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There has been a lot in the news the past few days about PFC McGinnis here in Kosovo, but then again, our cable provider is the AFN (Armed Forces Network) and the Pentagon Channel, so I don't know if anyone at home has even heard about him or know why he's in the news.
PFC McGinnis was just recently, and posthumously, awarded the nations highest award for valor, the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is the fourth recipient of the award from the conflict in Iraq. I'm in the army and I only knew of one other, SFC Smith of the 3rd Infantry Division. He earned it during the actual invasion roughly about the spot I lived for my year there. In fact, my battalion's living area was considered a separate camp on the BIAP compound and was officially named Camp Smith in honor of SFC Paul R. Smith, so we'd heard the story and knew he had been submitted for it.
SFC Smith was awarded his CMH in late 2004, and it was all over the military news, but I never heard a word about it and his heroism on the news. I guess it wasn't dramatic enough to make make it, or maybe it just put too good a spin on the military, or maybe it was just something that couldn't be spun one way or the other so simply nothing was ever said. Either way, it is a crying shame and a dishonor to SFC Smith, the first CMH awardee from Iraq.
PFC McGinnis was a nineteen year old boy who valiantly and selflessly sacrificed himself for his fellow soldiers and answered the call of his nation, and I am dearly hoping that his story is being spread in the national news. Considering that the only mention I ever heard of SFC Smith's medal was through Army channels and the current unpopularity of the war, I am highly doubting it. Remember, these men are real heroes, not movie actors or sports stars. These are men that anyone can look up to as a hero for their selflessness, courage, and dedication and they are worthy of so much more recognition and respect than they have been getting in the media.
Please, go to the following web-site and read the citations of their Medal's of Honor. Mention them to someone else and have them read them. Do something to remind the rest of America that her sons and daughters are as brave as ever and are doing the right thing, despite what the mass media makes known to us on the evening news.
http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/iraq.html
Sorry, it's been a pensive day here and I had to step up on my personal soap-box for a little. I'll step down now and head to work.
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Hey all. Time for the latest update on how we are using tax payer dollars. I'm still on sight shift, which always makes things interesting. For abut three mission we were saddled with an interpreter who does his job well when we make him. Otherwise, he sits in the trucks and complains about how cold and leaky the HMMWV's are. We all know this, so his incessant wining is just an annoyance. Especially when we have to take him out on a night mission because all he does is sleep in the said cold and leaky vehicle because there are no people for him to translate for.
Anyway, we were out three nights ago with said Terp and it was raining on and off and occasionally sleeting. We had stopped for a short break and Terp very quickly piled out from his side of the HMMWV bitching about all the water pouring in on him and changed seats to the one right behind the driver, which in all actuality, leaks more, but at the time was mostly dry. Or at least drier than where he was sitting. Mind you, we are all already soaking wet so his bitching wasn't taken well. "Hey, you're wet. Fuck it." Is pretty much the mentality we have. So, what do we do? With the biggest grins possible we hop into the trucks and tear off to the north edge of Kamenice to take the back road that runs between the town and the river. It is pock marked and pot holed like crazy with some REALLY deep puddles. We tear down that road faster than usual, taking it like a mudding trail sending mud and water everywhere. Particularly all on the left side of the lead vehicle i which Terp is huddling. It's after the first serious "douching" of the vehicle that he realizes his new seat is actually worse than the one he left, and that he is now as wet as we were, or worse. Childish and maybe a little vindictive, but hey, it's entertainment. It's all we really have on night missions. At least, that's what I thought until last night.
Last night we rolled out in three NTV's. (Non-tactical vehicles) We can opt to take the NTV's (civilian styled vehicles, SUV's and pick-ups) on hight missions, and so were last night. Why didn't we when it was raining? Because we didn't want to make previously mentioned Terp comfortable so he could sleep. We immediately headed for the mission site and the trip that normally takes an hour and fifteen minutes in HMMWV's only took thirty minutes in the NTV's. So, we ran our check point for a few hours and only saw one car, so we were BORED. Bored troops and NTV's that are used by staff officers for running back and forth to the PX and stuff like that. Bad combination.
The decision is made "See who gets to the Burek shop in Kamenice fasest." There is a scramble of soldiers as we dive into vehicles and they tear up dirt as they peel out down the road. I'll avoid the details in order to protect the guilty (of which I am one *grin*). Suffice to say, I don't believe that these trucks have been driven that hard off-road in a LOOONNNNGG time. They took roads that we are hesitant to blast down in HMMWV's at nearly 80kmh. Mud and water from the earlier rains flew everywhere and one truck (mine) fish-tailed and almost skidded off the road. It was nuts. Then we hit pavement. Remember how I described the roads in an earlier post? Yeah, we were taking them at speeds up to 140kmh. (The truck was shaking itself apart at that point.) True, it was only 85mph, but considering that we haven't driven that fast in nearly year and we were in shitty little vehicles, it was a little tense. Especially passing cops and local traffic and each other with reckless abandon. Did I mention yet that the speed limit on the roads is posted at 50 kph? Actually, I probably shouldn't have said that. Forget I did.
Anyway, we all made the Burek shop at about the same time and then pulled off to a more abandoned spot to get out of the vehicles and laugh and let of some steam. We then looked at the thoroughly douched vehicles and laughed some more and realized that we still had more than a few hour to spare. So we raced back to a nearby gas station where we had sandwiches and coffee and washed the trucks. That wasted the few hours we needed to and so we then returned home.
Yep. That was what we're getting paid for. Keeping Kosovo safe. That's us. All in a night's work. Just thought you might get a little chuckle out of it. I know I find it amusing that I'm getting PAID for this!!
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Nothing really exciting to post. I've been on nights since I got back so seeing daylight like I have today is a bit of a novelty. *sigh* I really love what they call out refit days here. Yesterday was one, and you would think that since it is essentially a day off, I would be able to get some sleep and stuff. No, forgot, they changed the name to "Training Day", there are no days off in the Army and we shouldn't be needing a full refit because we aren't doing anything strenuous.
