Maino's Blog

My new goal is dropping 20lbs by June 1st!  

I'm challenging Lisa, the Marketing Director at the Kroc! 

Check back for updates on workout plans designed by my Kroc Center personal trainer and more pics soon!
-Maino

$47,288 raised for Sgt. Adam Alexander.  THANK YOU!!
Here is WBAY Channel 2's Coverage of it:

Since this weekend is National Weatherperson's Day...and since we love getting Pete's forecast every day on WIXX, I decided to stop in and suprise him live on-air!

Pete gets a surprise on the Weather Deck: fox11online.com

Had a great experience over the past couple of days visiting the
Governors headquarters in downtown Kandahar. I have to be honest, when
my good friend John Craemer invited me to spend a couple of days there,
I had visions of a guest suite at the Goveners mansion in Madison or any
other U.S. capital. Well...not exactly...anyway, the Governor was
awesome. How's this for a small world, he used to live in Wausau, said
it was one of the most beautiful cities he's ever been in and he
attneded the University of Wisconsin. In fact he mentioned the name of a
place in Sussex that he used to go to for a few refreshments...in the
form of Budweiser...in his younger days. Check it out.....

John Craemer is the tall one

Home sweet home, I'm thinking of starting a bread and breakfast
for Afghanistan vets, plywood rooms with canvas cots...it will bring
back fond memories for them:

Security is very high here, this guard post was right outside
of our room and the entire area is surrounded by towers.

Grounds of Governor mansion. Beautiful place, manicured with
precision...couldn't get the snake under the latrine out of my head
though...

I told the guard to take a break and I manned the post for

awhile...needless to say nothing got through.

I'm not sure a machine gun would be enough to stop this bug
outside our room. It was about the size of a fat mouse...

Have to be honest, I don't think downtown Kandahar would be a
great place for a guy like myself to go jogging:

Invited for an authentic Afghan lunch:

deep fried chicken and rice.

I hope the guys in the kitchen didn't mind...I did give them a
few tips during the process. I'm not positive as to what they were
saying, but I believe they were discussing how much they appreciated my input!

Where is A-rods jersey?????

Ok so here's the deal....I have in my possession...Aaron Rodgers actual
game used jersey from the Falcons playoff game last year...and it is
making the rounds...we thought it would be kinda cool to take it around
Kandahar and find Packer fans who wanted to display it proudly. Well we
think they're all Packer fans....we've also had everyone over
here...including the governor of Kandahar sign it and we'll be giving it
back to him....if I don't forget it over here.....

As far as camps in Afghanistan go...Camp Nathan Smith isn't a bad place
to be...not at all.

Once occupied by the Taliban, it was retaken by Canadian coalition
forces in 2005. Years before that, it had been used by occupying Soviet
forces in part as...and I'm not kidding...a vegetable canning facility.

There are eerie signs remaining of what took place in the not too
distant past. Legend has it that this plank, high on a tower, was where
perceived enemies of the Taliban took their last steps. The courtyard
was a prisoner holding center...the wall where the most unfortunate were
lined up and executed. The bottom line, this is still a warzone. That
fact hammered home a little over a month ago when the camp was attacked
by rockets, recoilless rifle and machine gun fire. Suicide bombers were
repelled by Nathan Smith defenders before the wall was breeched.

On a lighter note....the camp can claim a bubbling fountain, a
zoo...that's right a zoo..and a bustling bazaar complete with
enterprising young businessmen.

Camp traffic is two-fold; MRAPs heading out on missions throughout the
Province along with a steady stream of helicopter take-offs and landings
which provide a fairly constant whomp...whomp...whomp of background
noise.

Accommodations are comfortable for this part of the world. Both air
conditioned tents and small dorm-style hooch's with communal latrines
and showers.

The mess halls are nearly always open and outstanding. The gym is loaded
with weights and workout gear. It might be the most popular spot in
camp. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet...I really really hope
it. So much to do...so little time to do it....

 Camp Nathan Smith Sign

Plank where prisoners were allegedly forced to walk prior to
execution by hanging

Camp courtyard and former holding area for prisoners

Camp fountain and gathering place

MRAPs heading out on missions

My hooch...always the messiest no matter where I am

Rhode Island national guard..."Baaaastin Bruins and the Pat's..best
two teams on the face of the earth...I mean along with the saaaaaax of
course

Stray dogs that live outside the door of my hooch. They frighten me...

The 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion--a proud unit which, for over the past
20 years, has served with distinction in Iraq 2000 (Desert Storm) Bosnia,
Kosovo, Iraq 2003-2008, Africa and Afghanistan since June 2011.

The Afghanistan mission is unique in that once hitting the ground, it
was splintered into 11 different directions. The PRTs; Provincial
Reconstruction Teams, are spread out over an area that would extend from
Green Bay to Oklahoma. The basic mission is to foster relationships and
provide aid to every level of the local population, both civil and
governmental. The unit is supported by various National Guard Infantry
units; in the 432nds case, a unit from Rhode Island.

Don't mistake the fact that because they aren't considered infantry,
they are immune from the dangers inherent to working in a war zone.

That unfortunate fact was vividly reinforced when, in the summer of
2008, a beloved commander; Major Dwayne Kelly was killed by a suicide
bomber during a meeting with Iraqi officials in Sadar City, Baghdad.
Just recently a popular 432nd soldier; Sergeant Adam Alexander was
seriously wounded in an attack while working with local officials in the
Champkani District Center; Paktia Province, Afghanistan.

Civil Affairs Battalions do wear multiple hats. In one day this week,
members of the 432nd travelled deep into Kandahar City, a bustling city
of over one million residents...to meet with officials of the Sarpooa
Prison...the largest prison in Kandahar. It is home to both "regular"
criminal prisoners and suspected "political" Taliban prisoners.

The prison lies under the watchful eyes of Alexander the Greats mountain
top castle.

Following the mission to Sarpooza, a different job, this time manning a
guard tower on the outskirts of the base perimeter. This would consist
of a four-hour shift scanning the countryside with night vision
scopes...searching for anything that might be lurking in the shadows
outside the walls.

If you put a clock on it, the shift for the day stretched out for
roughly 14-hours.

Justin Fransway of Green Bay and Alec Augustine of Marshall, WI heading
out for nighttime guard duty. DONE 701

Maino and prison warden share a cup of tea and discuss problems with the
Packers defense.

432nd Mission statement

Alexander the Greats castle on top of the hill, daughters down below.

As you know, I'm heading to Afghanistan to visit local soldiers from the 432 Civil Affairs Batallion next week for Thanksgiving.  (Details HERE:  http://wixx.com/flatpages/maino-thanksgiving-afghanistan/)

Thank you to EVERYBODY who has donated snacks and DVD's for the troops. I'll be bringing some of these with me to distribute and we'll be shipping the rest separately.  Thanks also to Express Convenience Centers and Green Bay Phoenix Basketball for helping fund my trip. 

On Saturday, hosted an event for Veterans at the Yacht Club, and some local children made THESE signs showing their support and we had everybody sign them to bring to the trooops when I visit.  Small things like this go a long way with these brave Men and Women.

Keep checking my blog for updates througout my journey!!  God Bless the U.S.A!! 

Check this out from the live broadcast at Bay Area Granite and Marble...the smallest Maino listener!