It's hot, windy, and I hate using porta-potties. Only a few more days left here in Kuwait, and then we'll be truckin' up north. Yippee
-Mac
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Kuwait, Day I-don't-know
The past few days have been a blur of countries and flights, SP times and squad meetings. We left Camp Atterbury on a day that I seriously cannot remember. I think it was a Friday, but I could be wrong. We took what is called a MAC Flight to South Carolina. I am not exactly sure what ‘MAC’ stands for, but I think it’s Military And Civilian (or something to that effect). It’s a civilian plane, with civilian staff, that flies the military around the world. The company, “Ryan”, must have hooked us up or something because we had the whole 300 passenger plane to ourselves for the first leg of the flight. We picked up about 120 Navy sailors on their way to Kuwait also. That left a lot of seats open still, and I enjoyed 3 seats in the middle of the plane, or ‘the couch’ as I refer to it. I slept quite a bit on the couch for our journey here. South Carolina jumped up to the top of my list of states I love.
We sat on the tarmac for a good hour before getting off the plane to the biggest welcoming party I have ever seen. Swarmed by about 30 veterans, we ate plate loads of food and listened to endless stories of gore, war, and glory. It sucks that we got a better welcoming/send-off from people in a state that none of us have any ties to than in the damn state we grew up in. I think it's bullshit, or as my favorite Marine veteran Charlie now says, "Pelosi". Charlie was in 'Nam since the beginning, and I'm not afraid to say that it really f***ed him up. As The Jap, Moon, and I sat at a table stuffing our faces with pizza, Charlie broke the dinner silence with this statement: "Around these parts gents, we don't say 'bullshit', we say 'Pelosi'!!!". He went on to say some more anti-this and anti-that stuff, and it was great entertainment for about half and hour. I could tell it was good for him to get it off his chest.
From SC, we went to Gandar Canada. It was in the low 30’s outside on the tarmac, and it was a very surprising change from the hot and humid SC weather. We were supposed to fuel and move out within an hour to Iceland, but it turned out they were having 50mph winds where we were supposed to land. We got rerouted straight to Leipzig, Germany. Another refuel there took a couple hours, and I got the chance to enjoy some fine German airport cuisine (joking). From Leipzig, we went straight on down to Kuwait City.
I, being the dimwit that I am sometimes, volunteered for the baggage detail, and had to help unload the 600+ bags we had in the belly of the plane. Each person in my unit had about 3 bags, and the sailors had 4 each. Do the math whichever way you want, with a few extra bags and boxes in there, and it added up to a couple of sweaty hours of work at 0200 hours. It had been about 48 hours since we left rainy Atterbury, and all of it with stinky socks, crappy airplane sandwiches, and bad gas from the combo of some authentic German brats and a ton of candy. I was tired and just wanted somewhere to rack out, but it never came. When we unloaded the bags, nobody thought to separate them. The Navy Officers, having a larger number of sailors than our puny 46 soldiers, said we would have to wait for our bags a few days while they got to their camp on the other side of Kuwait. Our Commander blew a gasket, and I’ve never seen an O-6 take shit from an O-3 before but it was great. The guy was so wrapped up in himself that he thought we would wait a couple of days to have our bags bussed to us. It was bullshit, and our Commander called him on it. So we got another truck, and went through every damn bag again to sort ‘em out. Of course, there were a few people with common last names and even the same first initials, so there were some problems. I sat back enjoying my first bottle of Kuwaiti Spring Water while everyone else sorted through the bags, and my Commander granted me a pass on this one rightfully so. The only bags I was going to touch more than once were my own. Luckily there are only a few of us in my family clan, so my bags weren’t mixed up. All in all it got sorted out, and only one person lost a bag (which was sorted out later and returned).
We are only supposed to have a few more days here, but I honestly can’t tell you how long we have been here. I called my dad the second night, so and I think that was on a Sunday. Our whole purpose of coming into Kuwait is to acclimatize ourselves to the weather and Arabic life in general. I’ve been having to speak a lot more Arabic and it really makes me hate it even more. Everything smells like a taxi cab with a middle-eastern driver, even the port-o-johns stink of it. It’s freaking hot out at all hours of the day. It cools down to a brisk mid 80 temp at night, but its back up to triple digits before 0800hours the next morning. Our tent is air conditioned, and we just got a plywood floor too. The internet café costs an arm and a testicle, but it’s relatively fast for being run out of a hodji hut. There are quite a few people on this base, and the PX, phones, and chow halls are pretty packed. The food isn’t too bad, but I’m already getting tired of it. Hopefully we punch through all the training quickly and get the hell up north to where the ‘war’ is.
-Mad Mac
We sat on the tarmac for a good hour before getting off the plane to the biggest welcoming party I have ever seen. Swarmed by about 30 veterans, we ate plate loads of food and listened to endless stories of gore, war, and glory. It sucks that we got a better welcoming/send-off from people in a state that none of us have any ties to than in the damn state we grew up in. I think it's bullshit, or as my favorite Marine veteran Charlie now says, "Pelosi". Charlie was in 'Nam since the beginning, and I'm not afraid to say that it really f***ed him up. As The Jap, Moon, and I sat at a table stuffing our faces with pizza, Charlie broke the dinner silence with this statement: "Around these parts gents, we don't say 'bullshit', we say 'Pelosi'!!!". He went on to say some more anti-this and anti-that stuff, and it was great entertainment for about half and hour. I could tell it was good for him to get it off his chest.
From SC, we went to Gandar Canada. It was in the low 30’s outside on the tarmac, and it was a very surprising change from the hot and humid SC weather. We were supposed to fuel and move out within an hour to Iceland, but it turned out they were having 50mph winds where we were supposed to land. We got rerouted straight to Leipzig, Germany. Another refuel there took a couple hours, and I got the chance to enjoy some fine German airport cuisine (joking). From Leipzig, we went straight on down to Kuwait City.
I, being the dimwit that I am sometimes, volunteered for the baggage detail, and had to help unload the 600+ bags we had in the belly of the plane. Each person in my unit had about 3 bags, and the sailors had 4 each. Do the math whichever way you want, with a few extra bags and boxes in there, and it added up to a couple of sweaty hours of work at 0200 hours. It had been about 48 hours since we left rainy Atterbury, and all of it with stinky socks, crappy airplane sandwiches, and bad gas from the combo of some authentic German brats and a ton of candy. I was tired and just wanted somewhere to rack out, but it never came. When we unloaded the bags, nobody thought to separate them. The Navy Officers, having a larger number of sailors than our puny 46 soldiers, said we would have to wait for our bags a few days while they got to their camp on the other side of Kuwait. Our Commander blew a gasket, and I’ve never seen an O-6 take shit from an O-3 before but it was great. The guy was so wrapped up in himself that he thought we would wait a couple of days to have our bags bussed to us. It was bullshit, and our Commander called him on it. So we got another truck, and went through every damn bag again to sort ‘em out. Of course, there were a few people with common last names and even the same first initials, so there were some problems. I sat back enjoying my first bottle of Kuwaiti Spring Water while everyone else sorted through the bags, and my Commander granted me a pass on this one rightfully so. The only bags I was going to touch more than once were my own. Luckily there are only a few of us in my family clan, so my bags weren’t mixed up. All in all it got sorted out, and only one person lost a bag (which was sorted out later and returned).
We are only supposed to have a few more days here, but I honestly can’t tell you how long we have been here. I called my dad the second night, so and I think that was on a Sunday. Our whole purpose of coming into Kuwait is to acclimatize ourselves to the weather and Arabic life in general. I’ve been having to speak a lot more Arabic and it really makes me hate it even more. Everything smells like a taxi cab with a middle-eastern driver, even the port-o-johns stink of it. It’s freaking hot out at all hours of the day. It cools down to a brisk mid 80 temp at night, but its back up to triple digits before 0800hours the next morning. Our tent is air conditioned, and we just got a plywood floor too. The internet café costs an arm and a testicle, but it’s relatively fast for being run out of a hodji hut. There are quite a few people on this base, and the PX, phones, and chow halls are pretty packed. The food isn’t too bad, but I’m already getting tired of it. Hopefully we punch through all the training quickly and get the hell up north to where the ‘war’ is.
-Mad Mac
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Camp Atterbury Day 63.54
September 24
The past few days that we’ve been back from our leave have been boring, to say the least. The first day we were back was one big lecture. A few people had gone home on leave and really screwed up. Car accidents, injuries, and inappropriate tattoos were some of the things we heard about from our commander. Overall, nobody was seriously injured and no arrests were made, so our roster didn’t change and that’s all that really matters I guess. I still can’t believe some of the crap people pulled just because they were home for 10 freakin’ days. The tattoos bothered me the most I think, and guess who got them? Yeah, the females. Our most outspoken lesbo got one of a grenade in the shape of a peace sign, and colored in with the Rastafarian red/green/yellow colors. What the hell is that!? The other female’s was the Dodger’s “LA” behind an ear, totally violating the Army Regulation on tattoos that are in sight while wearing a formal uniform. A: tattoos aren’t allowed in sight while wearing a formal uniform after joining the Army. If you have them before you sign up, they are documented and waived. B: the “LA”, believe it or not, is gang affiliated by Army standards, and isn’t allowed after you are sworn in. Whatever the case, I’m just annoyed that these 2 are in MY unit and are a reflection upon ME when we go overseas. Every single soldier that sees either of these tattoos is going to think the same thing about the wearer: “What the hell was she thinking?”, “Who allowed her to get THAT!?” or the worst, “This unit is jacked up, look they don’t even enforce Army Regulations.” I have to stand information every day and it pisses me off that I can see these damn tattoos from where I am. Just goes to show what kind of soldiers are going and what kind of leadership we have in this unit.
I guess that’s enough ranting. For the past few days we have been on alert status, meaning our bags are packed and we’re ready to be on a bus in 3 hours or less if they call us. It really sucks living out of a duffel bag, and it sucks even more getting the call and having it cancelled…twice. Just get me the hell outta Indiana so I can do my damn time in Iraq and get on with my life already!
The past few days that we’ve been back from our leave have been boring, to say the least. The first day we were back was one big lecture. A few people had gone home on leave and really screwed up. Car accidents, injuries, and inappropriate tattoos were some of the things we heard about from our commander. Overall, nobody was seriously injured and no arrests were made, so our roster didn’t change and that’s all that really matters I guess. I still can’t believe some of the crap people pulled just because they were home for 10 freakin’ days. The tattoos bothered me the most I think, and guess who got them? Yeah, the females. Our most outspoken lesbo got one of a grenade in the shape of a peace sign, and colored in with the Rastafarian red/green/yellow colors. What the hell is that!? The other female’s was the Dodger’s “LA” behind an ear, totally violating the Army Regulation on tattoos that are in sight while wearing a formal uniform. A: tattoos aren’t allowed in sight while wearing a formal uniform after joining the Army. If you have them before you sign up, they are documented and waived. B: the “LA”, believe it or not, is gang affiliated by Army standards, and isn’t allowed after you are sworn in. Whatever the case, I’m just annoyed that these 2 are in MY unit and are a reflection upon ME when we go overseas. Every single soldier that sees either of these tattoos is going to think the same thing about the wearer: “What the hell was she thinking?”, “Who allowed her to get THAT!?” or the worst, “This unit is jacked up, look they don’t even enforce Army Regulations.” I have to stand information every day and it pisses me off that I can see these damn tattoos from where I am. Just goes to show what kind of soldiers are going and what kind of leadership we have in this unit.
I guess that’s enough ranting. For the past few days we have been on alert status, meaning our bags are packed and we’re ready to be on a bus in 3 hours or less if they call us. It really sucks living out of a duffel bag, and it sucks even more getting the call and having it cancelled…twice. Just get me the hell outta Indiana so I can do my damn time in Iraq and get on with my life already!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Camp Atterbury Day 3,612
September 9-22
My trip home was awesome! I did a lot of sleeping, eating, and lounging around. A few surf sessions with some friends and even my dad, a fishing trip with my close buddies, and even my first trip up to San Francisco! I had a great time with everyone I got to see, and I hung around home with my parents a bit too. I saw Inglourious Basterds, Valkyrie, and a few other movies at home too. Overall it was a good trip home, but a little bittersweet. When I left back in August, I had my mind set on not being home for well over a year, but this was an unexpected joy. I didn’t want to make this second goodbye more difficult than the first, so I didn’t really go around seeing EVERYONE. I had a good time though, and it really relieved a lot of the stresses that the last month and a half of training had built up.
-Mac
My trip home was awesome! I did a lot of sleeping, eating, and lounging around. A few surf sessions with some friends and even my dad, a fishing trip with my close buddies, and even my first trip up to San Francisco! I had a great time with everyone I got to see, and I hung around home with my parents a bit too. I saw Inglourious Basterds, Valkyrie, and a few other movies at home too. Overall it was a good trip home, but a little bittersweet. When I left back in August, I had my mind set on not being home for well over a year, but this was an unexpected joy. I didn’t want to make this second goodbye more difficult than the first, so I didn’t really go around seeing EVERYONE. I had a good time though, and it really relieved a lot of the stresses that the last month and a half of training had built up.
-Mac
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Camp Atterbury Day 19
September 2-6
Our trip to Crane Naval Base was pretty uneventful. The trip was to get the newer soldier in the unit familiarized with the basic procedures and duties of an Ammunition Specialist. The very basic duties have to do with handling a few different types of ammunition, storage, distribution, demilitarization, and basic maintenance. When handling ammo, we use a few different kinds of forklifts, from 10,000 pound all-terrain to the 3,000 pound warehouse Hysters like you would see at Costco. The Hysters are fairly easy to drive, as they are small and move quickly around tighter areas. Most of the underground and berm magazines are crammed with ammo, so Hysters really help out. The all-terrain forks are used for the outdoor magazines and storage areas, as they can lift more and have offroad capabilities. The 10k and 6k forks are a little more difficult to drive, as they are a lot bigger and harder to control. They can reach higher top speeds, but don’t usually move fast with loads on the forks. It takes a lot of hours behind the wheel of any fork to be able to master its capabilities and be able to use the right amount of force or finesse. After being in the cab for a while, I’ve seen a lot of different situations that require using the forks for things they aren’t intended for, and only experience helps with the solution to most of these problems. Forks can be used to push, pull, dig up, or smash things as needed, but you’ll only be able to do it right if you’ve seen it or done it yourself. Anyway, the ammunition at Crane is controlled entirely by civilians, so that was new for some of the newer soldiers also.