So, anyway, I get in at 0400 from mission and try to go to sleep, which means about 0830 or so I'm finally nodding off. (Damn caffine anyway) Then we have a class at 1300 - Familiarization with the M240 Machine gun and th M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). We're all infantrymen here, well, me excuded, I'm a Cav Trooper, but that's close enough, and we've all used them before and most of us have carried them extensively. (I was a SAW gunner in Iraq.) Needless to say, we end up in the Battalion classroom and get walked through the assembly/disassembly of both weapons as well as acquainted with their ranges, rates of fire, etc. Me and the rest of my squad are very nearly falling asleep in our chairs because over the past three days (we lost our last refit day to a mission) we have racked up a luxurious 12 hours of sleep when our platoon sergeant (douche-bag that he is) organizes a squad on squad competition to who can collectively and individually do the disassenbly and reassembly the fastest. Just so he can use the next two hours of class time he had scheduled!!!! I COULD HAVE BEEN NAPPING YOU ENORMOUS TIT!!!!
I guess 2nd Squad still has it. That's my squad, by the way. We swept the competition. Hell, I was nearly asleep and did the SAW in 1:25. That was the second best time in the platoon, SSG Beatty, my squad leader beat me with 1:21, damn him for showing off. *grin* 1:29 on the M240 as well. I beat Beatty there! Ha!
Anyway, after that everything is a blur. I know I ran a mile at some point. I was planning on running farther but I was really tired and it was cold out and it hurt my lungs to run. I have to, though. My First Sergeant just let me know that the end of April is my last chance PT test. If I fail, then I do not go to Warrior leader Course which means that they can take my stripes and make me a specialist again, and that I wont get to reenlist while I'm here - and possibly not at all. Gee, no pressure there! Only my rank and retirement in 4-5 years riding on being able to get a decent workout routine in and improve myself while on a flakey swing-shift type schedule. That would be why I'm up during daylight hours today - to go and work out. Well, that and I literally passed out about midnight last night and am too awake to sleep now. *sigh*
It's my own fault, though. I let myself get out of shape. I just need to fix it. I know how to, it's just too damn much work sometimes - like when I'm up and working for 18-20 hours a day, getting one solid meal, and only about 4-6 hours of sleep a day. Which has pretty much been since I got back from leave, and looks to be through the end of March. Oh well. Enough bitching. Breakfast has settled enough. I can go and run now. I'd better do it while I have the gumption...
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You Are 92% Evil
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You're the most evil person you know.
The devil is even a little scared of you!
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(to heavy metal riff) "Yes I muther-fucking am!"
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Well, it has officially happened. Kosovo is a nation; or at least they say so. Here's some of the latest news about it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7249034.stm
My entire platoon has been on "stand by" today, meaning we can go about as far as the chow hall, and I am BORED!!!!! Bored, though, is a good thing. It means that I am not out in the cold having to try and keep the peace between the Albanians and Serbians in our sector. Anyway, the word on the street last night from the locals that I spoke with (at length) is that today will be a moderate amount of spontaneous celebrating through town (some were starting a little early last night, and if I wanted to sample some of the local spirits, Rakia, my entire squad plenty of opportunities. We were good little soldier's, though, despite the temptation... *grin*) but the bulk of it will start sometime on Monday, after the rest of the world makes their announcements as to whether they regocnise Kosovo as an independent nation or not. Needless to say, tomorrow night's mission is going to be interesting. I hope I'm either called out early enough to get some pictures or in a place with enough light to take a few. After all, it's not every day you get to actually witness the birth of a new nation.
With each passing day I am really looking forward to leave. Not that it isn't interesting here, but I need a break. It's amazing what the soldiers I serve with today are like. When I was on Active Duty, we were expected to have and take initiative and to be responsible for our actions. Yeah, we bitched and complained (it's a soldier's God-given right to do so!) but we always did so either while we were getting our assigned task done, or after we had finished it - because the mission came first. Some of these kids - they have absolutely no idea what self-discipline is and the concept of having and taking the initiative for something is utterly foreign. Half the time, it's maiking more work for me to just keep these guys moving. I feel like a freaking cheerleader most of the time. And the negativity! All I hear is about how much this place/mission/these people, etc suck. They have no idea just how good they have it!!! Anyway, I had to rant about that a little. It's really starting tio wear me down emotionally. It's getting harder to keep up a good face and set the example, and I need my leave to hit the proverbial "reset button." Anyway, keep up on the international news, and check put the next web site. Read the PDF of the most recent issue and you'll even get to hear from yours truly...
http://www.tffalcon.hqusareur.army.mil/ (Go to Guardian Magazine and click on the picture with the guys with the riot shields. It's a big PDF and takes a while to load. I'm quited extensively (if I may toot my own horn) in the article on page 9.)
So, who's busy around 1800 on the 27th in the Cedar Rapids area?
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"May you live ininteresting times." Isn't that like a Chinese curse? *grin* Well, looks like I'm getting my chance to...
Tomorrow is the big day here - the birth of a new nation. For the first time in history Kosovo will be an independent state. At least at 1800 when the official announcement is made. It's already getting nuts here and driving for tonights mission will, to put it mildly, be interesting. So what does this mean to us, the Peacekeeping force? Well, we'll be on a higher state of readiness until we see how the Serbians react and then the rest of the international community. Otherwise, it looks to be business as usual - other than having to jump at a moments notice to be out the gate and dealing with whatever someone decided needs done. So far, I'm planning for at least a week long party by the locals.
On a completely different aspect of the same subject, it's pretty damn amazing to be here right now. The Kosovars, who have always been friendly towards us and incredibly generous (I haven't paid for a cup of coffee yet when I have it on the local economy, and only had to pay for half of my lunches. They are so insistent that it is the least they can do for helping their people the past nine years...it's really humbling and sort of embarrassing.), are even more so now. On yesterday's mission, the Albanian flags and American flags were waving everywhere. There is already dancing in the streets in Pristina, and everywere we were getting greeted by handshakes, hugs, and even a few kisses. The excitement in the air is palpable, and I can't help but wonder if this is even a fraction of what it felt like for the troops who liberated Holland, France, and Belgium in WWII? That thought in itself, at least to me, seems oddly arrogant because I haven't done ANYTHING. The "enemy" was driven out nine years ago by the bombs of the Air Force and since then there have been -very literally- THOUSANDS of other soldiers doing the very same thing I have been doing, driving around, talking to people, and urging them all to get-along when independence finally comes. That's it, just being a presence. I don't feel I've done anything to warrant any of the affection or gratitude we've been receiving. It's kind of wierd.
A conversation I had with Adrian, a radio manager in Kamenice, kind of put it into a bit of perspective, though. He asked how my family was doing, and whether I have been able to speak with them recently. I told him that I had, and I was getting a chance to visit them soon. Ardy smiled and clapped me on the shoulder and said "Good. That's wonderful, because family is so important. What's happening her is important, but not as important as family. Thank you for giving us your time. We really appreciate it, more than you realize."
