Day 12

Today we "got" to wear body armor for most of the day.  It's about 50 extra pounds to wear, and your mobility sucks.  But we did a roll-over trainer today that brought back memories of the Helo dunker.  Except I was thrilled today because I could both see and breathe.  Not too bad.

We also did numerous shooting drills today, but the actual bullets won't fly until tomorrow.  One of the stations today was a big version of Duck Hunt.  We had modified rifles, and we were shooting at targets, not ducks.  And that dog never showed up either....

Early morning tomorrow.  We are meeting at 5:30am to start off the day, and we will be at the range all day.  Hopefully it goes.smoothly.  So off to bed early for me.

Day 11

Another day done...phew!

Today we got lessons in combat first aid, which isn't necessarily a bad topic.  Unfortunately, there were a few videos of extreme bleeding and how to stop it.  Ordinarily I would have no objection, but the patient in this case was a pig.  I felt bad for it.  I'm imagining that its existence is only for these demonstrations, which is a pretty bad life for a pig!  Plus, it's having QuikClot agents introduced into its bloodstream quite often.  Sigh.

Following those lessons, we had lunch (which I can't even remember now, so it must have been pretty memorable).  Then we marched down a road to some woods.  Now, I don't know how many of you know this, but the Navy doesn't drill.  Yes, we're a military service, but we don't march and drill.  I think Monty Python marched up and down the square more often than we do.  So needless to say, it was quite an experience for the drill sergeants to try to keep us in step and not wandering off.  They're so funny to have marching expectations!

After dinner 5 of us got our full body armor and helmets and gear on and went outside to practice the shooting stances.  The prone position is almost easier with the armor on, because you can barely move.  Unfortunately, the kneeling position is going to be tougher I think.  I can't quite find a comfortable position yet....

Anyhow, here's a relaxation picture for you all!

Day 10

Woo Hoo, I just successfully tethered my laptop to my phone for internet access.  Not too shabby!  It has a couple limitations as the "lite" version, but it's free!  I would actually consider buying this software...

Today was another day.  It wasn't too bad really, and I think it made many people feel more at ease.  We have more details on the shooting procedures and the distances we'll be firing.  With the 9mm, it's only 3, 7, and 15 meters, so that should be fine.  With the rifle we'll be shooting 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 meters, which will be more challenging, I'd expect.  A couple of us Academy kids are hoping to still qualify expert so we don't actually lose medals!

We broke up into smaller groups this afternoon based upon our destination country.  Our briefer had spent 4 years in Afghanistan (I don't think all at one time), and he told us his experiences.  He said he'd go back to Afghanistan in a heartbeat before setting foot in Iraq again.  So that was nice to hear.  I still think I'll be mostly isolated from the local population, but it was all good information.  We also each took a little book on Afghanistan if we wanted, so I can read about the country at my leisure.

The food is decent, and there is plenty of it.  Although I feel like a handful of meals have already been recycled as something else.  Tonight's 'meatballs' sure tasted like meatloaf pressed into spherical shape.  I'm just saying.

And I wanted to tell Chester that I hope he recovers quickly.  Helo sympathizes and thinks you'll be fine.

Well, that's about it for today.  Tomorrow we're supposed to do some emergency medical training, which will be good.  We're also supposed to go practice more rifle shooting techniques at some point, so I guess we'll see.  Hopefully everyone is enjoying the updates!  And who is this Glick guy who keeps commenting? (smile)

Day 9

This morning I headed into the shower and noticed that someone put a plastic frog on the shower handle.  I thought that was strange, so I went to move it, and it jumped onto the wall!  It was a green tree frog and it was definitely not plastic.  It just sat on the wall while I showered.  So that was an interesting way to start the day.

We were issued weapons today, a 9mm and an M4 carbine.  The best news, perhaps, was that I am only being issued the 9mm to take over with me, and the M4 was a loaner for the remaining weeks here.  So that's one less thing to worry about!  It's funny having to tote these guys around everywhere.  Nearly everywhere.  We take them to class, to meals, etc.  We just can't take them in the bathrooms and not in the church.

Tomorrow is more classroom education, but we're going out into the field soon after that I think.  I'll be ready to do something outdoors I think.  Well, here's a new picture of CPT Dan.

PS- Drill Sargents are hilarious.

Day 8

So today we were issued another couple huge bags of gear.  It's really hard to imagine a need for half of this stuff, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. 

We did spend quite a bit of time on the body armor today, which is great.  We all have a newer model of vest, and the mediums (my size) are an even newer generation of vest.  Essentially, if I am trying to exit a vehicle, and my vest gets stuck for some reason, there is a rip cord I can pull and the vest falls apart into 7 different pieces.  Pretty neat, actually.

The group as a whole is broken into two Companies, and mine is being horribly micromanaged.  Not at all by the Army staff, to their credit.  We're being micromanaged by the Navy Chiefs, naturally.  But everyone reacts to stress differently, and I think this is probably one way they are coping.

No good pictures from today, but we're being issued weapons tomorrow.  I'm sure there will be a photo op at some point.

Still no network in our barracks, which is pretty ridiculous.  Other people keep telling us that their network is great.  So maybe we can get around to fixing it soon...the computer lab isn't as comfortable as my bed....

Day 7 - One Week Down

One week down.  I don't think I can count them like this or it will take forever to come home.