Most soldiers on this trip were placed on teams that were paired with civilian teams, and they learned from their leaders on both sides. The soldiers with experience were placed with civilian teams and went straight to work, while the other teams were walked through and introduced to the operations. I got paired with a few different civilian teams, and it was nice to get away from the group for a while and knock out some real work. Over the course of this trip I loaded over a thousand pallets of .50cal, 2.5inch rockets, 155mm propellant charges, and some other Navy missiles onto various platforms. Some of the loads were into shipping containers (or connexes), others were on flatbed truck trailers, and some were even into railcars. The railcars were my favorite. They are pretty tough to load, space is tight and depending on the load being carried it can get dangerous. I hadn’t loaded a railcar in a long time, so it felt good when I knocked the first few down. After that it just turned into a blur as we loaded each railcar all the way through the day. The team I was with that day had their stuff together, and we watched quite a few railcars go out full and come in empty. I liked working by myself too, nobody from the group complaining or wanting to take breaks. I skipped lunch and didn’t even notice. I was pretty tired after 14 hours of loading that day, and I slept pretty well, even in the crappy barracks they put us in.
Most everyone got some good training, but a few soldiers were paired with some civilians teams that weren’t so receptive as mine. I understand why, it’s almost as if we were in the way. The civilians had to stop their normal routine and explain it to a bunch of new jacks and let them try it out. Anyone that does this job every day for a while is going to be faster than a bunch of newbies that have never loaded a railcar, let alone driven a forklift. I was pretty lucky I fell into a good rhythm quick, as I hadn’t been in a forklift for over a year before that.
We arrived back at Camp Atterbury on the 6th of September to some great news: we had a 10 day pass to go on leave coming up! The pass length would allow us to come home and enjoy our last few days in the states in a comfortable environment.
-Mac
Our trip to Crane Naval Base was pretty uneventful. The trip was to get the newer soldier in the unit familiarized with the basic procedures and duties of an Ammunition Specialist. The very basic duties have to do with handling a few different types of ammunition, storage, distribution, demilitarization, and basic maintenance. When handling ammo, we use a few different kinds of forklifts, from 10,000 pound all-terrain to the 3,000 pound warehouse Hysters like you would see at Costco. The Hysters are fairly easy to drive, as they are small and move quickly around tighter areas. Most of the underground and berm magazines are crammed with ammo, so Hysters really help out. The all-terrain forks are used for the outdoor magazines and storage areas, as they can lift more and have offroad capabilities. The 10k and 6k forks are a little more difficult to drive, as they are a lot bigger and harder to control. They can reach higher top speeds, but don’t usually move fast with loads on the forks. It takes a lot of hours behind the wheel of any fork to be able to master its capabilities and be able to use the right amount of force or finesse. After being in the cab for a while, I’ve seen a lot of different situations that require using the forks for things they aren’t intended for, and only experience helps with the solution to most of these problems. Forks can be used to push, pull, dig up, or smash things as needed, but you’ll only be able to do it right if you’ve seen it or done it yourself. Anyway, the ammunition at Crane is controlled entirely by civilians, so that was new for some of the newer soldiers also.
Most soldiers on this trip were placed on teams that were paired with civilian teams, and they learned from their leaders on both sides. The soldiers with experience were placed with civilian teams and went straight to work, while the other teams were walked through and introduced to the operations. I got paired with a few different civilian teams, and it was nice to get away from the group for a while and knock out some real work. Over the course of this trip I loaded over a thousand pallets of .50cal, 2.5inch rockets, 155mm propellant charges, and some other Navy missiles onto various platforms. Some of the loads were into shipping containers (or connexes), others were on flatbed truck trailers, and some were even into railcars. The railcars were my favorite. They are pretty tough to load, space is tight and depending on the load being carried it can get dangerous. I hadn’t loaded a railcar in a long time, so it felt good when I knocked the first few down. After that it just turned into a blur as we loaded each railcar all the way through the day. The team I was with that day had their stuff together, and we watched quite a few railcars go out full and come in empty. I liked working by myself too, nobody from the group complaining or wanting to take breaks. I skipped lunch and didn’t even notice. I was pretty tired after 14 hours of loading that day, and I slept pretty well, even in the crappy barracks they put us in.
Most everyone got some good training, but a few soldiers were paired with some civilians teams that weren’t so receptive as mine. I understand why, it’s almost as if we were in the way. The civilians had to stop their normal routine and explain it to a bunch of new jacks and let them try it out. Anyone that does this job every day for a while is going to be faster than a bunch of newbies that have never loaded a railcar, let alone driven a forklift. I was pretty lucky I fell into a good rhythm quick, as I hadn’t been in a forklift for over a year before that.
We arrived back at Camp Atterbury on the 6th of September to some great news: we had a 10 day pass to go on leave coming up! The pass length would allow us to come home and enjoy our last few days in the states in a comfortable environment.
-Mac
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Camp Atterbury Day 14
Today was sort of an off day. We had a life fire event yesterday, and it was a complete gaggle-f***. The situation was very complicated and orchestrated well, but the execution fell through. No injuries and no damages, so I guess it went well enough. I basically spent a few hours picking off the most difficult targets, practicing my marksmanship and trying to pick ‘em off as fast as I could. I regret it though, because now my weapon is freaking dirty as all hell and I still have to pack.
Tomorrow we head off to Crane Naval Base, the largest Naval weapon base on the east side of the Mississippi. We are supposed to head out there and help/supervise the civilians for a few days. I’m not really looking forward to it, as dealing with Department of Defense Civilians is never fun, but we’ll see. I’m off to go scrap the carbon out of my weapon and go to sleep with smelly carbon hands. Yay.
Tomorrow we head off to Crane Naval Base, the largest Naval weapon base on the east side of the Mississippi. We are supposed to head out there and help/supervise the civilians for a few days. I’m not really looking forward to it, as dealing with Department of Defense Civilians is never fun, but we’ll see. I’m off to go scrap the carbon out of my weapon and go to sleep with smelly carbon hands. Yay.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
COL Nighthawk Day 3
Our time here at the COL is almost finished, and I'm glad. Today we went over how to run and ECP (Entry Control Point). The ECP is the first line of defense for a base, or in our case, COL Blackhawk. There are 3 major pieces to the ECP: tower/gate guards, searching personnel, and the QRF (Quick Reaction Force). The tower and gate guards watch all the vehicles coming in, as well as the pedestrians and the respective holding areas for both. The searching personnel look through and underneath vehicle for anything suspicious, and also hand search any pedestrians. The QRF are the badass boys of the ECP, and I was glad I was picked for it. Anyone can call in the QRF if there is any chance of the ECP being overrun or heavily damaged. If anything gets out of control, we are called in to kick ass and take names later. Asking for the QRF is reserved only f or serious situations, and it’s not a force to be toyed with. We were called a few times that day, for everything from a riot to a sniper holed up in a van outside the gate. It was actually a fun exercise, and we did really well. Chief Mule Face was on Alpha Team of the QRF with me, and we had some fun running around with machine guns and firing blanks at simulated enemy, sliding behind barriers and calling in over the radio that we “need more fucking ammo up here sarge!!!” haha.
All in all, everyone learned just how chaotic the ECP can get, and how important it is to report anything suspicious before it gets out of hand. Everyone also learned that it is best to have all the badasses on the QRF. It felt good to be able to run everything out and kind of escape the bullshit for a few hours and concentrate on the mission. I don't know why, but I'm letting some of the soldiers in my unit get on my nerves about things that normally wouldn't bother me.
I also got dropped by Sergeant Know-It-All today too, for the second time. I've begun to take a different approach to this deployment, and I'm not sure if it's going to work for me. I told a good friend of mine before I left that I had planned to keep a light attitude towards this trip, and she agreed that it might be the best idea for me. Well, it sort of bit me in the ass when Sergeant Know-It-All called me out on it today. He took me outside after I spit out a few jokes before a class, and told me I am "not allowed to joke anymore". This is a senior NCO, been in the Army ten plus years more than me, and he's telling me I can't joke!? Talk about a waste of time. This guy should have so much more on his plate regarding our mission and the welfare of our soldiers, yet he insists on singling me out to stop my "unnecessary and disruptive horseplay". Now, I see Horseplay in the same league as GrabAss, and I clearly was doing neither from the position I was sitting in. Anyway, I did pushups while Know-It-All was explaining this to me, and I couldn't help but smirk. Know-It-All was about to blow a gasket, when a captain came outside to tell us class was starting. Nothing like getting saved by a captain :)
-Mac
All in all, everyone learned just how chaotic the ECP can get, and how important it is to report anything suspicious before it gets out of hand. Everyone also learned that it is best to have all the badasses on the QRF. It felt good to be able to run everything out and kind of escape the bullshit for a few hours and concentrate on the mission. I don't know why, but I'm letting some of the soldiers in my unit get on my nerves about things that normally wouldn't bother me.
I also got dropped by Sergeant Know-It-All today too, for the second time. I've begun to take a different approach to this deployment, and I'm not sure if it's going to work for me. I told a good friend of mine before I left that I had planned to keep a light attitude towards this trip, and she agreed that it might be the best idea for me. Well, it sort of bit me in the ass when Sergeant Know-It-All called me out on it today. He took me outside after I spit out a few jokes before a class, and told me I am "not allowed to joke anymore". This is a senior NCO, been in the Army ten plus years more than me, and he's telling me I can't joke!? Talk about a waste of time. This guy should have so much more on his plate regarding our mission and the welfare of our soldiers, yet he insists on singling me out to stop my "unnecessary and disruptive horseplay". Now, I see Horseplay in the same league as GrabAss, and I clearly was doing neither from the position I was sitting in. Anyway, I did pushups while Know-It-All was explaining this to me, and I couldn't help but smirk. Know-It-All was about to blow a gasket, when a captain came outside to tell us class was starting. Nothing like getting saved by a captain :)
-Mac
Saturday, August 29, 2009
COL Nighthawk, Day 2
Today began early. This was still training, but we had all begun to take it a little more seriously. We headed out to our training convoy staging area early to begin our PMC (Preventative Maintenance Check) before pulling out. We finished quickly, and we had a few minutes to “smoke and joke” around and on the vehicles. I always like standing around a humvee with body armor and magazines full of bullets, joking with Moon and the Jap. It gives me this feeling that I’ll never be able to describe or forget. It’s almost like something out of a movie: all the soldiers standing around, geared up and armed, holding helmets underneath arms and talking away. Some joking, some smoking, some just sipping their last cup o’ joe before jumping in and driving off. It’s a sight to see, especially when we have a big convoy. Then the rally signal goes out to mount up and move out, and it’s game on.
Since it had seemed like I had a rain cloud literally following me, Chicken decided I should drive for this convoy instead of gunning. I agreed, mostly because my ass hurt from sitting on the slim gunner’s sling and I didn’t want to stand either. So I drove. Moon was my VC this time, and our platoon sergeant actually got up in the turret. He’s a salty old fellow from Guam. Seen his share of shit, and I’m still wondering why he hasn’t retired even though he’s well over his 20 year mark. I guess if you’re that good at soldiering, you should stay in until your body quits. Well, the Crazy Islander still had it in him, and he spun a good turret today.
We ran through some woods and streams, checking under bridges and underneath overpasses for IEDs. The Crazy Islander spotted some snipers I swear I would have missed, and we had a few run-ins with some unruly town people. The convoy seemed to be pretty quiet, until we hit Route Buckaneer. There was a message put out on the net that a VIP was somewhere along this route, making a sale of explosives to insurgents. If we saw him or his trademarked black sedan, we were to shoot on sight. As soon as I made the turn onto Route Buckaneer, we all puckered up at the sight of it. Heavy woods sided on a one lane gravel road, stretching up a hill and back down the other side. This was perfect territory for an ambush, and if we knew where the VIP was, chances were that he had a hint that we were coming. We hit a few IEDs that missed, and we ended up speeding through the route, with no sign of the VIP. At the end of the route, we formed a box with the humvees and ran an ACE report (Ammo, Casualties, and Equipment) up to Chicken. Well, Chicken had been hit and our second convoy commander had to step in. That’s when the shit hit the fan. Sergeant Know-it-all, someone I'll be describing in great detail later on, apparently didn’t know it all when it came to the current situation, and we ended up sitting in that box formation for a good half hour while he tried to get a handle on everything. Nothing like hearing a senior NCO babble and studder on the radio, being cussed out by and officer that wants to know what the SITREP is (SITuation REPort). I started to get hungry, so while the Crazy Islander watched my sector, I pulled out and apple to eat. Well, when I moved my bag there was a red wasp underneath it and it flew out. It must have hid inside somewhere over night. Well I started batting and swatting, and Moon cut the radio transmission he was giving short to swat at it too. I was told later that Moon still had his hand on the call button, and the whole convoy heard us swearing and screaming, including when the bugger actually stung me. Yeah, I got stung AGAIN, this time on my left cheek down by my jaw. Everyone had a good laugh at it but me, mostly because it looked like I got slugged with a freaking brick. I was not happy.
We started on the route back to Nighthawk, thinking nothing else could happen, but something did of course. The lead vehicle, minus Chief Blackfoot this time, passed a vehicle sitting on the right side of the road near a bridge. It’s convoy common sense not to pass vehicles sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere without checking them out. They could be VBIEDs, Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices. Well, humvee 1 blew past, so humvee 2 thought it was good to go. I watched my buddy the Jap jump back in his turret when the simulator blast went off 2 feet from the humvee. In real life I would have been picking up bits of his helmet hundreds of yards away, but luckily this was just training. Humvee 1 stopped about 100 meters up the road and just sat there. Small arms fire could be heard off to the right, so I decided to do something instead of just sitting there. I gunned my humvee and steered toward humvee 2. I was off the side of the road, and it was pretty muddy from the rain the day before. I heard the Crazy Islander laughing his ass off and we fishtailed sideways and threw up a muddy rooster tail 20 feet high. Finally I got traction and raced over the right side of humvee 2 to provide covering fire on their right. I looked into the humvee, and not to my surprise I saw the Complainer in the driver’s seat, frustrated to tears because her VC was yelling at her. We cleared it all up and got the hell out of there and back to Nighthawk. I still looked like I’d been sacked by a NFL lineman from that damn wasp, and I was tired as all hell. We actually got the rest of the night off after that 8 hour mess of a convoy, and I slept until morning without even waking for dinner chow.
-Mac
Since it had seemed like I had a rain cloud literally following me, Chicken decided I should drive for this convoy instead of gunning. I agreed, mostly because my ass hurt from sitting on the slim gunner’s sling and I didn’t want to stand either. So I drove. Moon was my VC this time, and our platoon sergeant actually got up in the turret. He’s a salty old fellow from Guam. Seen his share of shit, and I’m still wondering why he hasn’t retired even though he’s well over his 20 year mark. I guess if you’re that good at soldiering, you should stay in until your body quits. Well, the Crazy Islander still had it in him, and he spun a good turret today.