That's when it kind of fell into place. The family is so central to life here in every community, and entire villages are interrrelated, that taking time away from your family to help someone else is a GREAT thing to these people. And here we are, American soldiers, voluntarily leaving our homes and out families for a year at a time to give our time to the people of Kosovo. To us, it's "part of the job" or something we have to do because we wear the uniform, but to the Kosovars - both Albanian and Serbian- it is a tremendous sacrifice. Essentially, we are putting them before our own families. No wonder they are always so generous! We're treating THEM like family just by being here in their eyes! Talk about humbling! I'm still coimg to grips with the feelings...
Anyway, tomorrow is the birth of a new nation in the world. Being here and seeing it first hand is pretty heady stuff - especially as a historian. It's going to be busy, I got that from the Ops meeting this morning. Already I have to repack all my bags for possible overnights and being ready to get out the gates at a moments notice and have my squad ready to do the same.
Well, just got a call from the TOC - one of my guys is being called out in an hour as part of a special team - and I have to type up a news article about our deliveries of donations to the locals - in an hour! Oh, yeah, and then get my squad out the gate an hour early because traffic is getting backed up near Gnjilane....
All I want to know now is, who hit me with the Chinese curse? *grin* I'm not complaining, really. Things are now starting to get FUN!!
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Twelve days and counting...
Let's see if I can manage a longer entry this time. Doggone being responsible anyway....
Ahhh, who am I kidding. You all know me better than that. You all know that I tend to be better at being responsible for other people than myself...
So, how;s it been going here...well, I haven't killed anyone yet and no one has talked bout killing me, so I'll take that as good.
Had an interesting mission the other day. Given to me by a Battalion Staff Officer, the S-7, that makes him they guy responsible for Public Affairs, I think. Anyway, I receive a call the night prior to the mission from my Company Commander telling me that my scheduled mission has changed and I'll be leaving at 0900 instead of 0800, and that the S7 will be getting me the mission details. Looking back, I SHOULD have called the S7 directly, but I know staff pukes. There is no way they would be in the office after 1700, so I wait for the actual mission details to come down to me in a FRAGO so I can plan my part of it.
Okay, something I learned my first year of ROTC in college that is a basic of Army Leadership. When you change a mission, like my commander did to me, that is called a Warning Order, or WARNO, for short. It preceeds an Operations Order (OPORD) or, if there is already an OPORD you are working under, then a change to that OPORD is called a Fragmentary Order, or FRAGO. Also, there is the "one thirds, two thirds" rule that runs from the top down in any organization. That is, you take one third of the time until mission to generate your plan and give your subordinates two thirds of the time until mission to get ready for the mission. When implemented, this actually DOES work and work well. I've seen it happen.
Well, 0900 rolls around and my two trucks are lined up and ready to go. All my guys are there and we have no idea what we are doing or where we are going. 0905 rolls around, meaning that we are now late for our SP (Start Point, or the time a mission kicks off. NOT a good thing!) and we still have no plan, direction, or anything. 0910, the S2 (Intelligence Officer) comes up to me and passes off a squad of Polish soldiers, who are accompanying us on our mission! Now, I have to explein to them through a soldier (theirs) who barely speaks english, that we have no mission yet! (Between broken English and fragmentary German, we managed. It was interesting, let me tell you.) 0915, the S7 shows up and hands me a bag of CD's, a roll of duct tape, and some flyers and says we're leaving in 15 minutes and he will be following us in his truck, an NTV. (That's non-tactical vehicle. We get HMMWV's and he's in his Toyota High-Lux.)
"Where are we going Sir, and what the fuck are we doing? I never got an OPORD or FRAGO."
"Didn't your Company tell you?" "No Sir. They didn't have anything to tell me. You were supposed to tell me."
"Oh. I guess I forgot. You are taking me to all the radio stations in our sector and delivering these PSA'a to them."
So, I finally manage to get the locations of all the radio stations from him - initially he just gave me town names and I had to remind him that 5 out of the 7 towns he has us going to we are not familiar with because they are out of our area of responsibility and we have yet to be allowed to go to any of them. So he gives me grid coordinates and says we have five minutes. Much cursing and swearing on my part ensues as I pull out a huge map of the area and proceed to plot the seven grid coordinates. My own OPORD to my squad - oops, squads, gotta include the Polish, consists of this...
"Okay, here it is. We're going to the radio station in Pasjan, two in Gnjilane, one in Silovo, two in Kamenice, and one in Nova Brdo. That's basically the route. We may gat a bit of a break between Gnjilane and Silovo, maybe. Other than handing out a few CD's, I have no idea what we will be doing when we get to the stations. Questions?" No one voiced any, but I could see the looks on their faces and it was universal - even the Polish guys had it and it was the same look I had when I got the mission from the S7. How did I end up with this chicken-shit mission?
So, from there we made it out the gate, only a half hour late. Six hours later, the mission was over with only one missed turn in a town we'd never been to and a large number of very bored soldiers who did nothing while the S7 delivered his PSA's with my help. Why did we do this? It was a training exercise to see if in the case of an emergency one of the line units could deliver the PSA's without making the S7 go out and do it himself. Would have been nice to know beforehand. You see, there is this little thing in every military mission that is kind of a mandatory thing, it's called "Commanders Intent." With that, even if everything goes to complete shit, we know what the ultimate end-state is supposed to be and we can reach it however we can. Essentially, without that, any mission can be summed up as simply being told "go paint the house." Just from that statement, I'm sure you can come up with a myriad of questions that need to be answered before you start, right? Well, that's essentially what I got for a mission - Go paint the house.
*sigh* I guess that's what I'm paid for. Okay, dinner time. Enough preaching for now...
Hopefully everyone is having a good Valentines Day. See you all soon.
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Well, 15 days 'til leave starts, but whos counting? Me dammit! Me!! Add to that, my squad leader is back in only 9 days, and I have a PT test in 13 days. Ever notice how sometimes nothing is really happening except waiting for something to happen? Well, that's pretty much life here, "hurry up and wait" and it's getting to be a real bore. We're waiting for Kosovo to declare it's independence so the Serbians (who are waiting also) can react. We are (guess what) waiting for the Serbian reaction so we can take action. Grrr.
