What ever became of Squeakers the OPSEC Hamster?

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance" - Thomas Jefferson

Back in 2008 as I was wrapping up my last deployment I never thought I'd see signs like those now going up all around COB Speicher. The base really is being turned back over to the Iraqis. Their Air Force personnel now man the facilities many Soldiers became very familiar with. And it isn't just Speicher, this is happening all over the country. Base closure is the name of the game. Hand the facilities over to the Iraqis and let's make a safe departure. But it doesn't happen overnight. There is a whole lot of work ahead.

In many ways the routines, the scenery, and the daily existence are just as I remembered. The sunsets are still as spectacular as I remembered. DFAC food is pretty much the same as ever. Days are marked by the routine accomplishments - work requirements completed, exercise, and the little amount of personal time you can squeeze in. There is no lack of things to do. Every one of my Soldiers has a job to do and they are either doing it well or they are quickly learning how to do it well. They go about their day with the normal carefree attitude and high morale that always brings the utmost in admiration from me. Whether they be preparing to go out on a route clearance mission, driving a monster HET on a 40 vehicle convoy, turning wrenches at the maintenance bay, or data entry at the TOC, every Soldier takes their job seriously with smiles on their faces. Yep, they are the best of the best. They motivate me at every turn.

As the days start to become weeks, my Battalion is getting more comfortable in not only the daily routine but also the unexpected. Every day gives them another opportunity to demonstrate proficiency in one battle drill or another. I've been most impressed with the enthusiam with which my staff has vigorously looked at every process they inherited and analyzed it for ways to do it better, more efficiently and with improved responsiveness. They haven't gotten everything right but, then again, neither have I. But we are improving as a team and the front slope of the learning curve is where I want us to always be. At the same time, we've been making all of our various site visits, shaking hands, building relationships and solidifying our role as a responsible caretaker for all of the facilities we have ownership of here at Speicher. There are many. Our sustainment mission has many moving parts but they all have to move in sychronization. So far so good.

Yet there is a big void so far on this deployment. Where is Squeakers the OPSEC Hamster? Squeakers was a fixture on previous deployments. Squeakers continually foiled the evil cat by practicing good OPSEC whenever he was planning fun with his friend the rabbit. At the same time, Squeakers reminded us all the importance of practicing good OPSEC in everything we did. Commercials delivering the OPSEC message of Squeakers used to be everywhere on AFN (Armed Forces Network) programming. And every commercial ended with the famous words, "no animals were harmed in the making of this commercial." Where are you Squeakers? We need your OPSEC message! Please come back and show us how to foil that evil cat!

Seriously AFN, what happened to Squeakers?