We ran through some woods and streams, checking under bridges and underneath overpasses for IEDs. The Crazy Islander spotted some snipers I swear I would have missed, and we had a few run-ins with some unruly town people. The convoy seemed to be pretty quiet, until we hit Route Buckaneer. There was a message put out on the net that a VIP was somewhere along this route, making a sale of explosives to insurgents. If we saw him or his trademarked black sedan, we were to shoot on sight. As soon as I made the turn onto Route Buckaneer, we all puckered up at the sight of it. Heavy woods sided on a one lane gravel road, stretching up a hill and back down the other side. This was perfect territory for an ambush, and if we knew where the VIP was, chances were that he had a hint that we were coming. We hit a few IEDs that missed, and we ended up speeding through the route, with no sign of the VIP. At the end of the route, we formed a box with the humvees and ran an ACE report (Ammo, Casualties, and Equipment) up to Chicken. Well, Chicken had been hit and our second convoy commander had to step in. That’s when the shit hit the fan. Sergeant Know-it-all, someone I'll be describing in great detail later on, apparently didn’t know it all when it came to the current situation, and we ended up sitting in that box formation for a good half hour while he tried to get a handle on everything. Nothing like hearing a senior NCO babble and studder on the radio, being cussed out by and officer that wants to know what the SITREP is (SITuation REPort). I started to get hungry, so while the Crazy Islander watched my sector, I pulled out and apple to eat. Well, when I moved my bag there was a red wasp underneath it and it flew out. It must have hid inside somewhere over night. Well I started batting and swatting, and Moon cut the radio transmission he was giving short to swat at it too. I was told later that Moon still had his hand on the call button, and the whole convoy heard us swearing and screaming, including when the bugger actually stung me. Yeah, I got stung AGAIN, this time on my left cheek down by my jaw. Everyone had a good laugh at it but me, mostly because it looked like I got slugged with a freaking brick. I was not happy.
We started on the route back to Nighthawk, thinking nothing else could happen, but something did of course. The lead vehicle, minus Chief Blackfoot this time, passed a vehicle sitting on the right side of the road near a bridge. It’s convoy common sense not to pass vehicles sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere without checking them out. They could be VBIEDs, Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices. Well, humvee 1 blew past, so humvee 2 thought it was good to go. I watched my buddy the Jap jump back in his turret when the simulator blast went off 2 feet from the humvee. In real life I would have been picking up bits of his helmet hundreds of yards away, but luckily this was just training. Humvee 1 stopped about 100 meters up the road and just sat there. Small arms fire could be heard off to the right, so I decided to do something instead of just sitting there. I gunned my humvee and steered toward humvee 2. I was off the side of the road, and it was pretty muddy from the rain the day before. I heard the Crazy Islander laughing his ass off and we fishtailed sideways and threw up a muddy rooster tail 20 feet high. Finally I got traction and raced over the right side of humvee 2 to provide covering fire on their right. I looked into the humvee, and not to my surprise I saw the Complainer in the driver’s seat, frustrated to tears because her VC was yelling at her. We cleared it all up and got the hell out of there and back to Nighthawk. I still looked like I’d been sacked by a NFL lineman from that damn wasp, and I was tired as all hell. We actually got the rest of the night off after that 8 hour mess of a convoy, and I slept until morning without even waking for dinner chow.
-Mac
Friday, August 28, 2009
COL Nighthawk, Day 1
Alrighty, so it's been a quick minute since I've posted, and I think I may have been burnt out a little on it. So I'm going to change the style up to make it a little easier to write and read. Plus, my recent training is all been good story material, especially the parts I'll never put up here...
Today was our first day on COL Nighthawk. COL (Coalition Operations Location) is the new acronym being used instead of FOB (Forward Operating Base) these days. Since most of our bases over in the box house other country’s troops, it seems to make sense. But in a weird way it makes it seem less lethal, which doesn’t sit well with me. Our whole reason for spending the weekend at the COL is to go through some convoy training, IED training, and some live fire exercises.
This morning we had to sit through a slew of classes, covering everything we are going to go through here. Convoy operations and IED reaction training were hit on the hardest, as we had a convoy ops set up for this afternoon. We started the convoy feeling pretty confident in our training, that from the class earlier and our own real world experiences.
I don’t think we had the best crew in our vehicle for the convoy, but we made it through. Our driver was SPC Complainer, whom I obviously don’t feel to great about. She’s a selfish and lazy female that always seems to play the female card when it’s convenient for her, and she is way too timid at the wheel of a humvee. The convoy commander, my section sergeant who I call Chicken because of the way he runs, was sitting in the front seat or Vehicle Commander’s seat. The VC normally mans the radio and calls the shots for that vehicle, but Chicken was running the whole convoy of 5 vehicles. It is much more difficult than one would think. In the CLS (Combat Life Saver) seat was Moon, my Japanese buddy that’s seen a bit of the real world over in Iraq a few years ago. In the other seat behind the VC was one of the trainers for this event, making sure the VC didn’t get us too lost or messed up. He also called the shots on which vehicles had wounded in them when we were hit. I was up in the gunner’s turret, taking aim behind my big ass 240B and keeping a sharp eye out of IED or enemy. I could see the Jap spinning the turret on the humvee in front of me, and I gave him a sarcastic wave and smile before we headed out. Gunners in a convoy have alternating sectors of fire, left and right, while the lead vehicle covers the front and the caboose covers the rear. The Jap is one of my best buddies, and I was glad to know that he’d be covering my six when we rolled out.
We started off pretty good, falling in the third vehicle slot so we could have positive control of the whole convoy. We spotted the first few IEDs pretty early, thanks to Chief Running Moon. Chief is a young specialist that went to high school with my younger brother. He’s a good kid, and I hope he doesn’t take in too much of this sub-par leadership we’ve got. I routinely call him different “Chief” names, mostly from all the western books I read, so they’ll change as this goes on. Anyway, Chief Running Moon has a good eye and spotted a lot of IEDs that day. We missed some though, and had to react to losing and recovering our lead, second, and last vehicles all at once. Chicken got hit by a sniper that I missed in a second story window of a town thought to be abandoned, and we also were hit by an IED and had to be towed out. We also got stuck on a muddy stream bank thanks to our sissy-footed Complainer and had to be towed out. She still swears it wasn’t her fault, but everyone knows that if you stop in mud, chances are you won’t get out.
While we were roaring through a particularly thick part of the woods here, the lead vehicle’s antennae hit a low branch over the road. Well, there was a red wasp nest on that branch that fell and hit the second vehicle’s turret. That left all the wasps turret-high in the middle of the road for guess who…yeah, my turret. I tried to duck in time, but I didn’t want to lose my sight on my sector or lose anything I had loose in the turret. I swatted and smacked, but I still got stung in the face underneath my right eye. I had to ride out the next couple of hours with a swollen right eye and half my sight on my sector. And things got worse, to my dismay. It started raining. I arrived back at the COL tired, swollen, and soaked, only to sit through briefing after briefing. I went to bed miserable and with a mean headache.
Today was our first day on COL Nighthawk. COL (Coalition Operations Location) is the new acronym being used instead of FOB (Forward Operating Base) these days. Since most of our bases over in the box house other country’s troops, it seems to make sense. But in a weird way it makes it seem less lethal, which doesn’t sit well with me. Our whole reason for spending the weekend at the COL is to go through some convoy training, IED training, and some live fire exercises.
This morning we had to sit through a slew of classes, covering everything we are going to go through here. Convoy operations and IED reaction training were hit on the hardest, as we had a convoy ops set up for this afternoon. We started the convoy feeling pretty confident in our training, that from the class earlier and our own real world experiences.
I don’t think we had the best crew in our vehicle for the convoy, but we made it through. Our driver was SPC Complainer, whom I obviously don’t feel to great about. She’s a selfish and lazy female that always seems to play the female card when it’s convenient for her, and she is way too timid at the wheel of a humvee. The convoy commander, my section sergeant who I call Chicken because of the way he runs, was sitting in the front seat or Vehicle Commander’s seat. The VC normally mans the radio and calls the shots for that vehicle, but Chicken was running the whole convoy of 5 vehicles. It is much more difficult than one would think. In the CLS (Combat Life Saver) seat was Moon, my Japanese buddy that’s seen a bit of the real world over in Iraq a few years ago. In the other seat behind the VC was one of the trainers for this event, making sure the VC didn’t get us too lost or messed up. He also called the shots on which vehicles had wounded in them when we were hit. I was up in the gunner’s turret, taking aim behind my big ass 240B and keeping a sharp eye out of IED or enemy. I could see the Jap spinning the turret on the humvee in front of me, and I gave him a sarcastic wave and smile before we headed out. Gunners in a convoy have alternating sectors of fire, left and right, while the lead vehicle covers the front and the caboose covers the rear. The Jap is one of my best buddies, and I was glad to know that he’d be covering my six when we rolled out.
We started off pretty good, falling in the third vehicle slot so we could have positive control of the whole convoy. We spotted the first few IEDs pretty early, thanks to Chief Running Moon. Chief is a young specialist that went to high school with my younger brother. He’s a good kid, and I hope he doesn’t take in too much of this sub-par leadership we’ve got. I routinely call him different “Chief” names, mostly from all the western books I read, so they’ll change as this goes on. Anyway, Chief Running Moon has a good eye and spotted a lot of IEDs that day. We missed some though, and had to react to losing and recovering our lead, second, and last vehicles all at once. Chicken got hit by a sniper that I missed in a second story window of a town thought to be abandoned, and we also were hit by an IED and had to be towed out. We also got stuck on a muddy stream bank thanks to our sissy-footed Complainer and had to be towed out. She still swears it wasn’t her fault, but everyone knows that if you stop in mud, chances are you won’t get out.
While we were roaring through a particularly thick part of the woods here, the lead vehicle’s antennae hit a low branch over the road. Well, there was a red wasp nest on that branch that fell and hit the second vehicle’s turret. That left all the wasps turret-high in the middle of the road for guess who…yeah, my turret. I tried to duck in time, but I didn’t want to lose my sight on my sector or lose anything I had loose in the turret. I swatted and smacked, but I still got stung in the face underneath my right eye. I had to ride out the next couple of hours with a swollen right eye and half my sight on my sector. And things got worse, to my dismay. It started raining. I arrived back at the COL tired, swollen, and soaked, only to sit through briefing after briefing. I went to bed miserable and with a mean headache.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Camp Atterbury Day 6
I had a friend email me today and tell me I write this blog "like I'm getting paid per word", and I think I might tone down the info a little. I guess anyone can just ask me questions if they want me to elaborate more.
This past week, well almost week, has been full of administration junk. We've been going through all our paperwork, from medical to dental to legal. I'm pretty stoked that I got issued a few more pairs of glasses, as my past prescription was a few years old. There are new regulations in place that say we cannot wear contacts in combat zones anymore, so it looks like I'll be rockin' some spectacles for this deployment. I really don't mind, just as long as I get a better pair.
Almost all of my medical files were up to date, minus a few shot records. I had to get the second of six anthrax shots, which really sucked. It makes your arm go numb for a few minutes, and it stays pretty sore for a few days. I also got a TB skin test, which I had no reaction to so I passed. They stick you with it and push a little bit of the TB sample just underneath your skin creating a bubble. Then you come back 72 hours later and have it checked. No marks or bubble and you're good to go. I also had another HIV test and a urinalysis, and I passed both. The worst of all of it was and is the smallpox shot. They stick you 19 times with a man made version in the shoulder, and you have to let your body fight it for a little over 2 weeks. As soon as the scab falls off your good to go, but it's a pain to keep it clean. It's also extremely contagious while in this phase, so I have to constantly wash my hands.
The legal section of this week wasn't difficult for me. Most of what takes the most time is when people need to draw up power of attorney documents or stuff that has to do with divorces and kids, of which I have neither. I did, however, have to draw up a will. At first, I thought it'd be a cakewalk, seeing as I don't have much to sign off. But then the thought kind of got to me a little. Here I am, signing this document that says if I bite the bullet, all my stuff goes here and all my money goes here. It was a little disturbing, mostly because I've never done it in the past.
My day today started off a little crappy. I had latrine cleaning detail this morning, so I didn't get to eat breakfast. We had a medic course this morning, which wasn't really difficult. Every medic course is different, mostly because of the people you take it with. Everyone has their own stories to tell of how they treated this guy, or how they handled that situation, and it's always different. I had never heard most of these guy's stories, and they had never heard mine, so we had a pretty informative and graphic class. I learned a lot, not from the course, but from my 'Battle Buddies' as the Army teaches us to say. I had never seen this new thing they have to rapidly stop bleeding called a Chitosan (kye-to-san). It really sucks up the blood like a sponge and helps control large wounds. Stories were shared from everyone, including a few from me. Poles sticking through people, pieces of the bulletproof vests we wear in someone's chest cavity, and even one about a soldier that was found a few yards from an IED site clutching both severed feet in on arm and dragging himself with his other. Movie-style stuff, but from on hand witnesses and medics.
We also had an interesting task this afternoon. We had to update our morgue profiles. It's this system the military has for identifying bodies and verifying that they are really them. We have to take a front and side profile picture and throw it in there. Also, any new tattoos or identifying scars have to be input to help identify the remains. Pretty heavy stuff, especially after all the medic stuff this morning. But there's a kicker: today is my birthday. What a great way to celebrate your 23rd year of living right!?
My birthday present from the group was a surprise Arabic test, which I aced, and 230 push ups I had to do in front of everyone. I'm in pretty good shape, but it still took me about 15 minutes to knock 'em all out. Someone gave me a rice krispie treat as a cake too, yippee.
We have some other junky class stuff to take care of, and a PT test on Monday. The rest of the week is going to be spent preparing for a big field mission we have at one of the FOBs (Forward Operating Base) they have out here. After that is another field mission which is going to be strictly ammo based, and we should be outta Indiana in no time.
-Mac
This past week, well almost week, has been full of administration junk. We've been going through all our paperwork, from medical to dental to legal. I'm pretty stoked that I got issued a few more pairs of glasses, as my past prescription was a few years old. There are new regulations in place that say we cannot wear contacts in combat zones anymore, so it looks like I'll be rockin' some spectacles for this deployment. I really don't mind, just as long as I get a better pair.
Almost all of my medical files were up to date, minus a few shot records. I had to get the second of six anthrax shots, which really sucked. It makes your arm go numb for a few minutes, and it stays pretty sore for a few days. I also got a TB skin test, which I had no reaction to so I passed. They stick you with it and push a little bit of the TB sample just underneath your skin creating a bubble. Then you come back 72 hours later and have it checked. No marks or bubble and you're good to go. I also had another HIV test and a urinalysis, and I passed both. The worst of all of it was and is the smallpox shot. They stick you 19 times with a man made version in the shoulder, and you have to let your body fight it for a little over 2 weeks. As soon as the scab falls off your good to go, but it's a pain to keep it clean. It's also extremely contagious while in this phase, so I have to constantly wash my hands.