Been thinking a bit of my career option in the army with only 5 years left, almost 4 now...if I'm able to reenlist while I'm here (depends on the next PT test) then most likely I'll sign up for the Combat Medic (which I signed up for a while back) but apparently there's another option. The ever-present military rumor mill has it that an MI (that's the big oxymoron - Military Intelligence) is in Iowa and that they have positions for UAV pilots. UAV (Unmanned Arial Vehicle - the big remote control spy planes). That seems kind of interesting and opens up some nifty things as well. So, you may ask, what happens if I'm not able to re-enlist here for whatever reason? Well, when I get home and am released from Active Duty, I will be released from the Army - with just under the necessary amount of time for a retirement - meaning that other than the wonderful experiences I've had and people I've met, I get about jack squat. I suppose I could then try enlisting from scratch in a different unit for the requisite number of years with only my short break in service, but I'm not sure how that will work for sure. Heck, if it goes that route, I might even just try the Air Guard...
Well, just got word one of my guys is locked out of his room. Off to find someone who has a key so he can get in and get out of his towel...
So much for waiting...
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Well, I find mysef with a few extra minutes before having to dive into mission preparations. (I now only have one more chapter of Networking Plus to complete and a test to take and my classes for this session are DONE!!! Then I need to find out about certification tests...)
Anyway, I'm running tonight's mission and tomorrow night's, so I get the stress of figuring out just what the LT has planed from his scribbled notes and making a coherant plan to spend out 8 hours out of Camp Bondsteel. I'l be doing a lot more of it when my squad leader goes on leave in a few days. *sigh* and I was really enjoying not having any real responsibility...
I'm still on for my leave at the end of February. Unless the whole region erupts into violence in the next week - which if you ask our "Intelligence" people - will ABSOLUTELY happen if Kosovo declares its independence on February 3rd. Apparently the Kosovar government has become tired of waiting for the UN to make the decision about whether they will be an independent nation or not and are just going to just go it alone. Well, not exactly. The United States has already stated to back the decision and formally recognize them. Anyway, we'll see what happens. Those of us who actually get out of the wire more often than the "Intelligence" and deal with the people are pretty sure that there will be a lot of political dickering and arguing, but not much else will change. So, anyway, I'm expecting that my leave will go as planned.
I haven't fully read just all they say my name means, nor am I all to concerned, to be honest. I'l just let you all judge how accurate it is.
| What Benjamin Means | 
You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous.
You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things.
Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times.
You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.
You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.
You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you.
You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries.
You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice.
You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.
You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.
You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.
You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!
You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. |
And, since I have to roll out in about an hour, is about that for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more detailed updates before coming home. No promises, though, it's a real bitch to get decent computer time easily with mine still in the shitter and the fluctuating schedule that our LT wants to return to. (It's already a 2 on, 1 off schedule with shifts rotating from 1st to 3rd after every day off. Apparently that isn't fucking up our sleep patterns enough for him...) Anyway, got to work - such as it is.
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Life without my own computer SUCKS!!!!!! It royally blows!!! And not even a good blow!!! Kind of like the blow you would get using a freaking hoover vacuum cleaner!!!!! AAAGGHH!!!!
Okay, it's offcial, the BIOS on my Toshiba is abso-fucking-lutely fried. Nothing boots at all - hardware or software. My computer is warrantied through the end of the month, but can you reach Toshibe via the internet (on someone elses computer), NO!! You have to use an 800 number. Well enough, WHEN YOU HAVE A FUCKING PHONE!!!!!!!!
So, trying the MWR facility phone, in which I am allowed a free 15 minute call home per week. It's set up through a military operator, but canthey conect you to an 800 number? No, just a goddamn AT&T operator who can then connect you to home!! (And will cut off your call after 15 minutes with no warning. Learned that one in Iraq.) Okay, so then you try the AT&T worldwide number that lets you use your calling card, but guess what? You can't call an 800 number on a gaddamn calling card!!!!! And Toshiba has no contact number that isn't preceded by a fucking 800!!!!! Well FUCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!!!!!!!!! I hate having to beg, and borrow time on friends computers just to complete my classes. I always feel guilty about it so I just check my e-mail and do my classes. Why? In case they might their machines to contact THEIR families. They are giving up their connections to home for me, so I minimize it. (That's why I walked the 1/2 mile in the snow and 15 degree fog to the MWR building to use a freaking ancient Dell to log in and do this as well as check on a few other things.)
And the addict part, is so fucking true. I hate myself for it as much as I realize it's just a product of our times. I was so used to simply hopping on my computer and researching SCA stuff, authors, or just catching up on the news that I'm lost without it. It actually takes an effort to figure out just how I'm going to spend any spare time I may have. Not to mention the connection home. It feels like it was just cut of, like I just fell off the faceof the earth. Having to rely on snail-mail is a pain, too. It takes a minimum of 10 days for letters to go back and forth. After the instant gratification of e-mail, it's painful!!! Ugh!!!!
Anyway, that's my rant and my half hour on the MWR machine is up. SHIT!!!
