Comments on: RIP, Andrew Olmstead

By: Major Andrew Olmsted « Zeal and Activity

Major Andrew Olmsted « Zeal and Activity — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:16:26 +0000

[...] Neo-Neocon: “[C]haracteristically touching, thoughtful, and humorous.” [...]

By: Gary Farber

Gary Farber — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:15:36 +0000

Olmsted. Not "Olmstead." For more on Andrew, see here, here, and here.

By: Donald Wolberg

Donald Wolberg — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:17:59 +0000

thanks for the info Gray

good luck to you

By: Gray

Gray — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:05:53 +0000

Are the services open and if so where and when?

No. Family and military honors only.

By: Donald Wolberg

Donald Wolberg — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:40:50 +0000

Are the services open and if so where and when? Local TV has said nothing about services.

Four of my kids are in. One was in the invasion force, one deployed now.

We need to end this thing so that what everyone who sacrificed so much, mattered

By: Richard Cook

Richard Cook — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 04:40:20 +0000

“Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once.”

By: Gray

Gray — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 03:38:34 +0000

I’ll be playing the bagpipe for CPT Casey’s interment, Friday afternoon, at the National Cemetary in Santa Fe.

My unit called me: The family requested a bagpiper at his burial.

I’m the bagpiper in the 44th Army Band–part time New Mexico National Guard (seems like full-time sometimes). Previously, I was an Intelligence Officer in an Infantry Air Assault unit (1/506, Currahee!) and later, a Counterintelligence Officer in the active duty army.

I joined the Guard Band as a lark, to play the bagpipe in ’99. Many of us in the band have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as trainers and security. My First Sergeant started the Afghan National Band when he was over there. I’m still expecting a deployment, but it’s all ‘up inna air’….

I turned in a proposal to send just me, a ‘pipe ghillie’ and a security team to Afghanistan “to give the golliwogs some o’ th’ pipe, like in th’ ol’ days!”. They turned me down, I wonder why?

Maybe I’ll have to be more temperate in my posts in the future now that people can figger out who I am in meatlife–N’ah…..

I’ve been playing the bagpipe for 13 years, and professionally for 8 years. I’ve played extensively across Scotland and compete in the US.

It’ll probably be on the local news. I can’t imagine anyone here will see (or hear) me.

I told wifey, yesterday, when I read this blogpost that I would probably play for the burial–with an Irish name like ‘Casey’….

The bagpipe is becoming an integral part of military bands in the US.

I’ve played a lot of memorials: this war is a personal thing for me….

By: s1c

s1c — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 22:05:56 +0000

I didn’t follow his blog as much as I follow yours, but I always liked his humor and insight. This one does hurt.

By: Gray

Gray — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 18:49:26 +0000

It’s a punch in the gut everytime this happens: I knew CPT Casey, though not well….. I’m in Albuquerque.

I’ve been to a lot of memorials….

By: Donald Wolberg

Donald Wolberg — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:58:13 +0000

Such a sad report; he was killed with a fellow from just up the road, Albuquerque, Cpt. Tom Casey. Their loss adds to the burden of making sure we get this thing right, and get this thing done.