The legal section of this week wasn't difficult for me. Most of what takes the most time is when people need to draw up power of attorney documents or stuff that has to do with divorces and kids, of which I have neither. I did, however, have to draw up a will. At first, I thought it'd be a cakewalk, seeing as I don't have much to sign off. But then the thought kind of got to me a little. Here I am, signing this document that says if I bite the bullet, all my stuff goes here and all my money goes here. It was a little disturbing, mostly because I've never done it in the past.
My day today started off a little crappy. I had latrine cleaning detail this morning, so I didn't get to eat breakfast. We had a medic course this morning, which wasn't really difficult. Every medic course is different, mostly because of the people you take it with. Everyone has their own stories to tell of how they treated this guy, or how they handled that situation, and it's always different. I had never heard most of these guy's stories, and they had never heard mine, so we had a pretty informative and graphic class. I learned a lot, not from the course, but from my 'Battle Buddies' as the Army teaches us to say. I had never seen this new thing they have to rapidly stop bleeding called a Chitosan (kye-to-san). It really sucks up the blood like a sponge and helps control large wounds. Stories were shared from everyone, including a few from me. Poles sticking through people, pieces of the bulletproof vests we wear in someone's chest cavity, and even one about a soldier that was found a few yards from an IED site clutching both severed feet in on arm and dragging himself with his other. Movie-style stuff, but from on hand witnesses and medics.
We also had an interesting task this afternoon. We had to update our morgue profiles. It's this system the military has for identifying bodies and verifying that they are really them. We have to take a front and side profile picture and throw it in there. Also, any new tattoos or identifying scars have to be input to help identify the remains. Pretty heavy stuff, especially after all the medic stuff this morning. But there's a kicker: today is my birthday. What a great way to celebrate your 23rd year of living right!?
My birthday present from the group was a surprise Arabic test, which I aced, and 230 push ups I had to do in front of everyone. I'm in pretty good shape, but it still took me about 15 minutes to knock 'em all out. Someone gave me a rice krispie treat as a cake too, yippee.
We have some other junky class stuff to take care of, and a PT test on Monday. The rest of the week is going to be spent preparing for a big field mission we have at one of the FOBs (Forward Operating Base) they have out here. After that is another field mission which is going to be strictly ammo based, and we should be outta Indiana in no time.
-Mac
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Camp Atterbury Day 1
We rolled into the airport last night around 2000hrs after a rather rowdy flight into Indianapolis. I had a bit of whiskey before getting on the plane compliments of a few guys at the bar, and I was feeling pretty good about the coming plane ride. There was a lot of turbulence on the flight over, but I was given a few more drinks on the plane by the stewardess and I fell asleep. The bus ride from the airport to the Camp was a quiet one, taking us about an hour to get to the front gate. That’s when the shit hit the fan.
By this point, about 2130 or 2200, we had all been up for over 48 hours, we had all been traveling all day, and we were all feeling the effects. I don’t know why, but some of our NCOs were pretty grouchy, and that makes for a bad night. Nobody likes being yelled at, nobody likes being disrespected, and nobody likes these two combined after 2 days of being awake and a day of traveling. The night went pretty late, and we really didn’t get much done but unpack and receive a pretty jacked up welcome brief from our advanced party.
There is obviously a large amount of money that has been set aside for this mobilization site. The barracks sparkle and the latrines are huge with ten million stalls, sinks, and showers. The bunks are nice and new, and the wall lockers have full shelving systems and working doors with locks. They have a huge gym here with all sorts of equipment, along with a full baseball diamond and soccer field across the street. There’s green grass everywhere, and all the buildings are well maintained. The Camp itself seems pretty nice, but the command here is a different story.
We’ve been told that way too many units have come through this mob site and been way too jacked up. The command here has decided to fix that by making a shit-ton of rules and regulations. Let me just say, I feel like I’m in Basic Training again. I’ll just spout off a few of the ridiculous rules here, before I smash my keypad out of frustration. We have to wear our neon orange PT belts at all times, distinguishing us from the regular units here. We have to wear eye protection at all times, meaning if I go outside to talk on the phone at night I need to have clear lenses on my sunglasses. We have to check in, check out, ask to pee, ask to eat, ask to sleep, and ask to fart. It really sucks, and I hope for the sale of the detachment’s morale it all loosens up as we go through training here. For now, we have to play the game and put “sergeant, staff sergeant, sergeant first class, or sir” on the end of every single sentence. This is really the reason why I hate regular units, but at the same time we are under the microscope.
We are an experiment from what I understand. All these rules and regs they have here are a result of the previous units, but they might be cracking down early just to see what kind of unit we are. Our reputation has always preceded us in the past, but we have never done anything at Camp Atterbury or in Indiana. I think the closest we’ve ever been to here is in Wisconsin, and that was an easy mission that any mid-sized unit could have handled. It just so happened we did it with 20 soldiers instead of 75. All that aside, we are being watched closely and if we screw up, it’s our commander’s ass. Everyone also knows, as they say, “shit rolls downhill”. Hopefully none of these kids decides to do the wrong thing just to get out of this deployment, but I’ve seen it happen before and it really sucks for all the rest of us.
These next few days we have some really crappy stuff to go through. Tomorrow we have a lot of paperwork to update and complete, and I think we have a dental exam also. I could use a good cleaning. It’s supposed to rain and a few thunderstorms are coming our way, which might make the next few days a little tougher, but we were issued some high speed rain gear at FHL. We are supposed to get another welcome brief from the command here, and hopefully that is a little more extensive.
I’m still adjusting to the time zone here, as we’re 3 hours ahead of California. It really doesn’t feel like 2030, but I better rack out as best I can and get some sleep.
-Mac
By this point, about 2130 or 2200, we had all been up for over 48 hours, we had all been traveling all day, and we were all feeling the effects. I don’t know why, but some of our NCOs were pretty grouchy, and that makes for a bad night. Nobody likes being yelled at, nobody likes being disrespected, and nobody likes these two combined after 2 days of being awake and a day of traveling. The night went pretty late, and we really didn’t get much done but unpack and receive a pretty jacked up welcome brief from our advanced party.
There is obviously a large amount of money that has been set aside for this mobilization site. The barracks sparkle and the latrines are huge with ten million stalls, sinks, and showers. The bunks are nice and new, and the wall lockers have full shelving systems and working doors with locks. They have a huge gym here with all sorts of equipment, along with a full baseball diamond and soccer field across the street. There’s green grass everywhere, and all the buildings are well maintained. The Camp itself seems pretty nice, but the command here is a different story.
We’ve been told that way too many units have come through this mob site and been way too jacked up. The command here has decided to fix that by making a shit-ton of rules and regulations. Let me just say, I feel like I’m in Basic Training again. I’ll just spout off a few of the ridiculous rules here, before I smash my keypad out of frustration. We have to wear our neon orange PT belts at all times, distinguishing us from the regular units here. We have to wear eye protection at all times, meaning if I go outside to talk on the phone at night I need to have clear lenses on my sunglasses. We have to check in, check out, ask to pee, ask to eat, ask to sleep, and ask to fart. It really sucks, and I hope for the sale of the detachment’s morale it all loosens up as we go through training here. For now, we have to play the game and put “sergeant, staff sergeant, sergeant first class, or sir” on the end of every single sentence. This is really the reason why I hate regular units, but at the same time we are under the microscope.
We are an experiment from what I understand. All these rules and regs they have here are a result of the previous units, but they might be cracking down early just to see what kind of unit we are. Our reputation has always preceded us in the past, but we have never done anything at Camp Atterbury or in Indiana. I think the closest we’ve ever been to here is in Wisconsin, and that was an easy mission that any mid-sized unit could have handled. It just so happened we did it with 20 soldiers instead of 75. All that aside, we are being watched closely and if we screw up, it’s our commander’s ass. Everyone also knows, as they say, “shit rolls downhill”. Hopefully none of these kids decides to do the wrong thing just to get out of this deployment, but I’ve seen it happen before and it really sucks for all the rest of us.
These next few days we have some really crappy stuff to go through. Tomorrow we have a lot of paperwork to update and complete, and I think we have a dental exam also. I could use a good cleaning. It’s supposed to rain and a few thunderstorms are coming our way, which might make the next few days a little tougher, but we were issued some high speed rain gear at FHL. We are supposed to get another welcome brief from the command here, and hopefully that is a little more extensive.
I’m still adjusting to the time zone here, as we’re 3 hours ahead of California. It really doesn’t feel like 2030, but I better rack out as best I can and get some sleep.
-Mac
Monday, August 17, 2009
FHL Day 17
As I sit here at 0113hrs, spending my last few minutes on the glorious Fort Hunter-Liggett, I can’t help but reminisce. I’m thinking of all the good and bad times I’ve had here. I’ve come to this base for training missions at least twice a year for the past three years. Some missions have been for as little as 3 days, and one was a whole month once. I can remember going through a full range of emotions while being on this base, from the very first time to these last few minutes.
The very first time I stayed here, it was for a 3 day Qualification Range back in early 2006. I had just gotten to the unit, and I didn’t know everyone very well. I hadn’t brought a sleeping bag because it wasn’t on the packing list I was given. I froze my ass off, but everything seemed ok because I had just started dating a girl I had met about a month earlier and I could still call her every night before I tried to go to sleep. I had those early relationship butterflies and felt great, and nothing could make me feel different. I made my first impression on my NCOs that weekend, by qualifying Expert, or shooting 40 out of 40 targets on the Qual Range.
The next time I would come to FHL was later that year, and I had moved up the ranks a bit. This time I drove a truck full of supplies up instead of riding on the bus. I was trusted with equipment, given less orders and asked to do more things, and I felt like I belonged. The girl I was dating was on vacation in a warmer place than I, so I didn’t exactly enjoy hearing about sunny skies and sandy beaches when I was freezing outside on the phone, but I got through it.
The next couple of years were a blur here, aided by too many memories and too many beers. For one whole month my platoon was staying in a tent on a live tank range here, dealing with the ammunition for one of the nation’s largest war games, Pacific Warrior. The war game didn’t so much pertain to us, so we had our working hours and our beer hours. I did a lot of thinking on that mission, and I went through a full spectrum of emotions that month too. That girl I had been dating had left just before the mission, my grandmother had died, and I had lost a close friend in combat, both while I was away. I had also been promoted and praised by my command, and I was even awarded a medal during this mission, so there were plenty of happy times. During our stay that month, me and some of my close buddies went on ‘nature walks’ on the tank range, picking up Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and elk antlers. The elk antlers were ok for us to grab, but as you can imagine the UXO wasn’t too bright of an idea. I got a few things I’ve never even seen, including a mortar round from 1956, but I was sure to be careful of how I transported it. We chased wild boar in huge Paletized Loading System (PLS) trucks, drove up impossible tanks trails in HUMVEES, and made beer runs in Light/Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTV) with our uniform tops on and civilian shirts and jeans on underneath. We were our own element, and the only unit controlling the ammo, so we handled everything our way. Don’t get me wrong, we sure as hell got work done, but we had our fun time too. It really reminds me of Vietnam, at least what I get from the movies and books I’ve read. I mean we walked around in nothing but our running shorts, or in a IBA with no shirt on underneath. I even went “hunting” with a .177 pellet gun! All I shot was a deer in the ass and a rabbit. We skinned the rabbit on guard duty the next night, but maggots had already gotten to it. There are so many stories I can’t remember now, but I’ll be sure to jot them down when I remember them while in Iraq. I’m sure they will come back up.
This last mission here has been an overall positive one. The group as a whole has learned a lot, and we’ve come together a little bit closer. We’re not all ready yet, and we’re definitely not a full functioning family, but we will be there soon.
See you later good ‘ol Fort Hunter-Liggett, I hope to run through your fields and wreak havoc again someday.
-Mac
The very first time I stayed here, it was for a 3 day Qualification Range back in early 2006. I had just gotten to the unit, and I didn’t know everyone very well. I hadn’t brought a sleeping bag because it wasn’t on the packing list I was given. I froze my ass off, but everything seemed ok because I had just started dating a girl I had met about a month earlier and I could still call her every night before I tried to go to sleep. I had those early relationship butterflies and felt great, and nothing could make me feel different. I made my first impression on my NCOs that weekend, by qualifying Expert, or shooting 40 out of 40 targets on the Qual Range.
The next time I would come to FHL was later that year, and I had moved up the ranks a bit. This time I drove a truck full of supplies up instead of riding on the bus. I was trusted with equipment, given less orders and asked to do more things, and I felt like I belonged. The girl I was dating was on vacation in a warmer place than I, so I didn’t exactly enjoy hearing about sunny skies and sandy beaches when I was freezing outside on the phone, but I got through it.
The next couple of years were a blur here, aided by too many memories and too many beers. For one whole month my platoon was staying in a tent on a live tank range here, dealing with the ammunition for one of the nation’s largest war games, Pacific Warrior. The war game didn’t so much pertain to us, so we had our working hours and our beer hours. I did a lot of thinking on that mission, and I went through a full spectrum of emotions that month too. That girl I had been dating had left just before the mission, my grandmother had died, and I had lost a close friend in combat, both while I was away. I had also been promoted and praised by my command, and I was even awarded a medal during this mission, so there were plenty of happy times. During our stay that month, me and some of my close buddies went on ‘nature walks’ on the tank range, picking up Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and elk antlers. The elk antlers were ok for us to grab, but as you can imagine the UXO wasn’t too bright of an idea. I got a few things I’ve never even seen, including a mortar round from 1956, but I was sure to be careful of how I transported it. We chased wild boar in huge Paletized Loading System (PLS) trucks, drove up impossible tanks trails in HUMVEES, and made beer runs in Light/Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTV) with our uniform tops on and civilian shirts and jeans on underneath. We were our own element, and the only unit controlling the ammo, so we handled everything our way. Don’t get me wrong, we sure as hell got work done, but we had our fun time too. It really reminds me of Vietnam, at least what I get from the movies and books I’ve read. I mean we walked around in nothing but our running shorts, or in a IBA with no shirt on underneath. I even went “hunting” with a .177 pellet gun! All I shot was a deer in the ass and a rabbit. We skinned the rabbit on guard duty the next night, but maggots had already gotten to it. There are so many stories I can’t remember now, but I’ll be sure to jot them down when I remember them while in Iraq. I’m sure they will come back up.
This last mission here has been an overall positive one. The group as a whole has learned a lot, and we’ve come together a little bit closer. We’re not all ready yet, and we’re definitely not a full functioning family, but we will be there soon.
See you later good ‘ol Fort Hunter-Liggett, I hope to run through your fields and wreak havoc again someday.