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17 Sep 07, maybe 18 Sep 07
I'm not exactly sure of the date at the moment. My watch 'sploded in the rain yesterday. Literally. I was a little surprised when the insides popped out the front of the watch; especially when it was supposed to be water resistant to 15 meters. I suppose I shouldn't be too upset – it was a $15.00 close out special from Wal-Mart. Although, I am pretty much at a loss without a watch... Training started in earnest today – with 8 hours of class. I have now had a graduate level condensed overview of Kosovo history from Emperor Trajan's Legions crossing the Danube through present day, an in-depth, graduate level course in negotiation and interpreter usage, a post-graduate level overview of Kosovar culture and an thorough examination of the legal reasons justifying the UN and American military forces being in Kosovo. All in ONE day! (My brain hurts! Although, international relations is suddenly getting more interesting now that I'm getting info on the meat of how it really happens and what isinvolved.) Tomorrow is more of the same and then it moves into practical negotiation training and then squad level exercises in the field. Once that starts, we're locked down into this little portion of Hohenfels – meaning no more PX and amenities that we've grown used to. That also means there are 1300 + people trying to use the 11 phones to call home. Lines are currently about 3 hours long to get on and use them for a short call. Needless to say, with temperatures in the evening averaging 37 degrees (F) and a constant drizzle to heavy rain – I haven't been able to stand in line long enough to call home despite how much I love my family. Sorry, I just can't do cold and wet that well. It looks like we may get another pass near the end of our trip here, which would be just fine with me. That one is likely to be to Munich – during Oktoberfest. I'm looking forward to that for two reasons. 1) I've never been to Munich or Oktoberfest, and 2) Everyone else had 3 days to go off post last time and I had to go to classes and training the other two, so I didn't get to go back to Regensberg to pick up the gifts I had in mind for Sarah and the kids. If it all goes well, Munich will be sehr gut! Well, I'm about out of stuff to write today. I'm just kicking back to some Rammstein. OOH!! That's right! That's the other thing that has come up – I've finally started writing a bit again. It's a Star Trek story, only using some of my RPG characters – something of a starting place just to get the creative juices flowing again. It's felt good to have the time and energy (mentally) to do that again. I honestly don't think I've really tried to do anything creative since I stopped working at my old job in Iowa City, whether it was writing an RPG adventure or drafting some sort of fiction. Needless to say, I'm hoping to have some sort of RPG stuff to run when I get back. By then it should be my turn to run something. :)
22 September 2007 One would think that the longer we are at this Army stuff, things would get better. It's really amazing, we've been at this since we arrived at Camp Atterbury and at that time our command – whether Battalion or higher, I'm not sure – couldn't ever seem to get any information out to us at a decent hour in order to prepare for the upcoming mission. I expected that by now they would have gotten the idea that we need appropriate preparation time. At Camp Atterbury the Company would have to issue their operations order to us after the Battalion meeting sometime around 2000 hours– meaning that our information wouldn't get to us until after 2130 to 2200 hours. Here we are a month later and the Company meeting is moved – not ahead, but BACK – to 2130 hours! Guess what that means for us – information getting to us for planning and putting together our mission with even less time than before – and in addition to that, the operation hours start even earlier than at Camp Atterbury. It's frustrating, it really has. In Iraq, when I was working Operations if we didn't get a warning for a mission 72 hours before it's kick off time, it wasn't done – period. I could (and did) tell a full Colonel just where he needed to take his mission when we didn't have the proper time. We had only a specific period of time in which we had to to the responses to mission in less than 12 hours – it was called Red Cycle and it was only for a week at a time. Essentially, we've been pulling a Red Cycle for the past two months basically. Being crammed in as tight as we are, tensions are running high and tempers are flaring the more this stretches on. I keep telling myself that it will be better in Kosovo, but I'm beginning to have my doubts. Instead of getting better at this command and control stuff, our command is only getting worse at it! Just finished putting together an overlay for the map of tomorrow's operations. Now it's time to fully inform the troops, prepare all squad and platoon equipment for the mission, prepare my own equipment and uniform, and then get to sleep. And get this, it's 2257 and the mission kicks off at 0500, which means that to roll on time, we're getting up at 0400 and getting dressed and eating and doing final preparations to move. Ugh!! Okay, brain is dumping now and I'm pretty much at a loss for anything else to say at the moment. Probably will be for a while as tired as I'm getting...
24 Sep 07 This time I'm sure of the date. A new watch helps a lot. Actually, with my job it's sort of essential, so I guess I'll just call it a business expense. We've been running platoon level STX (Situational Training Exercises) for the past five or so days – TCP's (Traffic Control Points), I/O Missions (Information Gathering Operations), Civil Disturbance operations, and QRF (Quick Reaction Force) training. It's been tiring, to say the least. Yesterday we were QRF and ended up trying to stop a riot and somewhere in the mess I was “knocked out” by a brick so I fell down like I was supposed to. Then one of the OPFOR (Opposing Forces – aka the bad guys) decided that he was going to jump on me for some odd reason while I was getting pulled to the CCP (Casualty Collection Point). In doing so, my right wrist was contorted into some odd angles and now is swollen a little and tender to the touch, my grip is weak and lifting anything or holding anything with my right hand is actually painful. I've been treated by the medics as best they can with out going to the TMC (Troop Medical Clinic) on Sick Call. That would be pointless because the two other injuries sustained at that same mission lane have been given ibuprofin and light duty profiles until they are in Kosovo where they are to get treated at the hospital at Camp Bondsteel – because the facilities are better there than here. One guy has a concussion that is pretty severe (he's been confined to his bed for three days) and the other has his leg wrapped from ankle to thigh because his knee was almost thrown out. Without any severe swelling or obvious bruising and just some pain and tenderness, I'm not going to get any better treatment than what the medics already did. (Ibuprofin to control swelling and lessen pain, ice packs, and an ace bandage to wrap it to minimize painful movements.) And tomorrow's training – quelling another riot in the same place. I'm figuring that I'll either get even with some of the shits who are hurting my guys and get into trouble with the observer/controllers or I'll get hurt even worse 'cuz I'm going to treat the OPFOR the way they've been treating us. The goal here is to train, not hurt people, but every time anyone rolled into that town, they've come back with real world injuries, which is complete bullshit. On the good side, I got a neat treat yesterday. I got to land a helicopter! Well, not in the cockpit, but I was the guy on the ground guiding him in and sending it off. All in all, it was pretty cool! Today was the first of our company level missions which because of my ability to drive a heavy truck that no one else in the company is licensed to drive, I sat in the rear in the truck during the mission, so I had a slow day. Tomorrow, though, will be interesting. Overall, despite the battalion's best efforts which only seem to make things worse, the training is actually pretty good and the training environment is excellent. Working with the interpreters has gotten me into an argument with a Master Sergeant. Mainly because I didn't use a 'terp. The civilians we encounter here speak German, which is supposed to be Albanian. I speak just enough German to get by, so I do what I can and he comes unglued on me for doing so. When I mention to him that I am also taking the Defense Language Institute course for Albanian and expect to have a limited working knowledge when I get there, he gets even more pissed and yells at me for trying to cause an international incident and trying to get my other soldiers killed for my arrogance in thinking that I can learn another language. I told him that I managed with Korean when I was there and even some Arabic during my stay in Iraq and that I had at least enough of a brain to manage greetings and basic questions after some time. This of course caused him to yell at me, put me at parade rest and then stop the entire exercise we were conducting and call my Lieutenant to the scene with the Major supervising him so they could hear about my arrogance, ego, and utter stupidity and contempt for the safety of my men because I “assumed that I could learn an obscure language like Albanian.” It probably didn't help that I asked “Then why is they army paying for the course and providing it to all team leaders and above on the deployment?” He told me that it didn't matter where the course came from but that it was just too hard to learn. I think he was ready to swing at me before I got sent to sit in the vehicle, “killed” because I was unsafe. What sent me to the truck with a safety violation card that gets reported to the Battalion Commander and the Brigade Commander? You guessed it, my mouth. He apparently heard me mumbling under my breath after he said I couldn't learn Albanian. I just mumbled “Just 'cuz you couldn't.” Just after today's mission I received an official negative counseling statement and a written reprimand from the brigade commander and battalion commander, respectively. My platoon leader just suggested that I work on my tact. (Sounds familiar....) Needless to say, on the next lane the same Master Sergeant heard me chatting with the interpreter in German and once again yelled at me that I couldn't do that because I couldn't speak Albanian – during a break between missions! This time I just ignored him and pissed him off and when he finally came up to yell in my face my Lieutenant was there and told him to go away, that I was on a break and I was practicing my German, not my Albanian, and that he could go and fuck himself. I didn't see the Master Sergeant at all after that! LT got a reprimand today too from the Battalion Commander for swearing at an Observer/Controller during a training operation. WOW! Is that some bullshit or what!? Well, besides some ego issues, things are pretty cool. Just a few more large scale operations to do, and then we'll be packing and on our way to Kosovo....
