Fishing in Mongolia Redux

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At a recent meet-up with James of England (JoE) I spoke about an Enlisted Leadership Development program that I initiated, developed, and implemented in Mongolia almost ten years ago. JoE asked and I promised to post on my libertarian efforts with the Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF), so please blame this post on him not me.

First of all writing the words initiated, developed, and implemented is much easier than actually doing it. It was an uphill battle for almost two years from the time my proposal was first shot down to the day that President Bush met and thanked the USMC Sergeant Major in Ulaanbaatar who was in charge of the first deployment. The USMC was in Mongolia to provide support and training for MAF troop deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and maybe a little bit because of their location between Russia and China. The Mongolian leaders call the US their third neighbor. By the way for my efforts in implementing the Mongolian Enlisted Leadership Development Exchange Program (MELDEP), I earned the nickname Chinggis.

A funny thing to me was that as I had anticipated and briefed to the Commanding General, US Marine Corps Forces Pacific (MarForPac) there was going to be a need for an officer development program once the Mongolia enlisted personnel stepped up their game. I was separating (retiring) from the Marine Corps in Hawaii and happened to read a message that MarForPac was looking for a Major/Lieutenant Colonel to deploy to Mongolia to initiate an officers development program. Now almost seven years later they are looking for someone to do the job that I had predicted would be necessary if my program was successful. I contacted the officer in charge of the program to introduce myself and volunteer for the gig. Of course he recognized my name because it was all over the original briefs, decision papers, messages, etc. in his files on this program. I was turned down for the job because of “all the paperwork” required to extend me on active duty or recall to duty. I always thought that that was BS and that the program manager just did not want to try to supervise me, that guy who had conceived his pet program.

OK – back to western Mongolia. So I’m the only American on this trip to the town of Khovd as part of my study of how and where to initiate the MELDEP program. A general officer in the Mongolian Armed Forces had travelled with me from the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and invited me to go fishing the next day. The next morning through a bit of a vodka haze we pile into a Russian made jeep and head off into the steppe. Driver and the general in front, and I’m wedged between two large dudes sitting in the back and bouncing my head off the jeep’s ceiling every few feet because apparently Russians never discovered shock absorbers.

We’re driving along dirt trails (there are few roads in Mongolia outside of the cities) for several hours and suddenly I’m startled by the driver’s shouts and animated hand gestures. I only understand a couple of words of Mongolian (we communicated in English/Russian Tarzan speak) so have no idea what he’s shouting about, just as suddenly he brakes hard, quickly and violently opens his door, and springs out of the jeep as if he had been lit on fire. Now he dashes to the back of the jeep, opens the rear hatch right behind me, and grabs an AK.

I did not know that they were carrying any weapons on this fishing tip and so when he jammed a magazine into the rifle and chambered a round, for a split second I wondered why they had driven so far out into the steppe just to off me. I was about to soil my trousers when I heard the first rip from the AK. A second burst from the AK and I saw the rounds impacting about 100 meters in front of the jeep. The third burst and I saw that the rounds were impacting all around a small furry object that was moving very quickly across the fruited plain. A fourth burst and the fleeing animal went tumbling and stopped. On a fishing trip we had just killed a fox for its fur which I did see drying the next morning outside the barracks where I was staying. First time for everything I guess.

Later that day I was less shocked and surprised when we pulled over, this time more deliberately and the general was handed a shotgun. He shot and missed a duck swimming on a small pond but did not miss the doves that the driver cleaned and made into a delicious soup as soon as we stopped and started fishing. Later we ate freshly caught fried fish and washed it down with local beer and Mongolian (not Russian) vodka. Nothing tastes better than fish fried on the bank of a river. Think I’ll go back someday to hunt wolf.

The Mongolians are awesome. They should be our Gurkhas.

Semper Fi

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82 thoughts on “Fishing in Mongolia Redux”

      2. This is so much worse than 9/11, and I say that as someone whose cousin was killed in 9/11. This is worse. I am so afraid for our country and our world.

        Liked by 2 people

  2. My SF ‘buddies’ were not at all happy about MELDEP and often reminded me that I was doing their job. I reminded them they were too slow and our nation didn’t have the luxury of time.

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  3. JaC, I’m not “watching” the news, because I’ll upchuck; but Mac and the boys at AMR have been doing a “daily brief” on All Marine Radio since this mess – I meant mission – started. No spin. (I’ll bet Biden’s gearing up for a medal/”Mission Accomplished” event right now. UGH!)

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    1. I have been through some stuff in my life, but nothing like this. I feel like my mind is going to fold in on itself. Please God, Please Lord, help us.

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      2. Lots of us are joined together asking for that very thing, JaC; but He does tend to help those who help themselves, doesn’t He?

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Of course. What do you think we should do, Nanda? Serious question. I am thinking demonstrations to demand Biden’s removal, for a start, although that really should not be necessary, people should already be working on that. As I have not been watching the news, I don’t know.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. That last was more of frustration than much else; I’m praying like a madwoman; feeling like St. Augustine as the barbarians get closer to Rome. Dr. Peterson’s “Do not practice what you do not wish to become.” is a rule of thumb for me, right about now. I’ll give the action-steps question a think.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. Ok, I thought about it, and I think I understand now. You are very handsome, and daring and brave and patriotic and honorable and noble. You are clever and witty and funny, and kind and merciful. I could go on 🙂

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      2. Lol 🙂 You are very sophisticated. You have lived and worked all over the world, and you have an international vibe about you that is very cool. You are so good to women. You are so incredibly good to women, Thank you 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

      19. Actually I am pretty sure I had an inviolable policy to wait until the next semester to date my current students.

        I made a dangerous exception for a trophy wife.

        Liked by 2 people

      40. They are living in a fantasy world. They only like veterans who don’t have sex outside of marriage. They want the men who put their lives on the line for our country to all be choir boys, and they become very upset when it turns out that most of these men are not choir boys. They are living in a total fantasy world. I hope someday they join us on planet earth.

        Liked by 1 person

      41. JaC, don’t forget about his multilingual proficiency, his culinary chops, his great taste in music, his riveting writing style, and, oh yes, the Marine infrastructure that holds it all together: OorahLahLah, the icing on the cake, I’ve got to say…..

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    1. They have some nerve. I wouldn’t believe it was possible for people to be so stupid if I didn’t see it with my own eyes.

      Who is the Marine LtCol who started a gofundme site?

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      3. Yes but now the armchair generals are taking him down from hero to c0n-artist because he is suddenly without work. Thse 17 years with his arse on the line for us are obvs meaningless and nullified if he wants even more of our hard earned dollars.

        What have you done for me lately, Baby?

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      4. Will check with JaC back channel. I do have another acquaintance of ours who’d like to know more, too. Am on it….Update soon.

        Liked by 1 person

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