-Mac
Saturday, August 15, 2009
FHL Day 15
Well we are almost our of here. Just basically checking the list of courses and running through the motions. All of the tactical training is pretty much over, we turn in our IBA today and I think we have another RFI issue before we leave. We still haven't been issued any new boots, socks, undershirts, or uniforms. This whole process has been kind of jacked up. We have a tone of extra crap to put on our weapons and tactical vests, but we don't have the basics. How that's supposed to work our is beyond me, but I hate running around in a dirty uniform. Plus we really had to get down and dirty for our training the last few days.
Day 12 seemed like it was going to be a cake walk compared to the Land Nav course the previous day, but it really wasn't. We had a full day of Combatives training, which covers hand-to-hand combat maneuvers the Army has put together. It's very much like what you would see in an MMA match or on one of the Ultimate Fighter shows, a mix of martial arts put together. They cover a lot of ground techniques, how to set up for this or how to escape that, but it's usually not covered in any depth. We have so many other means to take out the enemy before we actually resort to hands-on fighting. We are taught how to use our rifles as weapons without shooting, utilizing the butt stock like a club and also attaching bayonets on the muzzles. Actually, I've been told we are no longer authorized to use bayonets on our weapons, who thought of that I have no clue. I never really used it anyway, but it's nice to know I can. So we have our ammo, then the rifle itself, which brings us to the knife. The Army doesn't cover knife fighting, at least I've never seen the Technical Manual or Field Manual, but I've received some training with them I've employed myself in real life situations. Anyway, every soldier on the battlefield today they carry some sort of knife. I would much rather prefer being proficient with a knife than with my hands, but we still have to go through the training. We got through all of it, with a few good fighting matches towards the end of the day. Nobody was seriously injured, but a few guys had their feelings hurt from a certain someone...
Day 13 was an experiment, for us and the cadre here. We were trucked out to a new training facility, less than a year old. This was only the second training rotation to go through this new site, and the cadre's plan wasn't the best. We covered five stations: the M18A1 Claymore, NBC, securing buildings, Sniper Control, and the M67 Hand Grenade.
The Claymore mine is an "oldie but a goodie" as they say. We hardly ever use them anymore, but they are the most effective antipersonnel mine I've ever seen. Depending on terrain, a few pounds of C4 in the back of the Claymore send about 200 metal marbles and a few less metal washers out to cut through enemy personnel coming towards it. We normally mount them on the ground, but it can be mounted at eye-level or above for different uses. It first came with a wire you had to lead out and cover, and then detonate with an electric charge, but now they have wireless kits that convert it. Easy to use, relatively light, and extremely effective.
The NBC training was gay, and the instructor seemed like she was on crack. We basically had to don all of our protective gear and walk around the perimeter in it. Doing ANYTHING in all this crap sucks. It could be 40 below outside and you would STILL get hot as hell in the suit. It's a pain to take off too. Hopefully we don't ever use them. I've never taken any of mine out of the package.
My squad kicked ass in the next training exercise. We had to approach a building and secure just the outside of it. Pretty simple right? Well if you don't have your shit together it's not. The OPFOR, or Opposition Force, was armed with AK-47 paintball guns, while we had M4s. The paint balls were filled with olive oil, so it was pretty greasy if you go hit. We had a six man team approach, and as soon as we hit contact from the enemy on the top floor we took cover. We split up in two man teams, and bounded or 'leap-frogged' up to the front. This is basically having one team run while the other lays suppressive and covering fire, then reversing the action to get both teams up to the building. Piece of cake for us, but we saw some other groups go through that didn't do so well. The point is to keep moving and secure the building as fast as possible, without taking any hits. Some groups didn't find good cover, others bunched up and got taken out by RPGs or grenades. Having too many soldiers in one position is bad, but being too spread out is worse. Anyway, we took the building easily without getting hit.
Next we went over sniper and counter-sniper measures. Mostly this was just just stating the obvious pros and cons to snipers, and how to combat them. Snipers are extremely effective tools, as they can do MUCH more than just shoot one target. Sniper teams serve as forward observers, calling in artillery on certain locations. They can also gather intelligence and relay troop numbers and positions back to their superiors for ambushes. The Army has anti-sniper methods it uses, most of which are classified. But really it comes down to common sense. Don't stand out in the open, don't stay still, and think about what to do if there was a sniper BEFORE the sniper hits.
The grenade training was a bust. Seems like the Army may be spending money in the wrong places, as all we had were 2 M68 practice grenades. Basically just pulling the pin and throwing a metal grenade shell with a blasting cap in it. It doesn't do much but make a really loud 'bang' and a bit of the explosion comes out the hole in the bottom. Yay, that was fun.
Day 14 was the best so far. We had urban operations training all day. Clearing rooms is probably the most dangerous part of being a soldier. You have to breach and enter a room that you know nothing about, being prepared for anything inside. There can be bombs, insurgents, fire, babies, women, children, people sleeping, people shooting, all sorts of things. Yesterday we used four man stack teams to clear houses with single rooms, houses with multiple rooms, and the best of all: The Shoot House. The Shoot House is the best training facility I have seen on any base yet, even topping the HEAT rollover training we had a few weeks ago. It's a setup of a house, with no roof. There's a catwalk above it, where the instructors can see into the hallways and rooms. The OPFOR were running around in there, hiding in rooms and ready to pop us with their paintball markers. The thing that made it even more realistic was the fact that we weren't using paintballs, we were using .68 caliber rubber balls. They really hurt. We had to run in with two stack teams of four. I was the number four man on my team, and my Lieutenant was the number two guy. As the four man, I provide rear security until I'm called up to kick the door in. When I come up to the door, I give it a quick and quiet check for wires, booby traps, and to see if it's locked. If it's clear, I get to rear back and turbo-kick it down! There's nothing like putting a boot to a door, it's just that fun. After I kick it open I watch the rear as the rest of the team rolls in and clears the room. I then have to come in, kick the door back just to make sure there isn't a hadji back there, and then we clear the room. After we exit and stack back up, I close what's left of the door and mark the room clear with an 'X' with chalk or paint. Pretty simple eh? Again, only if your team has it's shit together. We bound with the other team too, they clear a room and then we clear a room. We have to constantly adjust for hallways, furniture, and the OPFOR firing from hidden positions. There are a lot of danger zones to cover, and everyone has to trust in their team to cover each others ass. Almost every other team that went in yesterday got shot, and we only had one hit. Our front man got shot in the hand, but I think it was a ricochet. One of the rooms we breached had an IED at eye-level right in front of the door. I saw it a split second after I booted the door, and I yelled it out. I had to pull our front man andthe LT our of there by their collars. We cleared out of the room fast enough and didn't sustain any casualties. We also found a weapons cache underneath a bed in one of the rooms, and my front guy didn't recognize what was right next to the bed when he checked it. It was an M15 Anti-Tank Mine, with a radio on it and wires sticking out everywhere. I yelled for everyone to get out, making sure I was the last on in. After that the action pretty much slowed. We had taken out all the OPFOR and searched all the rooms, finding all the IEDs and weapons caches. Overall a great exercise, and especially great because I didn't get shot. Plus, I didn't have to fire my weapon. If that was how it always went in the real world, everything would be great, but it's not and room clearing really sucks.
Today was our last day of instruction. We had an IED class this morning that covered the newest kinds of roadside bombs and tactics the insurgents are using. Most are pretty negotiable, meaning we have a way to notice and defeat them. There's one however that is particularly frightening. It's a Russian-made grenade that can pierce through our up-armored HUMVEES. The grenade looks similar to the WWII stick grenades the Nazis used in the trenches and fields. The thing that makes this one more lethal than any other grenade is the fact that it's a parachute stabilized shape charge with copper inside. When it is thrown, the parachute deploys and insures that the shape charge is pointed directly down. The charge then explodes, sending molten copper through whatever is underneath it and igniting anything combustible. It really jacks up our vehicles, and it's so easy for a hadji bastard to hide that we can't see it coming. Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du7OInH1PwQ
Tomorrow we just have to clean up the barracks and pack all our stuff. We have to be out of our bay by 2400hrs, but our bus doesn't pick us up until 0200hrs which kind of sucks. I've got a few connecting flights, and then I'll be solid at Camp Atterbury.
-Mac
Day 12 seemed like it was going to be a cake walk compared to the Land Nav course the previous day, but it really wasn't. We had a full day of Combatives training, which covers hand-to-hand combat maneuvers the Army has put together. It's very much like what you would see in an MMA match or on one of the Ultimate Fighter shows, a mix of martial arts put together. They cover a lot of ground techniques, how to set up for this or how to escape that, but it's usually not covered in any depth. We have so many other means to take out the enemy before we actually resort to hands-on fighting. We are taught how to use our rifles as weapons without shooting, utilizing the butt stock like a club and also attaching bayonets on the muzzles. Actually, I've been told we are no longer authorized to use bayonets on our weapons, who thought of that I have no clue. I never really used it anyway, but it's nice to know I can. So we have our ammo, then the rifle itself, which brings us to the knife. The Army doesn't cover knife fighting, at least I've never seen the Technical Manual or Field Manual, but I've received some training with them I've employed myself in real life situations. Anyway, every soldier on the battlefield today they carry some sort of knife. I would much rather prefer being proficient with a knife than with my hands, but we still have to go through the training. We got through all of it, with a few good fighting matches towards the end of the day. Nobody was seriously injured, but a few guys had their feelings hurt from a certain someone...
Day 13 was an experiment, for us and the cadre here. We were trucked out to a new training facility, less than a year old. This was only the second training rotation to go through this new site, and the cadre's plan wasn't the best. We covered five stations: the M18A1 Claymore, NBC, securing buildings, Sniper Control, and the M67 Hand Grenade.
The Claymore mine is an "oldie but a goodie" as they say. We hardly ever use them anymore, but they are the most effective antipersonnel mine I've ever seen. Depending on terrain, a few pounds of C4 in the back of the Claymore send about 200 metal marbles and a few less metal washers out to cut through enemy personnel coming towards it. We normally mount them on the ground, but it can be mounted at eye-level or above for different uses. It first came with a wire you had to lead out and cover, and then detonate with an electric charge, but now they have wireless kits that convert it. Easy to use, relatively light, and extremely effective.
The NBC training was gay, and the instructor seemed like she was on crack. We basically had to don all of our protective gear and walk around the perimeter in it. Doing ANYTHING in all this crap sucks. It could be 40 below outside and you would STILL get hot as hell in the suit. It's a pain to take off too. Hopefully we don't ever use them. I've never taken any of mine out of the package.
My squad kicked ass in the next training exercise. We had to approach a building and secure just the outside of it. Pretty simple right? Well if you don't have your shit together it's not. The OPFOR, or Opposition Force, was armed with AK-47 paintball guns, while we had M4s. The paint balls were filled with olive oil, so it was pretty greasy if you go hit. We had a six man team approach, and as soon as we hit contact from the enemy on the top floor we took cover. We split up in two man teams, and bounded or 'leap-frogged' up to the front. This is basically having one team run while the other lays suppressive and covering fire, then reversing the action to get both teams up to the building. Piece of cake for us, but we saw some other groups go through that didn't do so well. The point is to keep moving and secure the building as fast as possible, without taking any hits. Some groups didn't find good cover, others bunched up and got taken out by RPGs or grenades. Having too many soldiers in one position is bad, but being too spread out is worse. Anyway, we took the building easily without getting hit.
Next we went over sniper and counter-sniper measures. Mostly this was just just stating the obvious pros and cons to snipers, and how to combat them. Snipers are extremely effective tools, as they can do MUCH more than just shoot one target. Sniper teams serve as forward observers, calling in artillery on certain locations. They can also gather intelligence and relay troop numbers and positions back to their superiors for ambushes. The Army has anti-sniper methods it uses, most of which are classified. But really it comes down to common sense. Don't stand out in the open, don't stay still, and think about what to do if there was a sniper BEFORE the sniper hits.
The grenade training was a bust. Seems like the Army may be spending money in the wrong places, as all we had were 2 M68 practice grenades. Basically just pulling the pin and throwing a metal grenade shell with a blasting cap in it. It doesn't do much but make a really loud 'bang' and a bit of the explosion comes out the hole in the bottom. Yay, that was fun.
Day 14 was the best so far. We had urban operations training all day. Clearing rooms is probably the most dangerous part of being a soldier. You have to breach and enter a room that you know nothing about, being prepared for anything inside. There can be bombs, insurgents, fire, babies, women, children, people sleeping, people shooting, all sorts of things. Yesterday we used four man stack teams to clear houses with single rooms, houses with multiple rooms, and the best of all: The Shoot House. The Shoot House is the best training facility I have seen on any base yet, even topping the HEAT rollover training we had a few weeks ago. It's a setup of a house, with no roof. There's a catwalk above it, where the instructors can see into the hallways and rooms. The OPFOR were running around in there, hiding in rooms and ready to pop us with their paintball markers. The thing that made it even more realistic was the fact that we weren't using paintballs, we were using .68 caliber rubber balls. They really hurt. We had to run in with two stack teams of four. I was the number four man on my team, and my Lieutenant was the number two guy. As the four man, I provide rear security until I'm called up to kick the door in. When I come up to the door, I give it a quick and quiet check for wires, booby traps, and to see if it's locked. If it's clear, I get to rear back and turbo-kick it down! There's nothing like putting a boot to a door, it's just that fun. After I kick it open I watch the rear as the rest of the team rolls in and clears the room. I then have to come in, kick the door back just to make sure there isn't a hadji back there, and then we clear the room. After we exit and stack back up, I close what's left of the door and mark the room clear with an 'X' with chalk or paint. Pretty simple eh? Again, only if your team has it's shit together. We bound with the other team too, they clear a room and then we clear a room. We have to constantly adjust for hallways, furniture, and the OPFOR firing from hidden positions. There are a lot of danger zones to cover, and everyone has to trust in their team to cover each others ass. Almost every other team that went in yesterday got shot, and we only had one hit. Our front man got shot in the hand, but I think it was a ricochet. One of the rooms we breached had an IED at eye-level right in front of the door. I saw it a split second after I booted the door, and I yelled it out. I had to pull our front man andthe LT our of there by their collars. We cleared out of the room fast enough and didn't sustain any casualties. We also found a weapons cache underneath a bed in one of the rooms, and my front guy didn't recognize what was right next to the bed when he checked it. It was an M15 Anti-Tank Mine, with a radio on it and wires sticking out everywhere. I yelled for everyone to get out, making sure I was the last on in. After that the action pretty much slowed. We had taken out all the OPFOR and searched all the rooms, finding all the IEDs and weapons caches. Overall a great exercise, and especially great because I didn't get shot. Plus, I didn't have to fire my weapon. If that was how it always went in the real world, everything would be great, but it's not and room clearing really sucks.
