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toadjumper

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Everything posted by toadjumper

  1. Coin from me will be late in departing. My coins were packed up with the rest of my household goods and are on their way here to Finland, but according to the last word I got, my stuff won't be here until mid-October. I hope this doesn't present too much of a problem. Just know that as soon as they're here, I'll get the coin out to the respective winner. Should have planned a little better, but I had a lot going on prior to this move, sorry.
  2. I've just recently moved to the Helsinki area and am dying to get out and check out the caches in the area. However, the only problem I have is that I have a Delorme Earthmate PN-40 GPSr and I can't seem to find any maps of Finland that I can upload to my GPSr. Does anyone have any links or ideas as to where I could find maps like this? I would hate to think that I've got this great GPSr and I can't do anything with it now that I'm here.
  3. Bump! Just getting these two coins back in the limelight. The auctions will be ending very soon, so I'm hoping that we can raise a little more for two fantastic charities that do so much for those who give so much to protect our freedoms day in and day out. Thanks!
  4. My wife let me know that I have a fantastic "Man vs. Cache Firestriker" coin waiting for me at home. I'm stoked that it arrived thanks to a fantastic and generous benefactor, Snowball 58! What a great way to start out the holiday season. Thank you again to Snowball and family for a great Christmas, and homecoming, present.
  5. Not to worry. For all you cachers who don't happen to live in the US, I have posted another coin up for auction with 100% of the proceeds going to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. This is a charity that helps pay for the children of fallen special operators to go to college. Another great cause that I feel is definitely worthy of some attention. Thanks again, and happy holidays! Special Operations Warrior Foundation Auction
  6. Being inspired by 57chevy, I have decided to put up for auction one of my personally designed Afghan Caching coins. I will also be donating 100% of the proceeds from this auction to the Wounded Warrior Project. I am a current active duty Army Infantryman with over 13 years of service, and while I spent this past year in southern Afghanistan I was inspired to create a coin of my own to represent the small team I was on and have something that I could use to remember my time over there. I am a firm believer in what the WWP does and the support that they provide to wounded service members. If you would like to bid on this, the link is as follows. Thanks for taking the time to look, and have a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a festive Kwanzaa, and a fantastic Solstice. If I forgot anyone, I apologize. Have a happy holiday season! Afghan Caching Charity Auction
  7. Alright, now I know that I'm extremely late in getting in on this coin, but I do have a valid excuse. I was in Afghanistan from November of last year until November 4th of this year. As an infantryman in the US Army, this is such an awesome coin/tool that would be great to have as part of my collection/gear. Not sure if anyone has any left that they might be willing to part with, either by trade or sale. If you're willing to trade, I'd happily trade my personal coin that I designed while in-country. I have gold and black nickel versions available, and would easily offer up two for one. Please let me know if someone out there happens to have one they wouldn't mind parting with. Again, awesome coin! Just sorry I missed out on being able to order a couple for myself when they were going on sale.
  8. Cointest #2 Okay, this cache I was at, "The Poppy Fields", GC11WZ6, was a special one for me. While I was deployed in Afghanistan this past year, I was fortunate enough to be able to do some caching on some of the bases I went to as the team I was on traveled over the southern part of the country. For those of you who may have been keeping up on the news, the southern part of Afghanistan, to include the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, and Zabul, are some of the most hotly contested pieces of land over there. This cache is located on a Canadian camp near the district of Arghandab, which sees more than it's share of action. Located behind me in this picture, even though you can't tell very well, is a giant rock mural depicting the Canadian flag. In front me, are stones painted to remember Canadian soldiers who have lost their lives while fighting against the Taliban, and securing the freedom of not only the Afghans, but all of us around the world. This monument was extremely special to me since one of the markers was for a Canadian soldier who was killed on my birthday last December, one day after we had dropped him off at the camp. Although I didn't get to know him very well in the few hours he rode with us to the camp, he was impressed my team and I as being a very good guy. The truly sad part is that he had just returned from 2 weeks of vacation back in Canada the day before. So there you have it. The story behind the picture for this cache. A bittersweet moment, but a great place for a cache. And as most caches in Afghanistan say, "only the Afghans are here forever." If you were able to see the full text of what is written on the rock in front of me, it would read, "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them."