We got to sleep in a bit this morning, and we had a good brief at 11am.  We're supposed to "embrace the suck" of this Army training.  It could apparently be much worse at other Army training sites.  While I don't doubt that, I'll feel better when they're capable of fixing the wireless access point in our barracks.

So I ran into Chris Kiesek, who I haven't seen since we were winged in August of 2004.  She's been doing the HSL thing in Japan for a while.  Oh yes, and she thinks Tom Uhl is an ass-clown too.  She is being sent to Uganda as the commander of a unit!  This is currently an O-5 billet, and she's an O-3.  Something tells me this isn't a great fit.  Just for the record, I have not yet heard of anyone who has had a positive experience working with Tom Uhl for orders.  But some people on this Earth just suck.

Today felt like we were just killing time until we could eat again.  Not a very satisfying day, to say the least.  Tomorrow we have to muster at 0645, eat breakfast, and then at some point we'll start being issued all sorts of additional gear.  Should be interesting.  I think we are issued weapons on Tuesday, and then the fun can begin.  We will apparently be firing a ridiculous number of rounds here, 9mm, M4, and crew served weapons too.  So that should be entertaining.  For now, we must get ready for the Steeler game!  Here we go.....Here we go....

Day 6

So I find myself in South Carolina tonight.  We took a bus from Norfolk early, and 8 hours later we arrived at Ft. Jackson.  I'm not exactly sure where we are, except to safely suppose the middle of nowhere.

On the way down we stopped at McDonald's for lunch.  I was with a group, and it came out that Ronnie's wife has 4 kids already.  Ronnie Rowell was my classmate.  Her oldest is 13.  I graduated in 2002.  Work out the maths...

We each got a bunk and some lockers today, so that's exciting. Tomorrow we get to sleep in, which will be awesome!  Our first meeting isn't until 1100, which is pretty nice.  I think Monday things start happening, like gear issue and whatnot.  And now for some picture goodness:

  

Day 5 - In The Army Now

So today brings my week at NMPS to a close.  Tomorrow morning we hop on buses and drive down to South Carolina for 3 weeks of Army training.  I assume this will include watching Stripes, Full Metal Jacket, and MASH.  We were issued uniforms today, and then I got to walk the mile back to my room carrying my backpack and the ~50lb seabag.  Oh yes, and it was raining the whole time too.  Luckily, we have a truck swinging by the lodging here so we don't have to carry the bags back again.

The network here allowed Steam to download the Civ5 client, but the StarCraft 2 downloader failed me.  The network here is not very robust, and I doubt they intend us to do peer-to-peer downloads of 7 GB.  Thankfully the game still exists on disks at home.  In the future, with digital distribution becoming so prevalent, I wonder if any special concessions will be made for those in the military.

Well, below are some ridiculous pictures I took today.

  

Day 4

One more day down.  That's about all I can say for it though.  It's amazing anyone gets through the process here, as it is entirely too confusing.  You have to complete this, check-in here, then check-in there, but not yet, until now.... ludicrous.

This morning I was finally cleared by the medical department, and I tested out and was issued a gas mask.  Hopefully I never have occasion to need it!  At least the one common thread among all of us is that we're all confused and uneasy.

On the bright side, my water dragon Philippe made it through surgery, and will be home tonight.  She'll be receiving lots of TLC from Emili (who is a saint!) until she is all better.  We agreed that our vet was excited to try out this surgery.  I suspect this was his first procedure of this variety, so I'm glad it went well!  I look forward to being in his shoes some day!

 

Day 3

Ahhhh yes, finally typing on a keyboard again!  It's hard to describe how pleasant it feels after using the phone for a few days.  But today my laptop arrived in Richmond after being sent to CA for repairs.  Luckily I have a loving family that was willing to drive 1.5 hours out to me to hand it off.  And we had a nice dinner too!

As for my work day, it was nothing new or taxing today.  I did receive my malaria prophylaxis (Doxycycline), so that was nice.  Tomorrow I should get my final medical approval and will be fitted for a gas mask.  This is quite a process!

For those of you following our pets, keep Philippe in your thoughts tomorrow.  She is going in for surgery tomorrow morning, and if all goes well, will be home tomorrow night.  She has a broken jaw and will be getting a wire inserted to hold it in place while it heals.  Never a dull moment...

Day 2

My captivity continues unabated.  Today in traditional Navy style, I was informed at 6am that I needn't have fasted, for my paperwork was in order.  Fantastic.

Today was largely a day to myself.  I chatted with an old friend from HSC-28 and gathered useful information for this deployment.  I visited the now renovated Exchange and am quite impressed.  I expect these living conditions will be the best I will experience for the next 8 months.  Here is my room in Norfolk.

Day 1

I began my captivity today.  After sitting on 64 for an hour to drive about 5 miles, I had to say a heart wrenching goodbye to Emili.  She dropped me off, and then I had to walk 6 blocks to a different building.  It is hard to convey the sheer volume of paperwork that was distributed today.  It is largely geared for people deploying like me, but there are also people being sent to Pax River, Germany, and even DC.  I'll admit that it all feels quite unfair. 

So at this point I am fasting for tomorrow's litany of blood tests, hoping to not be too cranky at 6am.  On a positive note...Netflix works just fine over 3G (no 4G in Norfolk apparently).  Star Trek, here I come!

Introduction

Hello!

This is my new blog about my trip to Afghanistan.  I will be sharing insights and stories over the course of the next 8 months.  Should be interesting!

           Dan