Today was our last day of instruction. We had an IED class this morning that covered the newest kinds of roadside bombs and tactics the insurgents are using. Most are pretty negotiable, meaning we have a way to notice and defeat them. There's one however that is particularly frightening. It's a Russian-made grenade that can pierce through our up-armored HUMVEES. The grenade looks similar to the WWII stick grenades the Nazis used in the trenches and fields. The thing that makes this one more lethal than any other grenade is the fact that it's a parachute stabilized shape charge with copper inside. When it is thrown, the parachute deploys and insures that the shape charge is pointed directly down. The charge then explodes, sending molten copper through whatever is underneath it and igniting anything combustible. It really jacks up our vehicles, and it's so easy for a hadji bastard to hide that we can't see it coming. Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du7OInH1PwQ
Tomorrow we just have to clean up the barracks and pack all our stuff. We have to be out of our bay by 2400hrs, but our bus doesn't pick us up until 0200hrs which kind of sucks. I've got a few connecting flights, and then I'll be solid at Camp Atterbury.
-Mac
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
FHL Day 11
Yikes, the last few days have been a blur. We have been exposed to a great amount of information in the last couple of days, and it looks like the last few we have here are packed as well. I have spent more time thinking to myself in these past 72 hours than I have so far, and I think I'll reflect on those thoughts a little as I keep blogging our training here and throughout this deployment.
Day 9 kicked off with a bang, but not the kind we had hoped for. We were supposed to be on the machine gun ranges all day, firing the M249 SAW, M240B, M2 HBMG, and the Mark19, but there was a change of plans. There is a saying in the Army that is quite popular but hard to deal with, "Adapt and Overcome". It has many applications, from plans that occur in the field, combat, or training. Ours cam in training this last Sunday. The area up here at FHL is extremely dry, and brush fires are started weekly and sometimes even daily. In fact, I can't think of a time in the last 3 years since I've been coming here that I didn't see a brush fire. They are usually huge, consuming thousands of acres at a time. Well when we shoot the machine guns, we use what is called a combat mix of 4 to 1. This means that every fifth round in the link of bullets is a tracer. What makes a tracer a tracer is the coating on the projectile itself burning as it rotates in flight. Well a burning bullet and tinder-style brush don't mix, so only about five soldiers got to shoot, and only their SAWs. The rest of use went to the EST 2000.
The EST 2000 is a training module that helps soldiers become familiar with the different weapon systems the Army has, without ever firing a live round. In short, it's an interactive video game. Think of playing Halo or COunterstrike on a big screen, while holding an M16 or sitting behind an M2 .50 cal! It is actually a great tool, and it's fun. The weapons all have infrared lasers that link them to the screen, and magnetic sensors that read the rounds you put in them. There are air compresors hooked up to each weapon, giving it the appropriate amount of air to emulate the recoil or 'kick' of that real weapon. So instead of shooting live rounds on the machine gun ranges, we were all familiarized on the EST 2000. As much as I love to blast away on the M2 .50 cal, the EST 2000 was way better for us as a unit. We got to see which soldiers paid attention in the classes and which ones didn't. We also got to practice aiming and communicating the different roles of the weapons. The scenarios helped with that, allowing the SAW gunners a chance to lay down suppressing fire on the troops, while the M240B guys could hit up the light vehicles and troop transports, saving the tanks and the choppers for Ma Duece. All in all, it wasn't what we thought is was going to be, but we followed the "Adapt and Overcome" saying and kicked ass while doing so. AND, we were done around 1100hrs instead of taking all day. We chilled out the rest of the day, and we even had a inter-platoon soccer game, in which everyone kicked my ass. I am NOT a soccer kind of guy, but I played anyway.
Which brought me to ponder: would I have played soccer with the guys in my unit 2 years ago? 1 year ago? I don't think I would have, which is why I thought about it in the first place. I feel more connected to this group. Not saying I feel all warm and fuzzy about everyone, because I definitely don't, but I do feel more connected to more of them than I would have a few years back or even a year ago. I have experienced so much in the past 12 to 18 months, and it has really changed my views on my relationships with my family and friends, and with the guys in my unit. I have also become more cognizant of how much I affect other people's lives, especially those directly around me. In years past, I have acted selfishly, burned bridges, and hurt people I loved, all without really seeing it. I can't explain why, nor can I excuse any of it, but I can reflect on it and ask forgiveness from any I have hurt or wronged. And I have, more recently, begun to 'bounce back' if you will, and make sure I don't commit the same errors again. That means becoming more familiar with the group, getting to know the people around me better, and just generally being more aware of people's feelings. It didn't take this deployment to make me realize it, but I have never told anyone or written about how I feel about it. More on all this some other time, let's get back to the training.
Day 10 started pretty heavy, with an earlier start time than normal. We started out with a Reflexive Fire range in the morning followed by the M203 range right after. The Reflexive Fire range was quick, refreshing our movements with reflexive fire. Reflexive Fire helps the soldier to react to quick movements while clearing houses, rooms, and such. We all stand in a line with three small targets 25meters in front of us. There is a red square, a green triangle, and a blue circle on each target. The range officer calls out a target, and we then engage it with a controlled pair of shots. Basically like a 'double-tap', but the Army likes to call is a "controlled pair". There are five different firing points, at 25meters, 20meters, 15meters, 10meters, and 5meters. We advance to the next point after firing 2 controlled pairs at each point It is way more difficult than it seems, but I've had plenty of practice with it and I hit more than half the targets. Next, the M203 grenade range. The M203 is a 40mm grenade launcher that sits underneath the handrail of the M16. It can fire somewhere between 300 and 450 meters, depending on the ability of the firer. We popped off a few of those, and then it was off to our next class, ROE/Geneva/Hague.
The Rules Of Engagement, along with the Geneva and Hague Conventions, is an overall touchy subject. There is so much going on with the ROE over in Iraq and Afghanistan, it changes daily. In fact, just last week the top commanding general in Afghanistan declared that Mosques can no longer be fired upon, even if fleeing insurgents previously engaging US forces hide in them. SO, get ready to see the same kind of stuff we saw in Iraq when we first got there: guys shooting RPGs at us and running into mosques. It's the crap like that that gets us killed. AND, now in Iraq we are no longer an occupying force, but 'guests' of the Iraqis. This means we must follower THEIR laws. The biggest problem I have with that is regarding the capture of suspected insurgents and Taliban personnel. Now we have to have an IRAQI ARREST WARRANT GIVEN TO US BY AN IRAQI JUDGE TO DETAIN ANYONE. Talk about taking the bat out of our hands! There are so many incidents occurring because of these ridiculous changes, and I think it's all leading towards disaster. I also think it is due mostly to the media coverage of these wars. The Iraq and Afghanistan theaters have completely changed from the start of our operations there, all because of media. In Afghanistan, we used to be able to use whatever amount of force we saw necessary to eliminate threats. That included leveling a mosque if any Taliban or Al Qaeda were inside. Now, with all of our attention focused on the war there, soldiers are no longer allowed to fire on mosques and other historical stuff. The media blows everything out of proportion, covering only events that help their cause whether it be liberal or conservative. It happens on both sides. The media also limits what our soldiers can do. Look up the book "Lone Survivor", it's a book about a Navy SEAL that didn't kill the 2 goat herders that saw him because he thought the media might find out. They later gave away his team's position, getting all of them, and many other top trained SEALs, killed in Afghanistan. ROE is difficult to understand, and even more difficult to follow while in combat or conflict. But we got through the class without too much trouble, at least for now.
We had another after-dinner-chow class too, which really sucked. We covered the DAGR (pronounced 'dagger'), a high tech and secretive GPS system the US uses in theater to get around. This is like the stuff you see in movies, with all the GPS systems you've ever seen combined into one. Not too difficult to use, but we definitely had to go through some instruction before we went out and used them. Which brings me to today.
Today, Day 11, was just plain hard. We had Land Navigation all day. We ran two different routes today. The first was with just a compass and three points. We had to plot the points, find the distance between them, and then find the best route based on terrain. It wasn't too difficult, as we had roads running by all of our points and round trip was only about 1,100. It started to get pretty hot out, but we were full of energy so all was well until we found out our next task. The second route we took the DAGR with us out to our first point, which was about 900meters away. From there we were given our azimuths and the distance to the next point. Following an azimuth over rough terrain sucks, and dragging a female in our group sucked even more. We stopped too many times for entirely too long, and we adjusted our routes to accommodate for her injured foot or something. Apparently she was fine to go to the pool just a few minutes ago, but she couldn't walk up a hill a few hours ago. Anyway, we got off track and couldn't recover our course. 5 hours and thousands of meters later, we made it back to base without hitting any of our points. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy with our performance. But hey, it was a learning experience and just plain good PT for us.
Tomorrow we have Combative courses all day, and I know on Friday we have the Shoot House. I'll explain all that later, my dogs are tired!
-Mac
Day 9 kicked off with a bang, but not the kind we had hoped for. We were supposed to be on the machine gun ranges all day, firing the M249 SAW, M240B, M2 HBMG, and the Mark19, but there was a change of plans. There is a saying in the Army that is quite popular but hard to deal with, "Adapt and Overcome". It has many applications, from plans that occur in the field, combat, or training. Ours cam in training this last Sunday. The area up here at FHL is extremely dry, and brush fires are started weekly and sometimes even daily. In fact, I can't think of a time in the last 3 years since I've been coming here that I didn't see a brush fire. They are usually huge, consuming thousands of acres at a time. Well when we shoot the machine guns, we use what is called a combat mix of 4 to 1. This means that every fifth round in the link of bullets is a tracer. What makes a tracer a tracer is the coating on the projectile itself burning as it rotates in flight. Well a burning bullet and tinder-style brush don't mix, so only about five soldiers got to shoot, and only their SAWs. The rest of use went to the EST 2000.
The EST 2000 is a training module that helps soldiers become familiar with the different weapon systems the Army has, without ever firing a live round. In short, it's an interactive video game. Think of playing Halo or COunterstrike on a big screen, while holding an M16 or sitting behind an M2 .50 cal! It is actually a great tool, and it's fun. The weapons all have infrared lasers that link them to the screen, and magnetic sensors that read the rounds you put in them. There are air compresors hooked up to each weapon, giving it the appropriate amount of air to emulate the recoil or 'kick' of that real weapon. So instead of shooting live rounds on the machine gun ranges, we were all familiarized on the EST 2000. As much as I love to blast away on the M2 .50 cal, the EST 2000 was way better for us as a unit. We got to see which soldiers paid attention in the classes and which ones didn't. We also got to practice aiming and communicating the different roles of the weapons. The scenarios helped with that, allowing the SAW gunners a chance to lay down suppressing fire on the troops, while the M240B guys could hit up the light vehicles and troop transports, saving the tanks and the choppers for Ma Duece. All in all, it wasn't what we thought is was going to be, but we followed the "Adapt and Overcome" saying and kicked ass while doing so. AND, we were done around 1100hrs instead of taking all day. We chilled out the rest of the day, and we even had a inter-platoon soccer game, in which everyone kicked my ass. I am NOT a soccer kind of guy, but I played anyway.
Which brought me to ponder: would I have played soccer with the guys in my unit 2 years ago? 1 year ago? I don't think I would have, which is why I thought about it in the first place. I feel more connected to this group. Not saying I feel all warm and fuzzy about everyone, because I definitely don't, but I do feel more connected to more of them than I would have a few years back or even a year ago. I have experienced so much in the past 12 to 18 months, and it has really changed my views on my relationships with my family and friends, and with the guys in my unit. I have also become more cognizant of how much I affect other people's lives, especially those directly around me. In years past, I have acted selfishly, burned bridges, and hurt people I loved, all without really seeing it. I can't explain why, nor can I excuse any of it, but I can reflect on it and ask forgiveness from any I have hurt or wronged. And I have, more recently, begun to 'bounce back' if you will, and make sure I don't commit the same errors again. That means becoming more familiar with the group, getting to know the people around me better, and just generally being more aware of people's feelings. It didn't take this deployment to make me realize it, but I have never told anyone or written about how I feel about it. More on all this some other time, let's get back to the training.
Day 10 started pretty heavy, with an earlier start time than normal. We started out with a Reflexive Fire range in the morning followed by the M203 range right after. The Reflexive Fire range was quick, refreshing our movements with reflexive fire. Reflexive Fire helps the soldier to react to quick movements while clearing houses, rooms, and such. We all stand in a line with three small targets 25meters in front of us. There is a red square, a green triangle, and a blue circle on each target. The range officer calls out a target, and we then engage it with a controlled pair of shots. Basically like a 'double-tap', but the Army likes to call is a "controlled pair". There are five different firing points, at 25meters, 20meters, 15meters, 10meters, and 5meters. We advance to the next point after firing 2 controlled pairs at each point It is way more difficult than it seems, but I've had plenty of practice with it and I hit more than half the targets. Next, the M203 grenade range. The M203 is a 40mm grenade launcher that sits underneath the handrail of the M16. It can fire somewhere between 300 and 450 meters, depending on the ability of the firer. We popped off a few of those, and then it was off to our next class, ROE/Geneva/Hague.
The Rules Of Engagement, along with the Geneva and Hague Conventions, is an overall touchy subject. There is so much going on with the ROE over in Iraq and Afghanistan, it changes daily. In fact, just last week the top commanding general in Afghanistan declared that Mosques can no longer be fired upon, even if fleeing insurgents previously engaging US forces hide in them. SO, get ready to see the same kind of stuff we saw in Iraq when we first got there: guys shooting RPGs at us and running into mosques. It's the crap like that that gets us killed. AND, now in Iraq we are no longer an occupying force, but 'guests' of the Iraqis. This means we must follower THEIR laws. The biggest problem I have with that is regarding the capture of suspected insurgents and Taliban personnel. Now we have to have an IRAQI ARREST WARRANT GIVEN TO US BY AN IRAQI JUDGE TO DETAIN ANYONE. Talk about taking the bat out of our hands! There are so many incidents occurring because of these ridiculous changes, and I think it's all leading towards disaster. I also think it is due mostly to the media coverage of these wars. The Iraq and Afghanistan theaters have completely changed from the start of our operations there, all because of media. In Afghanistan, we used to be able to use whatever amount of force we saw necessary to eliminate threats. That included leveling a mosque if any Taliban or Al Qaeda were inside. Now, with all of our attention focused on the war there, soldiers are no longer allowed to fire on mosques and other historical stuff. The media blows everything out of proportion, covering only events that help their cause whether it be liberal or conservative. It happens on both sides. The media also limits what our soldiers can do. Look up the book "Lone Survivor", it's a book about a Navy SEAL that didn't kill the 2 goat herders that saw him because he thought the media might find out. They later gave away his team's position, getting all of them, and many other top trained SEALs, killed in Afghanistan. ROE is difficult to understand, and even more difficult to follow while in combat or conflict. But we got through the class without too much trouble, at least for now.