1 October 2007 It's been just about a week or so of 24 hour operations. It's all pretty much a blur at the moment since the entire time has bee a schedule of pretty much 18 hours of work and 6 hours off – meaning that I think I'm on the edges of sleep deprivation. I've finally been able to take the ace bandage off my wrist for a day. Today is the first day that I've been – more or less – able to use my hand at nearly 90%. It's still really sore. The general consensus from the medics and our interpreter (who is a medical student – more about her later) is that I sprained it pretty good. For the past five days we've had Katya as our interpreter. She's 22 and going into her second year of medical school. It's been nice to have both a pretty face with us and intelligent conversation! Her mother is a history teacher and Katya herself has an interest in history as well as being a voracious reader. Being that she likes Terry Pratchett, we had a lot to talk about. Having her with us was almost a mini-escape from the usual “G.I. Talk” that flies around the squad. I'm now the squad “mac daddy” since I came away with her e-mail address. I haven't bothered to tell anyone that it was because she had me take a picture of her and the other interpreters yesterday who were involved in the riot. They survived the riot while I didn't. Despite wearing a helmet and never getting hit by a fake rock I suffered a compressed skull fracture and I wasn't treated in time and I died. I'm still trying to figure that one out. Anyway, we're nearing the end of the rotation which means that we might finally get to sleep tonight. I'm not expecting it though. The operation doesn't actually end until 0500 which means that I'll likely have one more mission since I've only been out for 8 hours today already. Once we're done for good, there are a handful of MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) trips planned. So far I'm signed up for a trip to Dachau & Regensburg on one day, and then a trip to Burchtesgaden & The Eagles Nest on the other. Mostly WWII history, but the one I feel obligated to visit. Dachau has meaning to me, so there isn't any way I could be offered a trip and not go. The other, well, I'm going just to say I've been there. Besides, it's someplace in Germany that Sarah hasn't been to! Ha ha! I finally beat her to something in Germany!!! We flew back in from our operation yesterday. It was about a 15 minute helicopter ride with the side doors open. Wow! I could do that every day. It was just beautiful, the forests stretching for miles, the rivers and streams, the small town nestled in them and even the castles just sitting on hilltops and abandoned for centuries. Wow! That's really the only word that comes to mind just trying to take it all in. It was truly awe-inspiring. One place sticks out in particular, it's a castle sitting on a promontory of a hill, looking into a valley and flying overhead it was easy to see the commanding view it had. That location was perfect, with only one way to advance on the castle walls and it was up hill all the way with three other sides having nearly vertical slopes, and from the tower there was a view of the entire valley. It was just amazing to see. (I have to talk to SGT Weber to get his pictures. My batteries died after taking the interpreters picture.) Okay, My brain is melting down now. We just got the “stand down” order!! Missions are done!! We're turning in MILES (military laser tag, basically) gear tomorrow and an start getting ready for our trips tomorrow as well as clean up our living area and have some down time!! Holy shit!!! I can sleep more then three hours!! WOOO HOOO!!!!! Okay it's 2100 now and I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow until 0800, I'm off to bed!!! G'night for now. 3 October 07 Well, we're finally allowed off of Camp Albertshof and able to get to a working server, so here are the latest updates.... we're shipping sometime in the next week, our first baggage has to go out tomorrow, the 5th and 6th are our trip days, and that's all anyone has been able to tell us. Just about par for course I'd say. *sigh* time to get some food while I go through the 149 e-mails that have accumulated in my absence.
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For those of you not familiar with my military parlance, FOB is the army acronym for Forward Operating Base. It's basically the same thing a Patrol Base was in the Vietnam War. Why the name change, I have no idea. Why do I bring it up? Well, not even two days after rolling in from the exercise at Muscatatuk (barely enough time for everyone to get their laundry done) we rolled out to our next phase of training, FOB Warrior. This experience was an interesting five days (six for those of us who aren't going to Germany early.) proved to be a perfect mixture of just why I hate the army and also why I absolutely LOVE it and have stuck it out for the past 15 years. (Believe me, it ain't the money.)
Why I hate it is simply because being in the FOB is the absolute biggest waste of soldier time and taxpayer money that I could imagine. Why? Let me elucidate. First of all, there are no FOB's in Kosovo - which is where we are training to to. An Army axiom is "Train as you fight" and by living in the FOB isn't part of this "fight." There was no practical reason for us to be there other than a General somewhere thought that soldiers needed to be in the field so he could come out and thump his chest about how tough we were and how tough our fight in Iraq was going to be. (Yes, he did this, even after we reminded him we were going to "the 'Vo" as we've begun jokingly referring to Kosovo.) The first day we, the headership (8 people out of 25 men platoons - a total of 24 people out of 95) got to sit in six hours of class going over the tasks we would be evaluated on in the next few days. That left the rest of the company sitting ans sleeping in their tents with absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go. No training, nothing, just lie on your cot and sweat in the 98 degree heat and 90% humidity.
The next day, we did nothing but wait for our "missions" to come down and practice them - a little better, but being that we were "in the field" the general's order that we wear all our body armor and helmet (the extra 60 lbs of shit I referred to in an earlier posting) stood so we had to run around in the ungodly heat and pretend we were actually doing something. Because of the heat and a fire that started on one of the ranges, this only lasted until noon. After that we were "on alert" in case we had to evacuate the FOB due to fire. This meant that we didn't do a damn thing until 0530 the next morning when we got our first "mission."
