searchers came out this week, and I didn't hesitate to volunteer. Later that night I talked to Tutter, who asked if I was going to search. She said, "Well, you know who it is, don't you?" I didn't, and she told me it was the grandson of friends of our family. It made me want to do it even more.

This morning was pretty cold. The GSDF teams were loaded into pickup trucks and transported to a Gwinnett County neighborhood. The terrain was ridiculously rough. We searched an abandoned house, under bridges, and through thickets and swampy areas. We wound through wooded areas under high tension wires and through the back of neighborhoods. I have no idea how far we searched, but I definitely feel that we ruled out a significant piece of ground. There was no indication for us to search there, as there are no clues in the case. We searched at the family's request near where he was last seen.

When we arrived back at the church that was serving as the command post, there was a hot meal waiting for us (along with indoor plumbing!!!). I had no sooner stepped in the church door than I heard someone call my name. I turned to find Justin's grandfather, a man I have known all my life. He hugged me and said that the boy's father wanted to see me. He told me to go ahead and get something to eat, and he would send Steven to where I was. I sat down with a bunch of the guys, and COL Hightower walked over to me to ask if I had signed in and out yet. When I replied that I had not, he said, "Go ahead and eat, and I'll bring the rosters over here." One of the guys couldn't believe that the colonel was personally bringing the rosters to me, and remarked that I must know everyone. No sooner had I signed the roster when Steven walked up. I stood up and hugged him and we talked for a few minutes. When I sat back down the same guy said, "My God, you DO know everyone, don't you?" I just laughed.

I really hate that we turned up nothing. The family is no closer to an answer than when they started. We're talking about a good size, muscular guy, that totally vanished. They have billboards up and hundreds of flyers out, but the friends he was with at the club have not been helpful to the police either. Please pray for Justin and his family, and for the success of future searches.

Survival of the Fittest

The boys of Troop 354 decided they wanted to work on their Wilderness Survival merit badge this weekend, so last Tuesday night they had Colin come to their meeting to teach them a little about how to make it in the woods. This weekend, they had to put that knowledge to the test.

Saturday morning we converged on Tom's property armed with the bare necessities. The boys set to work, with Barry and Colin supervising, on constructing a shelter for each pair of boys to sleep in for the night. When I arrived, it was very obvious which shelters belonged to the older, mroe experienced Scouts. It was like "cozy mansion" and "drafty shack." A couple of boys had built theirs in a small ravine. Thankfully, we are in the middle of a drought! Several looked like a good breeze would do them in. The boys, however, were all satisfied and proud of what they had accomplished. Aaron was acting as the cook for his patrol, and he did a good job. Barry, Colin, and I enjoyed buffalo burgers on the grill -YUM! After everything was cleaned up it was time for a rousing round of Capture the Flag - in the dark! The three adults sat against a tree and laughed at the boys. Daniel was a great secret weapon, as he kept a constant chatter going that kept the other team occupied. Finally, he decided he wanted to go after the flag, and "Uncle" Colin went along to help him out. The two of them managed to crawl almost to the flag and even had boys jumping over them, thinking they were logs! Daniel was so excited when he returned. Finally it was time to hit the sack. We let the boys sleep in their shelters, while the adults and Daniel slept in tents and the little camp house on the property. We were nice and warm, and only woke when a deer decided to wander by. In the morning we cooked breakfast and broke camp. We reminded the boys that it was Veterans Day, and that they had two combat veterans right there. It was a good weekend, and lots of fun for Scouts and adults alike!

The Great Seam Ripper Raid of Hinesville

The day was bright and sunny, and there was a smell of DEET in the air. A Soldier stood 15 feet to either side of me awaiting a compass heading and orders. I took a sip from my Camelback and peered into the palmetto and scrub in front of me. Watch out for timber rattlers, wild hogs, and 4 inch spiders. When the order came, we started into the South Georgia swamp on a search and rescue mission.

We found the first victim after about 15 minutes. He was suffering from hypothermia, altered mental status, and exposure. We treated and evacuated him from the swamp, but not before he told us that he was afraid his buddy had fallen into a ditch. We pressed on, coming finally to a tank trail. We walked about a half-mile when we came upon the other team, who had located the second man in a ravine. Their medic was down there with the man, who had apparent spinal injuries. I left my pack with my team, grabbed my aid bag and proceded down the trail to a point where I could safely get into the ravine as well. I began to radio patient status reports back to the Incident Commander. Reality set in...We have a large, medically compromised victim lying by a creek in the bottom of a ravine in a swamp, and we have to get him up and out. "Anybody know anything about a SKED?" I did, so I passed the radio to another medic, and climbed back into the ravine to set it up. My former WSAR School commandant threw me a rope and told me what he wanted tied in and how he wanted it laced on the SKED. In a few minutes we had the victim secured in the SKED and were ready to get him out. I took one of the anchor ropes and held fast as the men hoisted him out. As I looked up out of the muddy ravine I spotted the General watching from above, and he gave me a smile.

I felt pretty good about this Annual Training so far. It had been a good day at Fort Stewart. We had found and rescued both victims and were packed on busses heading back for chow. Afterward there was an orientation meeting for all OCS candidates, so I jumped in the truck with two men from WSAR school, and off we went.

"ON YOUR FEET!!! TAKE A SEAT!!! ON YOUR FEET!!! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR EYEBALLS, CANDIDATE????"

Oh my goodness! What have I gotten myself into? And I have to be screamed at like this until June????? We were given bright, shiny OCS brass to wear, and temporarily told to put it over our current rank insignia. We were also instructed to procure a blank patch for that spot on which to pin the OCS by the next day. We were dismissed about 2045. Great. I knew for a fact that Clothing Sales closed at 1800. What about Ranger Joe's off post??? Could we be lucky enough to find them still open??? Back into Sandy's truck we went...only to find that they were closed as well. What are we going to do??? Jonathan said that he should just try to pick out the stitches in the old patch. That's an idea!!! Off to WalMart we go! We bought three seam rippers and piled back in the truck. Now everything was funny. The three of us smelled like swamp and sweat and bugspray. We were dirty, a little unnerved by the meeting, and just plain goofy. Jonathan was trying to pick stitches out using a map light, while trying not to tear the cloth or puncture himself. I don't know when I have laughed so hard! Some of our buddies were at the bowling alley or clubs off post, spending money on alcohol in order to have a good time. We were laughing like hyenas because of a couple of $1 seam rippers! We parted company and went off to work on our patches. I'm sorry to report that they were successful and I was not. The women in the barracks turned off the lights and I was stuck trying to pick out threads that did not want to go using only a flashlight. Luckily I had permission to leave early that morning to attend the promotion ceremony of an Officer I respect very much.

COL Britt received her star today, becoming the first female Brigadier General in the Georgia Guard's 275 year history - and it was a very well-deserved promotion. She was glad to see me there, and I was honored to be there as well. Barry seemed to take great pride in telling everyone in Creation that I was now an OCS candidate. (Gee Honey, why don't you just paint a big target on me?) I have so much to learn, and I am scared to death! I have never really considered myself a leader, and hope I can make it through OCS. A lot of folks have put their faith in me and I don't want to let them down. I don't want to let Barry down either. Pray for this poor little Candidate come January 11!!!