We had another after-dinner-chow class too, which really sucked. We covered the DAGR (pronounced 'dagger'), a high tech and secretive GPS system the US uses in theater to get around. This is like the stuff you see in movies, with all the GPS systems you've ever seen combined into one. Not too difficult to use, but we definitely had to go through some instruction before we went out and used them. Which brings me to today.
Today, Day 11, was just plain hard. We had Land Navigation all day. We ran two different routes today. The first was with just a compass and three points. We had to plot the points, find the distance between them, and then find the best route based on terrain. It wasn't too difficult, as we had roads running by all of our points and round trip was only about 1,100. It started to get pretty hot out, but we were full of energy so all was well until we found out our next task. The second route we took the DAGR with us out to our first point, which was about 900meters away. From there we were given our azimuths and the distance to the next point. Following an azimuth over rough terrain sucks, and dragging a female in our group sucked even more. We stopped too many times for entirely too long, and we adjusted our routes to accommodate for her injured foot or something. Apparently she was fine to go to the pool just a few minutes ago, but she couldn't walk up a hill a few hours ago. Anyway, we got off track and couldn't recover our course. 5 hours and thousands of meters later, we made it back to base without hitting any of our points. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy with our performance. But hey, it was a learning experience and just plain good PT for us.
Tomorrow we have Combative courses all day, and I know on Friday we have the Shoot House. I'll explain all that later, my dogs are tired!
-Mac
Saturday, August 8, 2009
FHL Day 8
Fort Hunter-Liggett
The days are passing, still filled with tons of information and hands-on experience. We've been adjusting to the schedule, the weather, and each other. Well, maybe not so much with each other, but I won't write about that until I cool down. We're only 8 days in and we've already come upon some issues that could be detrimental to unit cohesion and possibly lives. But again, that will be up in a few months when I have something else chewing at my mind. On to the good stuff.
The M16 qualification day was a disaster in my opinion. I don't think any of our soldiers shot more than a 30 out of 40 targets. I think it was due to the new instruction we received last week, coupled with the new optic sights that many of us have never used. I am by no means the best shot in our group, seeing as there's a former Marine marksman instructor as one of our team leaders, but I am usually in the 35 to 38 range as far as qualifying. I've hit all 40 on twice in my short career, but I feel like I can do it every time I get up to the firing line. Well I shot a freakin' 28 out of 40 the other day, and it really pissed me off. I relied on the instruction of the NonComissioned Officers (NCOs) that were teaching the classes, even though they were telling me to fire completely different from how I usually do, and I got screwed. I used the AimPoint red dot scope, which is supposed to be easier, and I shot horribly. The only thing that saved my ass was being able to see my iron sights through the scope. I turned that shit off after missing 12 targets in a row, and I hit every one after that. So much for new technology, I think we were set up for failure on this one. Oh well, I'll make sure to hit all 40 next time up. After that qual we went through NBC qual (shooting with the mask on), night qual (shooting with no night vision), and then NV qual (shooting with night vision and infrared lasers), and I hit every one of those damned targets all night. I'm going to try to keep an open mind to this new training we're getting, but I'm also going to stick to my guns on the important stuff, like being able to cut down anyone that opposes me.
The past few days we've been covering the family of machine guns the Army has. There are four main machine guns that have evolved from as far back as World War II. Starting from smallest round to largest, they are: M249 SAW, M240B, M2 HBMG, and the Mark19.
The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon is the smallest of the machine guns, but the most used at the squad level. There are usually at least two of these weapons in each squad in any combat or combat support platoon. The M249 fires the 5.56mm rounds from either linked drums or loose round magazines. Linked rounds are preferred over the magazines, as they tend to jam and they hardly ever feed correctly. The only time a magazine would be used is as a last resort, i.e. the enemy is overtaking your position and you have no ammo but magazines. The M249 is relatively light, at about 15 pounds unloaded with no optics or flashlights or any of that high speed crap. They can be outfitted with shorter barrels, making it easier to pop around corners and spray some lead. SAW gunners are also notorious for slapping all kinds of optic sights, flashlights, front hand posts, and lasers on their weapons. The SAW is extremely effective at putting a high rate of rounds on the enemy at the squad level, between 650 and 850 per minute. It's use of the standard NATO 5.56 round is a plus also, as the last resort scenario was mentioned earlier.
The M240B is the Army's medium machine gun. This is by far my favorite weapon. Extremely dependable, the M240B throws 7.62mm bullets out to an area range in excess of 1,000 meters. It is very accurate, and it packs quite a punch too. The M240B can be mounted to HUMVEES, PLS trucks, LMTVs, MTVs, helicopters, or carried at the squad level. It's technically a crew served weapon, requiring an extra soldier to carry the extra barrel and load of rounds, but one tough guy could handle it. It's just a badass machine gun to have around, and it really keeps the enemy's head down with just the sound of it.
Next is the "Ma Deuce", or M2 Heavy Barrel Machine Gun (HBMG). The M2 is the epitome of intimidation. Insurgents run when they see one mounted on the top of a HUMVEE. It's distinctive report can be heard hundreds of miles away, and it can cut through 6 inches of fortified concrete. The M2 fires the huge .50 caliber round, the projectile measuring one half of an inch across. The whole bullet is about 8 inches long, the length of an average man's hand. With the tripod included, the whole setup weighs about 128 pounds. Definitely a crew served weapon! It is most commonly mounted from vehicles and helicopters, but it can be effectively operated at the ground level by three soldiers. It only fires about 450 to 500 rounds a minute, but it can reach out and 'touch' an insurgent up to 2 miles. Talk about range.
Lastly is the Mark19 40mm grenade machine gun. It is probably the most unknown machine gun the Army has. Relatively new, the Mark19 was derived from the need to put high explosive 40mm grenades out farther and faster than the original M203 grenade launcher, which is mounted underneath the M16. This machine gun can, set at a 45 degree angle or a tripod, can fire 18 consecutive grenades out at about 800 meters before the first round fired hits the ground. That is quite a bit of hell coming down on you if you happen to be wearing a turban and wielding an AK47! Especially since the 40mm High Explosive grenades have a 5 to 8 meter kill radius, and a 10 to 15 meter shrapnel radius. It's large, simple components and ammunition make it easy to operate and maintain. The Mark19 is the Army's juggernaut, just a heavy SOB that sends a lot of fire power down range at a pretty high rate of speed. It can be mounted to any vehicle, but mostly infantry and artillery units use it now.
Everything else is going as well as it can I guess. We are still knockin' out the tasks we need to to get out of this freaking country. A few days ago I took a quick moment to think about how my friends and family's lives still keep rolling on without me. When I'm away on orders or on a mission, I never think about what movie star wore what at what awards ceremony, or what sports star got caught doing what illegal act, or even what president said what at what press conference. Some people say I should pay more attention to that stuff, even the bullshit movie and music industries, just to get my mind off Army stuff. I tend to disagree more often than not, seeing as I'm being trained to keep myself and those around me alive and well. If I space out and start thinking about Beyonce and how good looking she is, I may get myself or some else injured or killed. This stuff is not to be taken lightly, these insurgents are not to be underestimated, and the environment over there is a lot more dangerous than most of these soldiers in my unit think. There is no "on/off" switch with me, I'm all or nothing, dead stop or pedal to the metal. I've ruined a relationship because of it, lost touch with friends and family, and missed out on many of life's great opportunities, but that's the way that works best for me. It's kept my ass and a few others' around me alive on more than a few occasions.
Anyway, we have all the machine gun ranges and qualifications tomorrow, which will be a short day. I don't even know what is on tap after that, but it can't be much seeing as we only have about 8 days left here before we move on to our Mobilization (MOB) site. Ta ta for now.
-Mac
The days are passing, still filled with tons of information and hands-on experience. We've been adjusting to the schedule, the weather, and each other. Well, maybe not so much with each other, but I won't write about that until I cool down. We're only 8 days in and we've already come upon some issues that could be detrimental to unit cohesion and possibly lives. But again, that will be up in a few months when I have something else chewing at my mind. On to the good stuff.
The M16 qualification day was a disaster in my opinion. I don't think any of our soldiers shot more than a 30 out of 40 targets. I think it was due to the new instruction we received last week, coupled with the new optic sights that many of us have never used. I am by no means the best shot in our group, seeing as there's a former Marine marksman instructor as one of our team leaders, but I am usually in the 35 to 38 range as far as qualifying. I've hit all 40 on twice in my short career, but I feel like I can do it every time I get up to the firing line. Well I shot a freakin' 28 out of 40 the other day, and it really pissed me off. I relied on the instruction of the NonComissioned Officers (NCOs) that were teaching the classes, even though they were telling me to fire completely different from how I usually do, and I got screwed. I used the AimPoint red dot scope, which is supposed to be easier, and I shot horribly. The only thing that saved my ass was being able to see my iron sights through the scope. I turned that shit off after missing 12 targets in a row, and I hit every one after that. So much for new technology, I think we were set up for failure on this one. Oh well, I'll make sure to hit all 40 next time up. After that qual we went through NBC qual (shooting with the mask on), night qual (shooting with no night vision), and then NV qual (shooting with night vision and infrared lasers), and I hit every one of those damned targets all night. I'm going to try to keep an open mind to this new training we're getting, but I'm also going to stick to my guns on the important stuff, like being able to cut down anyone that opposes me.
The past few days we've been covering the family of machine guns the Army has. There are four main machine guns that have evolved from as far back as World War II. Starting from smallest round to largest, they are: M249 SAW, M240B, M2 HBMG, and the Mark19.
The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon is the smallest of the machine guns, but the most used at the squad level. There are usually at least two of these weapons in each squad in any combat or combat support platoon. The M249 fires the 5.56mm rounds from either linked drums or loose round magazines. Linked rounds are preferred over the magazines, as they tend to jam and they hardly ever feed correctly. The only time a magazine would be used is as a last resort, i.e. the enemy is overtaking your position and you have no ammo but magazines. The M249 is relatively light, at about 15 pounds unloaded with no optics or flashlights or any of that high speed crap. They can be outfitted with shorter barrels, making it easier to pop around corners and spray some lead. SAW gunners are also notorious for slapping all kinds of optic sights, flashlights, front hand posts, and lasers on their weapons. The SAW is extremely effective at putting a high rate of rounds on the enemy at the squad level, between 650 and 850 per minute. It's use of the standard NATO 5.56 round is a plus also, as the last resort scenario was mentioned earlier.
The M240B is the Army's medium machine gun. This is by far my favorite weapon. Extremely dependable, the M240B throws 7.62mm bullets out to an area range in excess of 1,000 meters. It is very accurate, and it packs quite a punch too. The M240B can be mounted to HUMVEES, PLS trucks, LMTVs, MTVs, helicopters, or carried at the squad level. It's technically a crew served weapon, requiring an extra soldier to carry the extra barrel and load of rounds, but one tough guy could handle it. It's just a badass machine gun to have around, and it really keeps the enemy's head down with just the sound of it.
Next is the "Ma Deuce", or M2 Heavy Barrel Machine Gun (HBMG). The M2 is the epitome of intimidation. Insurgents run when they see one mounted on the top of a HUMVEE. It's distinctive report can be heard hundreds of miles away, and it can cut through 6 inches of fortified concrete. The M2 fires the huge .50 caliber round, the projectile measuring one half of an inch across. The whole bullet is about 8 inches long, the length of an average man's hand. With the tripod included, the whole setup weighs about 128 pounds. Definitely a crew served weapon! It is most commonly mounted from vehicles and helicopters, but it can be effectively operated at the ground level by three soldiers. It only fires about 450 to 500 rounds a minute, but it can reach out and 'touch' an insurgent up to 2 miles. Talk about range.
Lastly is the Mark19 40mm grenade machine gun. It is probably the most unknown machine gun the Army has. Relatively new, the Mark19 was derived from the need to put high explosive 40mm grenades out farther and faster than the original M203 grenade launcher, which is mounted underneath the M16. This machine gun can, set at a 45 degree angle or a tripod, can fire 18 consecutive grenades out at about 800 meters before the first round fired hits the ground. That is quite a bit of hell coming down on you if you happen to be wearing a turban and wielding an AK47! Especially since the 40mm High Explosive grenades have a 5 to 8 meter kill radius, and a 10 to 15 meter shrapnel radius. It's large, simple components and ammunition make it easy to operate and maintain. The Mark19 is the Army's juggernaut, just a heavy SOB that sends a lot of fire power down range at a pretty high rate of speed. It can be mounted to any vehicle, but mostly infantry and artillery units use it now.
Everything else is going as well as it can I guess. We are still knockin' out the tasks we need to to get out of this freaking country. A few days ago I took a quick moment to think about how my friends and family's lives still keep rolling on without me. When I'm away on orders or on a mission, I never think about what movie star wore what at what awards ceremony, or what sports star got caught doing what illegal act, or even what president said what at what press conference. Some people say I should pay more attention to that stuff, even the bullshit movie and music industries, just to get my mind off Army stuff. I tend to disagree more often than not, seeing as I'm being trained to keep myself and those around me alive and well. If I space out and start thinking about Beyonce and how good looking she is, I may get myself or some else injured or killed. This stuff is not to be taken lightly, these insurgents are not to be underestimated, and the environment over there is a lot more dangerous than most of these soldiers in my unit think. There is no "on/off" switch with me, I'm all or nothing, dead stop or pedal to the metal. I've ruined a relationship because of it, lost touch with friends and family, and missed out on many of life's great opportunities, but that's the way that works best for me. It's kept my ass and a few others' around me alive on more than a few occasions.
Anyway, we have all the machine gun ranges and qualifications tomorrow, which will be a short day. I don't even know what is on tap after that, but it can't be much seeing as we only have about 8 days left here before we move on to our Mobilization (MOB) site. Ta ta for now.
-Mac
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
FHL Day 5
We are slowly falling into a rhythm here. Every day seems really long, but I think it's because we've got something different going on every day. Yesterday we covered a lot of Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM). The last time I went through a full BRM course was a few years ago in Basic Training. It doesn't take very long to lose these skills. BRM is a perishable skill they say, and it really is. If you don't pull your rifle out ever few months at least, you become less and less comfortable with it. So we went through all the basics, and I mean all. From identifying the different components, to proper firing positions, to proper cleaning methods. Really boring stuff, and difficult to stay awake for. I don't know what it is about the classroom environment, but it makes a lot of people really sleepy, even if the subject matter is interesting. Plus, humping around in all our gear doesn't help either.