Here's where things started to look up. It was an actual Kosovo scenario and one that we are not only likely to be conducting, but our most common mission as well. It was a Presence Patrol. Basically, we show up in a village and talk to people. We listen to what their issues are and take notes on it. We converse with them about what kinds of problems they are having and we ask some leading questions regarding certain intelligence requirements (i.e. smuggling, are UN supplies getting where they are going, etc) and then we report it all higher. Interesting, fun and something that I turned out to be pretty good at. (So good that my squad leader told me "Okay Rothman, you're our talker from now on.) I think that mission, in addition to my last performance at Muscatatuk, finally broke some of the ice between us and I'm really a part of the team now instead of an outsider coming in to it. That cameraderie is something that I missed in my old unit and remind me why I like the army. It's a place where we all have our strengths and you can mesh a mix of people into a cohesive and functional whole once they are known. It also is a great meritocracy - you move up based on just how good you are.
Anyway, that was the days mission. We had two villages to go through, and in the second one I impressed my squad leader even more while we were pulling security. I was noticing little things that he didn't and was able to even spot and snoop out a sniper before he could take a shot! (My only comment was a smile and a shrug "I was a Scout.")
Yesterday we had a QRF (Quick Response Force) mission which consisted of responding to a threat to an allied location. In this case we had to quell a civil disturbance. The mission only lasted about 15 minutes once we were on the ground. What made it fun and reminded me of why I love the Army was the helicopter ride there. There is nothing like moving at hundreds of miles per hour skimming over the treetops with your feet hanging out the side in the wind in a machine that in all practicality shouldn't fly. It was one of those moments that was just AWESOME! In the back of my head it was the little voice reminding me that there were people who paid to do the kind of things I was doing and go to some of the places I've been and will be going to - and here I was being paid to do something I've done since I was a child - play war and play soldier. That made my day, because after that mission was over it was time for me to pack and get back to the barracks to clean up and get going on leave! It was great to have a few hours of down time, a shower, and some time to reflect before a miniscule amount of sleep before getting on my way!
Yeah, it's a bit tough at times, but I still like the Army and everything I'm doing. (Well, maybe not the taser or the OC spray, but you know...) Now I get a few days to take things easy before diving back into things with batteries recharged.
I'll see you all on Wednesday! (Well, whoever shows up!!)
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30 jul 07 Last minute training schedule change a disorganized mess. We went from Land Navigarion training to a “death-by-power-point” drivers training class, which included a Master Sergeant (MSG) who decided that he needed to treat all of us like were were basic trainees on our first day at boot camp. I was having enough issues biting my tongue while listening to him – especially when he started jumping on one of my troops right in front of me when it was obvious that I was his squad leader. I simply told the MSG “he's mine Master Sergeant, I'll take care of it.” The whole issue was about nothing, really, Bowers' unit patch was a fraction of an inch cocked off center and he had a boot lace untucked. The the MSG lit into me like I was a basic trainee about “little details saving lives in combat.” While he yelled, I noticed he didn't have a combat patch. Then I said it. I shouldn't have, but I did anyway. I'm not sure why – other than the fact that he was being a complete asshole and he had not only been overly rude to one of my soldiers, but he wasn't treating me with the respect a soldier deserves, much less a fellow sergeant. “How the hell would you know?” I asked, letting my combat patch be seen. I then turned to Bowers and told him to go in the class and take a seat and to fix his uniform. I was then summarily and literally dragged (I was very tempted to throw him into a wrist-lock when he grabbed the front of my body armor, but I restrained myself) in front of my Company Commander and First Sergeant while he yelled about reading me the riot act and pressing charges against me for insubordination. (Not too shabby, 10 days into active duty and I'm getting yelled at for insubordination. I think that's a new record – even for me.) When I finally had a chance to have my say, I told my chain of command that I was doing my job as a squad leader – which the MSG had taken upon himself without asking me – and that if the MSG would have maintained his professionalism he wouldn't have crossed into “my lane” and there wouldn't have been any problem. After a bit of discussion, I got to spend the first session of class in the front leaning rest in my full body armor, which was nearly a half an hour. (Front leaning rest is anything but restful. It's the starting position for the push up: arms locked straight about shoulder width apart, legs extended and straight, head up so you can see in front of you. Try it sometime, you;ll like it just about as much as I do. :) Needless to say, I couldn't make the whole time, but I tried. During the first break I was able to find a seat and take my gear off. CPT Hansen and 1SG Keuter came up to me and complemented me on how I had handled the situation and stood up for my soldier – and then they went to speak to the MSG's boss. Later on I saw the MSG locked up at attention in front of a Lieutenant Colonel getting a pretty nasty lecture – with my Commander and First Sergeant right there! OMFG! I actually have a chain of command that will go to bat for me!! I'm flabbergasted, and f- king sore! My arms and shoulders still ache, but my confidence (arrogance?) and pride are still intact. (Which is more than I can say for a certain MSG). More drivers training and roll-over drills through the afternoon and a short break between lunch and evening chow. Then after eating it was off to the Chaplains Brief. 2213 hours Just got back from the Chaplains briefings. I swear, he took it as a challenge to fill his THREE HOURS of allotted time with the most depressing PowerPoint presentations ever created. If people weren't suicidal before the Suicide Prevention Brief, they probably are now! Jeez! This was absolutely ridiculous! Briefings that could have been completed in 45 minutes at most took THREE GODDAMN HOURS – when we have the standard wake up and PT at 0530 followed by a schedule thick with marching all over the f—king place in full body armor in 90 degree heat and 95% humidity! Whoever planned this had their hear so far up their ass is sucking on their goddamn tonsils! I'm tired but too pissed off to sleep. SHIT! Lights just went out. I guess that's my signal to get in the rack and try for shut eye. So much for feeling creative and doing some writing tonight...ah well, it's part of the job and the uniform, I guess. Amazing, even after fifteen years in the army I can still get surprised and pissed off by the sheer stupidity of some things. 