  9. I just want to say thank you to all of you. Having just returned from a year-long tour in southern Afghanistan, I can attest that all of the heartfelt thanks that come from those back home definitely make a year fighting the Taliban a little easier to bear. In regards to myself, I've been in for 13 and a half years now and am a Sergeant First Class in the Army with a majority of that time spent as an infantryman. I came in as a cavalry scout for my initial 3 years, then crossed over to put on the crossed rifles. I've been here, there, and everywhere over the course of this time, and have another 6 and a half to go before I can retire. It's just too much fun for me to think about hanging up my uniform now, even with the deployments. As I mentioned above, thanks again for all the support that I received while I was in Afghanistan, and my support goes out to those who are there now, or getting ready to head over, whether you be American, Canadian, British, Aussie, French, or any of the other coalition partners I got a chance to work with during my year. Best of luck and come back safely!
  10. I think I've got a few coins laying around the house that I could help you out with. If you're interested to see the coin, check out my thread at http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...3&hl=terror. Let me know what you think, and have a great time with it!
  11. I have to say, these are definitely some of the best looking coins that I've ever seen. Having spent the last 10 months over here in Afghanistan, doing the same things as AirborneSurveyor, and the 3 months we spent training and caching in Kansas together, this is definitely one coin that has a special meaning. I'm proud to have been one of the few that received a couple of these coins. Great job with them!
  12. The one teacher that I think left the biggest impression on me was my French teacher from high school, Bette Knowles. I was fortunate enough to have her for my teacher all four years of high school. She had started teaching the same year I was a freshman, so it was a great start to high school. She developed in me a love of languages, and even though it's been 16 years since I graduated, I still remember bits and pieces of French. It's been helpful in my current profession, especially now, as I was recently working with some French commandos, and Legionaires in southern Afghanistan. Every where I have gone in the last 13 years, as I've progressed through the ranks, I've been able to keep my mind open to new experiences and languages thanks to what Madame Knowles instilled in me during those four years. Being open and willing to experience new cultures and try to learn parts of the languages has, I think, helped me out immensely when dealing with people from outside the US. It made my time in Bosnia more fun. My time in Korea was a lot less stressful when I was able to communicate at least the little bit in the native tongue. And now, here in Afghanistan, it has helped so much when dealing not only with the Afghan military, but with the coalition partners I operate with on an almost daily basis. I lost track of Madame Knowles shortly after enlisting, and even though I've been home a number of times in the years since, haven't been able to find her to thank her for the wonderful gift she gave me: a love of languages, and a willingness to be open-minded to "different" cultures and people.
  13. "No Rain" by Blind Melon? edit - Nuts, didn't realize I'd repeated one that was already guessed. So what I meant to say was "Candy Rain" by Soul 4 Real.
  14. A good question was raised to me about the design of the coins and the symbology used on them. To answer that question, here is what I chose. On the front is a representation of our unit patch in the upper left corner, and in the center, a design that we chose to represent our team. We are Team Veritas (Truth to those who may have skipped that day of Latin), but our radio call signs are Titan, so we wanted something that would represent both aspects, hence the warrior. On the reverse of the coin you have a representation of the country of Afghanistan, where we now are, which has the national flag overlaid on it. From the top of the coin and traveling in a counter-clockwise direction (which you can tell easier on the gold coins since they're two-tone) you have the Army ranks of Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, Master Sergeant, Sergeant First Class, and Staff Sergeant which represent the various ranks on our team. Continuing around you have the Army's Combat Action Badge, awarded to Soldiers who do not hold an infantry or special forces job who have been engaged by enemy forces. Finally, above that is the Combat Infantry Badge, awarded to infantry and special forces Soldiers who have been engaged in ground combat with enemy forces. I used these since our team is made up of infantry, field artillery, air defense artillery, and transportation Soldiers. In looking at the ranks, they are done in order from highest to lowest, and the two badges on the right are in order of precedence from the CIB to the CAB with the CIB being of higher precedence. Since our team is all Army, it made it easier to chose what to put on it. It's a special coin to me, not only because it's my first ever undertaking of this type, but also because of the memories that I will carry long after I leave Afghanistan in November. I hope this answers any questions anyone might have about it, and thank you again for your interest and support. It means a lot!