We also covered all the different optics and night vision components for the M16. There's a few different day and night sights, but we were all issued one of 2 kinds: the CCO and the ACOG. The CCO, or Close Combat Optic, is a red dot optic made by AimPoint. It's a pretty nice sight, really easy to see though and super accurate once you zero it in. Zeroing is getting the weapon sighted to your firing style. Basically making it so that when you look through the sights, it fires where you want it to. The ACOG, or the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, was only issued to a few of our guys. It too is an expensive and awesome piece of equipment. It allows the wielder a greater range, as it magnifies the target 4 times it's normal size. It pushes the maximum range out to about 800 meters plus. You still have to be able to fire it, and that's what we got a taste of today.
After going through all these classes, we actually got out the the range today to become more familiar with our weapons and zero them and our sights. First we zero the iron sights, which are the sights already on the M16. To do that, the firer must put 6 consecutive rounds in a 4cm circle in the middle of a silhouette 25meters away. The silhouette is the same size as one that is 300meters away, pretty damn small. So if all goes well, you zero your weapon in a few shots and move on from there. You do the same this with the CCO also, but only after your iron sights are zeroed. We knocked all that out in a few hours, finishing jsut around 1300.
We also got a little familiarization on the M9 today too, just to say we did basically. They lined us all up, gave us two 5-round magazines and let us just pop 'em off at the targets in our lane. Two minutes of firing maximum.
Tomorrow we have the qualification range for the M16 and then a night-fire exercise after dinner chow. That should be pretty interesting, firing at night with the infrared lasers and such. It makes for a long day though, but as long as I get a good qual score I won't mind.
-Mac
We also covered all the different optics and night vision components for the M16. There's a few different day and night sights, but we were all issued one of 2 kinds: the CCO and the ACOG. The CCO, or Close Combat Optic, is a red dot optic made by AimPoint. It's a pretty nice sight, really easy to see though and super accurate once you zero it in. Zeroing is getting the weapon sighted to your firing style. Basically making it so that when you look through the sights, it fires where you want it to. The ACOG, or the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, was only issued to a few of our guys. It too is an expensive and awesome piece of equipment. It allows the wielder a greater range, as it magnifies the target 4 times it's normal size. It pushes the maximum range out to about 800 meters plus. You still have to be able to fire it, and that's what we got a taste of today.
After going through all these classes, we actually got out the the range today to become more familiar with our weapons and zero them and our sights. First we zero the iron sights, which are the sights already on the M16. To do that, the firer must put 6 consecutive rounds in a 4cm circle in the middle of a silhouette 25meters away. The silhouette is the same size as one that is 300meters away, pretty damn small. So if all goes well, you zero your weapon in a few shots and move on from there. You do the same this with the CCO also, but only after your iron sights are zeroed. We knocked all that out in a few hours, finishing jsut around 1300.
We also got a little familiarization on the M9 today too, just to say we did basically. They lined us all up, gave us two 5-round magazines and let us just pop 'em off at the targets in our lane. Two minutes of firing maximum.
Tomorrow we have the qualification range for the M16 and then a night-fire exercise after dinner chow. That should be pretty interesting, firing at night with the infrared lasers and such. It makes for a long day though, but as long as I get a good qual score I won't mind.
-Mac
Monday, August 3, 2009
FHL Day 3
August 3, 2009
Fort Hunter Liggett
We had a long day today. It seemed like we were going to have just 2 or 3 classes a day, fitting in between meals, but today was different. We had two classes and all our gear issued to us. We went through Electronic Warfare (EW) in the morning, gear issue in the afternoon, an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) warfare course, and another gear issue. All in all it was some good training, but also a lot of bullshit.
The EW training was great. A lot of the information we discussed requires a SECRET security clearance, so obviously to maintain OPSEC I can’t (and wouldn’t anyway) put it up here. Basically we learned about the systems the military has developed to defeat Remote Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices (RCIEDs). We have quite a few, some developed by the Marines, some by the Army, but the best are by the Navy. Basically what these systems do is intercept part of, or all of, the signals that a potential RCIED would be sent by a terrorist. The way they do this is by making “noise” around the device, making it near impossible for any signals to penetrate, thus rendering it dead. Some devices are actively seeking signals, and some are purely reactionary. There are also a few TOP SECRET, and therefore awesome, weapon systems we have that actually seek and detonate RCIEDs.
After lunch we had our second gear issue. This one entailed much more than the one yesterday of just an IBA. We were issued all our cold weather gear. It consists of about seven different layers of clothing. A lot of shit we aren’t going to use for another six months, and some of it never. But, as the Army always knows best, we have to carry this crap everywhere with us. If it doesn’t make sense, then that’s the way the Army will do it. We also got our Army Combat Helmets (ACH), Load Bearing Vests (LBE), ruck sacks, butt packs, bandoleers, grenade pouches, gloves, advanced first aid kits, goggles, and glasses. A LOT of shit, most of which we’ll never use. Then it was off to dinner chow.
The after dinner class today, unusual, was our NBC course. It was just a refresher, covering the basics of fighting and protecting ourselves in an NBC environment. We went over how to properly put our gas masks on, the protective suits, and the proper decontaminating procedures. We also talked about what happens if you don’t do it properly. The instructor had a favorite phrase for the convulsing state one develops after being exposed to and NBC threat. Doing the “kickin’ chicken”, while funny, was not a good thing. Actually, with his accent it sounded more like the “kiggin’ chiggen”. It took a few hours, putting us back in the barracks around 2100hrs. Still not done yet.
Just as we were setting up all of our magazine pouches and junk on our IBAs, there comes another gear issue. This one was for our weapons. We received an AimPoint red dot scope for, a cleaning kit, and a front rail system with a handle bipod for our rifles. More extra shit that we don’t need. We had to set it all up tonight, seriously cutting into our rack time and making our 0500hrs wake up actually seem early. And tomorrow we are supposed to be in ‘full battle-rattle’, with all our shit on, and only a few hours of sleep. Yay.
-Mac
Fort Hunter Liggett
We had a long day today. It seemed like we were going to have just 2 or 3 classes a day, fitting in between meals, but today was different. We had two classes and all our gear issued to us. We went through Electronic Warfare (EW) in the morning, gear issue in the afternoon, an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) warfare course, and another gear issue. All in all it was some good training, but also a lot of bullshit.
The EW training was great. A lot of the information we discussed requires a SECRET security clearance, so obviously to maintain OPSEC I can’t (and wouldn’t anyway) put it up here. Basically we learned about the systems the military has developed to defeat Remote Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices (RCIEDs). We have quite a few, some developed by the Marines, some by the Army, but the best are by the Navy. Basically what these systems do is intercept part of, or all of, the signals that a potential RCIED would be sent by a terrorist. The way they do this is by making “noise” around the device, making it near impossible for any signals to penetrate, thus rendering it dead. Some devices are actively seeking signals, and some are purely reactionary. There are also a few TOP SECRET, and therefore awesome, weapon systems we have that actually seek and detonate RCIEDs.
After lunch we had our second gear issue. This one entailed much more than the one yesterday of just an IBA. We were issued all our cold weather gear. It consists of about seven different layers of clothing. A lot of shit we aren’t going to use for another six months, and some of it never. But, as the Army always knows best, we have to carry this crap everywhere with us. If it doesn’t make sense, then that’s the way the Army will do it. We also got our Army Combat Helmets (ACH), Load Bearing Vests (LBE), ruck sacks, butt packs, bandoleers, grenade pouches, gloves, advanced first aid kits, goggles, and glasses. A LOT of shit, most of which we’ll never use. Then it was off to dinner chow.
The after dinner class today, unusual, was our NBC course. It was just a refresher, covering the basics of fighting and protecting ourselves in an NBC environment. We went over how to properly put our gas masks on, the protective suits, and the proper decontaminating procedures. We also talked about what happens if you don’t do it properly. The instructor had a favorite phrase for the convulsing state one develops after being exposed to and NBC threat. Doing the “kickin’ chicken”, while funny, was not a good thing. Actually, with his accent it sounded more like the “kiggin’ chiggen”. It took a few hours, putting us back in the barracks around 2100hrs. Still not done yet.
Just as we were setting up all of our magazine pouches and junk on our IBAs, there comes another gear issue. This one was for our weapons. We received an AimPoint red dot scope for, a cleaning kit, and a front rail system with a handle bipod for our rifles. More extra shit that we don’t need. We had to set it all up tonight, seriously cutting into our rack time and making our 0500hrs wake up actually seem early. And tomorrow we are supposed to be in ‘full battle-rattle’, with all our shit on, and only a few hours of sleep. Yay.
-Mac
Sunday, August 2, 2009
FHL Day 2
August 2, 2009
Fort Hunter-Liggett
Today was our first full day. After arriving around 1600 or 1700 hours yesterday, we couldn’t get much done. We got a short briefing last night of how things are going to be run here, and today was our first taste of it.
Our first few tasks to get ready for this whole deployment are to brush up on all the basics. We start with classroom instruction, then move into some ranges, and finally to the field scenarios. It’s basically a “crawl-walk-run” theory. By the time we leave FHL, we will all be as bad-ass as we were a few years ago. We just got our Improved Body Armor (IBA) vests today, so we’ll be running around with those on pretty much everywhere we go. We’re supposed to get all the rest of our gear tomorrow, which means it’s “game on” from here on out.
We had three classes today: SINCGARS, HEAT, and a class on the M9/M11 pistols. The SINCGARS training is for the radio systems. It’s the old-school radio, basically an 18 pound walkie talkie. A quick thirty minute class on how to assemble, program channels, and properly operate it and we were good to go. Next was the HEAT training, which stands for Humvee Egress Actuality Training. They have this sweet rollover simulator that teaches a soldier how to exit or egress a rolled over vehicle. Imagine a humvee on a remote control rotisserie machine with four soldiers inside and one in the gunner turret. They flip it around a couple times to disorient you, and then you have to safely exit from whatever position you’re in. It’s much more difficult than it sounds! Lastly, we had a few hours of pistol training with the M9 and the M11. The M9 is a Baretta, made specifically for the military. I’ve qualified and used this weapon in the field. While not the most powerful or accurate side arm, the M9’s components have just the right amount of tolerances between them to allow for debris to exist and still have the weapon function. Superior durability will always outweigh accuracy, at least in regular Army units. Any kind of Special Forces or Delta guy will pick any weapon BUT the M9, but it does the job for us regulars. We didn’t touch too much on the M11, which is a Sig with better accuracy and tighter tolerances.
-Mac
Fort Hunter-Liggett
Today was our first full day. After arriving around 1600 or 1700 hours yesterday, we couldn’t get much done. We got a short briefing last night of how things are going to be run here, and today was our first taste of it.
Our first few tasks to get ready for this whole deployment are to brush up on all the basics. We start with classroom instruction, then move into some ranges, and finally to the field scenarios. It’s basically a “crawl-walk-run” theory. By the time we leave FHL, we will all be as bad-ass as we were a few years ago. We just got our Improved Body Armor (IBA) vests today, so we’ll be running around with those on pretty much everywhere we go. We’re supposed to get all the rest of our gear tomorrow, which means it’s “game on” from here on out.
We had three classes today: SINCGARS, HEAT, and a class on the M9/M11 pistols. The SINCGARS training is for the radio systems. It’s the old-school radio, basically an 18 pound walkie talkie. A quick thirty minute class on how to assemble, program channels, and properly operate it and we were good to go. Next was the HEAT training, which stands for Humvee Egress Actuality Training. They have this sweet rollover simulator that teaches a soldier how to exit or egress a rolled over vehicle. Imagine a humvee on a remote control rotisserie machine with four soldiers inside and one in the gunner turret. They flip it around a couple times to disorient you, and then you have to safely exit from whatever position you’re in. It’s much more difficult than it sounds! Lastly, we had a few hours of pistol training with the M9 and the M11. The M9 is a Baretta, made specifically for the military. I’ve qualified and used this weapon in the field. While not the most powerful or accurate side arm, the M9’s components have just the right amount of tolerances between them to allow for debris to exist and still have the weapon function. Superior durability will always outweigh accuracy, at least in regular Army units. Any kind of Special Forces or Delta guy will pick any weapon BUT the M9, but it does the job for us regulars. We didn’t touch too much on the M11, which is a Sig with better accuracy and tighter tolerances.
-Mac
Saturday, August 1, 2009
On the road to Iraq...
We've officially started our training for this deployment. Again, I'm not giving away any secrets or anything, just posting as much of what we're doing up here for my family and friends to see. My internet connection is sporadic, so I've been typing up Word documents as the days go and saving them to post up later. Enjoy my party tails of training.
-Mac
-Mac
Friday, June 12, 2009
First Post
Hello everyone-
Most of those around me call me Mac. I'm an Ammunition Specialist in the U.S. Army. I'm headed out on my way to Iraq, and I've been doing a lot of things differently than I normally would. A few more drinks here and there, more time with the friends, more time doing this or that. I'm just trying to fit it all in before I leave.
So...I have a blog now too. I have read other blogs before, a few friends have some entertaining ones, and I think I can handle it. My older brother has a great one that I like to read, mostly because we live across the globe from each other. Anyway, starting a blog for myself to accompany this coming 2009/2010 deployment to Iraq.
I'm not really sure how much I'll actually put up here, but I think I will make it pretty extensive and informative. Hell, I might even throw some funny stuff in here even though I'm far from a funny guy. Everyone has probably heard about information leaks from service men in this recent war, so don't expect me to break OPSEC. OPSEC is short for Operation Security (I will always give you definitions of our abbreviations, nicknames, and acronyms). I intend to keep OPSEC while still having a blog, but for some retarded people that's just too much to ask. So don't expect or ask for any war stories, not even from missions past.
Well that's pretty much all for my opening statement. I'll be posting more closer to my departure from the states.
-Mac
Most of those around me call me Mac. I'm an Ammunition Specialist in the U.S. Army. I'm headed out on my way to Iraq, and I've been doing a lot of things differently than I normally would. A few more drinks here and there, more time with the friends, more time doing this or that. I'm just trying to fit it all in before I leave.
So...I have a blog now too. I have read other blogs before, a few friends have some entertaining ones, and I think I can handle it. My older brother has a great one that I like to read, mostly because we live across the globe from each other. Anyway, starting a blog for myself to accompany this coming 2009/2010 deployment to Iraq.
I'm not really sure how much I'll actually put up here, but I think I will make it pretty extensive and informative. Hell, I might even throw some funny stuff in here even though I'm far from a funny guy. Everyone has probably heard about information leaks from service men in this recent war, so don't expect me to break OPSEC. OPSEC is short for Operation Security (I will always give you definitions of our abbreviations, nicknames, and acronyms). I intend to keep OPSEC while still having a blog, but for some retarded people that's just too much to ask. So don't expect or ask for any war stories, not even from missions past.
Well that's pretty much all for my opening statement. I'll be posting more closer to my departure from the states.
-Mac
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