1 August 07 Last night was a dream. (Please note the sarcasm) Just at light's out, about 2200, I got called over to a leadership meeting and got given the wonderful task of letting my troops know that we have to send out Tuff Boxes away today. (Tuff Boxes are the new foot lockers; about knee height, about 2 ft front to back and 3.5 to 4 ft across.) It holds roughly 2 duffel bags worth of stuff. Anyway, with five weeks to go, we are being forced to pack up nearly half of our gear and any personal items we want to take to Kosovo and ship it out. And we're to do with with a packing list that hasn't been updated since May of 06. Some of the brilliant examples of this not taking into account where and when we are going, is the fact that all our rain gear is packed into the box we won't get until we're in Kosovo while we get to spend a month in Germany in the early fall – a pretty damp time to be there if I'm correct. Brillant. It wouldn't be too bad if we'd had some warning. We had finished out equipment issue yesterday by about 1800 and had set up and stored all our gear by about 1900 and had already started relaxing and were shutting down for the night when we got the word about this and had to jump through our ass to get it done. What it comes down to, is that someone up higher than us has forgotten the “one third, two third” rule ALL Army leadership is taught. Simply put, you get a mission time and plan backwards from that. 2/3 of the time is supposed to be given to the NCO's and Troops to complete the mission prep and 1/3 of the time is for coming up with the plan. There has been no proper planning on anything – it's all knee-jerk reactions to everything. As a whole, we NCO's have brought it up to our Platoon Sergeant to run it up the chain to see of something can be done to change things. He blatantly refused and told us to just deal with it. So we went over his head to Platoon Leader, who is as frustrated as we are and is going to talk to the commander. He agrees that there is no reason a Commanders Meeting (All Company Commanders and the Battalion Commander and his staff) should start at 1900 and take three hours – especially with the expectation from higher that the Company level leadership will have to have their own meeting and then get the information out to the troops. We've been here 11 days now and the troops are already near the breaking point and the leadership is getting burned out. 11 days! There's 46 to go and we're already at a snapping point! It doesn't help that we have a platoon sergeant who is never around and doesn't seem to care about any of our issues. That takes away our voice to higher but at the same time it does give the platoon something to bond over. Sort of “the enemy of my enemy is my ally” type of thing. No one likes him, so we all agree on that and get along. I kind of feel sorry for him, but I'm quickly losing that sympathy since he's bringing it on to himself by remaining so aloof and just downright disagreeable – and STUPID! He can show up to a simple class (i.e. Putting on a field dressing [bandage]) and open his mouth and start talking about “what if's” and “well this” things that don't apply and totally throw the class off line for nearly an hour as well as just make himself look like an idiot – all for no reason! The worst part of it is, he doesn't even realize he's just alienating himself even more by his own actions. I and the other NCO's have grown tired of trying to approach him and help him. He just won't listen or doesn't care. *sigh* I really shouldn't be complaining. I know how deployments run and the motto for deploying is basically “Semper Gumby” (Always Flexible), but sometimes it just seems too much. Things aren't all bad. I've got a chain of command that supports me, decent barracks to live in, okay food, and a great bunch of guys to share the living space with. (Although it's getting scary – we're only 11 days in and the visual dick jokes - the Goat, The Bat-wings, etc – are already flying and nearly every night someone in the bay has got a porno going. Wow. Only 11 days. Glad there are no females in the unit or in the nearby units, the amount of testosterone on the wind would probably impregnate them just from walking by! :) Things could be a lot worse. Except for random stupidity, this is going much smoother than the last deployment. I mean, I actually have all the right gear to do my job and it's all new. (And a little over half of it is on the way to Kosovo already! Oy! I hope I don't need it!) For some silly-ass reason we have an APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) tomorrow, which is okay, we're required to do on within 30 days of coming on active duty, but the Battalion is planning to have a battalion run tonight! Okay, run us at a snails pace for over an hour tonight and then roust us out of bed at 0430 to take a PT test – which consists of a 2 mile run, 2 minutes of push-ups and 2 minutes of sit-ups. Once again, Brilliant planning from the “head-shed.” Ah, yes, the perfect song for the moment, “Comfortably Numb”. It fits. Or, as I used to say on active duty, “I've been in the army getting f—ked so long that someone could drive a HMMWV up my ass and I wouldn't feel it.” I'm a little older know and more mature – sometimes, so I think I'll just go with “Comfortably Numb” - for now. 2 August 07 Well, had the PT test today. It was my first one in two years or so where I was able to actually do the entire thing. Up until now I haven't been allowed to do the run - instead I've done the 2.5 mile walk. Well, results aren't as good as I'd hoped. I passed the push ups and sit ups without too much of a problem, but my run (which I thought was doing pretty good) was a 20:30! I need to knock off about 3 minutes to pass!! (I'm supposed to be able to do it in 17:46) I guess I know what I'll have to work on from here out. On the good side, there were two other people who failed worse than me - and both were YEARS younger! Not too shabby, overall for an old fart who hasn't played the ground-pounder game for about 8 years now. Tomorrow I I think we're actually headed into range training - we start shooting and doing real training as opposed to the thrown together stuff from battalion and company. We're due to actually have a training schedule and we may start getting a routine!! *gasp* I'm looking forward to leave, but first I have to get through the training. It'll be good to get home for a bit. This place is starting to wear on me a little. This too, shall pass. Unfortunately, if previous experiences are any kind of an indication, it will pass like a kidney stone. (Ouch!!)
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Okay, here I am on LiveJournal finally and able to let everyone know how things are going on this wonderful little trip I'm taking. So far it's been interesting and exhausting.
We're starting the day at 0530 and running pretty much through til 2300 before getting any real sack time. (For those of you non-military types, just subtract 12 hours from the bigger times to figure out what time it is. 0000 is midnight for a hint... :) Anyway, the training and paperwork process is a bit of a cluster right now and we're not getting the information I need to give to my soldiers about the upcoming training until 2230 to 2300 hours - which means little to no preparation time and a lot of pissed off troops and sergeants because we don't know what to expect. We push for the info, but it's just not there and that little bit of unpredictability is just a huge pain. It also means that we really can't get a lot of down time or relaxing done because invariably, as soon as we cut people loose to do something (like go to the gym, px, etc) something will come up and they'll be needed. (It's already happened once) Anyway, that leads to frustrations which could easily be alleviated with a simple training schedule. (Which no one seems to be able to produce). And now I've just been told I'm off to an Albanian class tonight after chow - which means I need to sign off for now and finish my e-mails and get the computer put away and get going.
See what I mean. *sigh* At least it's an interesting class. More later.
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quixotic
determined
energetic
bored
annoyed