  15. For those of you that are interested, please send me a PM with an email address so that I can send you an invoice. For those who have sent me their information, the coins will be going out in today's mail.
  16. Ok folks, the coins are in, and they're ready to be shipped out. Hogwild did a fantastic job with these and I have lots of kudos to give to Sharon and all the gang over there for their help! I will accept payment by PayPal for them. The coins are available in either black nickel or gold and are going for $10 a piece. Shipping is going to be $2.00 total.
  17. Ok, just got word that the coins are being shipped to the States and should be here by Monday. This is perfect, since they'll be getting there about the same time I get home on R&R leave. I should have them in hand, in CO before the end of next week, and will start sending them out as soon as possible. It may not be right away next week since my wife and I are taking our belated honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas, but as soon as we get back, and before I head back here I'll send out the ones that people have already requested. If you've been waiting for the coins to come in to decide if you'd like one or not, now's your chance. I know I'm new on the selling market, but I figured that this would be a good coin to get out into the wild. If you're interested, the coins are going to sell for $10 a piece, with $2 for shipping. I'll try to fill orders while I'm in the States, but the rest will be sent from Afghanistan, so bear in mind that shipping back from over here might take a week or two. Just PM me with your information if you're interested. Thanks to all those who've already expressed interest, you'll be first on the list to get them as soon as I do. I do take PayPal, so I'll send invoices out next week.
  18. Ok, I've gotten pictures of the "almost finished" coins. Just a little more tweaking on the gold coins, and they should be good to go. Here's what I've got so far though. Let me know what you all think.
  19. Another update. The dies are being set up now. Looks like the coins will be done primarily in gold, with a few done in black nickel as a LE set. If there's anyone else out there interested, please feel free to drop me a PM and let me know.
  20. Thanks for all the support. For those interested, the coins should be done by February or March. Not sure when I'll get them over here, but as soon as I do, I'll get them out to those requesting them. Just shoot me a PM with your address if you're interested. Thanks.
  21. Here are the front and back designs of the coin. I'm looking to have them done on BN with a sandblasted effect. Obviously, I'll be keeping back a couple for myself, the guys on my team, and a couple close friends, but the rest of the 250 I'm having made will get distributed in caches, or go up for sale. If anyone's interested, the asking price will be $10 plus shipping.
  22. What are the shipping costs to an APO address?
  23. So I was sitting here in lovely Afghanistan, with nary a cache to be found near me, and figured, why not design myself a coin. I've done the preliminary work and had some help from the fine folks at Hogwild and MadHatters, and just wanted to see if there might be any interested people out there looking for a military-inspired coin. This one will be a kind of memento for me of my time spent over here with some symbology representing what I've done. I'll post pictures in the next day or so of the finalized coin if anyone's interested.
  24. My wife Kim and I met while I was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. We dated for a little while before I shipped off to Korea for a year as an instructor. When I got my mid-tour leave, I bee-lined straight back to the States so that I could permanently take this woman off the market! She's way too valuable for me to leave available. This was back in '06, and she's stuck by me through some of the hardest times, the best times, and is still by my side, even though I'm now thousands of miles away again in Afghanistan. She may grumble at times when I ask her to come out and find caches with me, but she's my lucky charm. I was with her when we found our very first cache, and she's been the first one to usually find the caches when we're able to go out together and hunt. As tough as it is being apart for another year, we're still able to find the time to talk to each other every morning, and every evening since that's all we can do with the time difference now. I've found some really cool caches, and great swag in a lot of them, but I definitely would call her my greatest find ever!
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