My Trip Overseas

Day 95 (Thursday July 2, 2009)

2009-07-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

Dust everywhere...

Having completely lost track of time, we arrived in Kuwait sometime after midnight. Prior to departing the plane, once again, our temperatures were taken to rule out the potential of Swine Flu…they take that pretty seriously over here. We moved directly onto a bus and were taken to a staging area, waiting for a couple of hours and finally moved into Base Ali A-Salam. Even in the middle of the night it was quite warm out…likely 90 degrees…and the lights in the horizon glowed with a halo as dust swirled through the air.

At approximately 0500, we were greeted by our Navy Liaison Team and moved through some brief in-processing before grabbing breakfast. The DFAC (dining facility) was pretty good. All the food overseas is catered by a company called KBR. Just following breakfast, our Navy team along with the Air Force and Army personnel on the airplane, unloaded the baggage from the trucks and began sorting the bags into teams. Once accomplished, we reloaded the bags onto the trucks and were bused to Camp Virginia, where we would be staying for the next few days.

Our barracks during these days were 12 man (no gender discrimination implied) tents with cots for beds. Luckily, as part of our gear, we were given a sleeping bag and Thermarest ¾ inch inflatable mattress pad. It’s all good.

(Everyone getting settled in the 12-man tents)

Because we had arrived so early, we had one more task for the day. This evolution was similar to the Hum-V rollover training we had at Fort Riley. However, this training was for the MRAP…a bigger Hum-V, if you will.

(Working on 40 hours without real sleep...Jerry doesn't look happy)

(Andrew sleeping...but hard to tell with the shades on...)

(Inside of the bus we took to the training site)

(40 plus hours up and I'm a little numb at this point)

Completely baked from a long trip, having been awake for 48 hours, nothing left to do but go to sleep. By the way, for my own memory, my feet were so swollen from being up on them most of the trip I thought congestive heart failure had set in…yikes!

Day 94 (Wednesday July 1, 2009)

2009-07-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

I'm hot and sweaty...not in a good way

As we were getting ready to take off from Baltimore, I received a text message from Andrew congratulating me on my promotion from Lieutenant to Lieutenant Commander. Thanks Andrew. July 1^st was my effective date of promotion.

Flying overseas, 4 movies later and countless attempts to fall asleep, we landed in Germany at approximately 1500. It was a 6-7 hour flight, but Germany is 8 hours ahead of Baltimore. Once in Germany, I made my way to the bathroom and freshened up, as so many of the troops were doing. Again, the USO had some hygiene supplies for brushing your teeth, washing your face and putting on deodorant…love that USO. Two hours later, we boarded the 767 again and set out on another 5 hour journey to Kuwait. On the plane, the first movie showed was Ironman. It was somewhat ironic considering the opening scene in Afghanistan.

Day 93 (Tuesday June 30, 2009)

2009-07-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

Here we go...

Big Day! The trip overseas truly began. We loaded our bags onto the bus at about 0830 and left Fort Riley by 0945. Each one of us (25 in all) had 4 sea bags (green duffel bags), 1 ruck sack (like a large mountaineering backpack) and a carry-on bag (personal backpack) for the trip. In addition, as a team, we also had 12 gun cases with our personal weapons inside (locked of course). Mind you, that’s 125 large bags weighing around 40-70 pounds each and 12 more gun cases. This will be vital information as the trip progresses. As a means of loading them, we formed a line and handed the bags one by one down the row to the last person, who would place them in the bus. It may not sound like much, but it took us about 15 minutes and we were all a bit sweaty by the end...glad I put deodorant on.

(Bus trip from Fort Riley, Kansas to Kansas City International Airport)

Traveling by bus to Kansas City International Airport, we watched “Wedding Crashers” on the overhead monitors for the entire trip. It certainly helped pass the time. By 1200, we reached our destination and unloaded our baggage onto the curb.

(Curbside at the airport)

The following process I am about to describe is quite complex and likely took years of education to procure. (no sarcasm at all)

(It may not look like much...but that's my luggage for the deployment)

On a large, wheeled cart, we loaded the equivalent of 2 team members’ gear and pushed it into the Southwest Airlines terminal where we unloaded them. 13 trips later, all the baggage was in the terminal. Subsequently, all the baggage was tagged in the same manner one would see on any airline. This next part is fabulous. After tagging all the bags, we (again) loaded them onto the wheeled carts and moved them 30 feet to be scanned by the X-ray machine and finally loaded on the plane (I feel bad for the poor souls that had to load all our bags onto the plane…they probably needed a massage afterwards). Obviously, I’m writing this in retrospect, and the continual movement of these bags from point to point throughout our journey was 1) laborious 2) never ending and 3) riddled with poor planning. Sometimes it’s best to work smart…not hard. We chose the latter.

Following a quick bite of lunch, we all moved past the security lines and into the gated area where many of us, including me, Skyped our loved ones. By 1450 we were flying to Baltimore and landed around 1830. The trip was uneventful, yet as the passengers were set to depart the plane, the Southwest Airlines flight attendant made an announcement. In honor of our country’s armed forces, they would allow us to depart first. Everyone on the plane clapped in approval. I’ve heard stories of this happening, but to actually be there; I was honored.

We claimed our bags, put them on carts and wheeled them from one end of the airport to the other, to a terminal I had never heard of…Air Mobility Command. This is apparently the main airline tasked with sending our troops overseas. After checking all my bags, I made my way down to the USO site and proceeded to Skype once more. I love this Skype; what a great tool. By the way, the USO (Uniformed Services Organization) is an organization that, by way of donation, provided free creature comforts to service men and women in different venues. They offered free sodas, juices, candy, soup, sleeping accommodations, showers, a place to watch movies and free internet wi-fi. What a wonderful thing to provide our troops.

(Rob and Holly pushing luggage in the Baltimore airport)

(That's a lot o' luggage)

(Wolf lookin' tough)

(Both Lach and Travis are pointing...but one can you see which finger Travis is using?)

(Fascinated by pictures with luggage...?)

Always pushing the time limits, I just made it through the security line in time for our flight to board. We stepped inside the plane at roughly 2230. It was a 767, chartered flight for military services. As I sat on the plane, talking with Isabella, time seemed to drag on with no advancement in our position. Approximately one hour later, the attendants informed us that there was a weight and balance issue. Over the course of the next 2 hours of waiting, the 15-20 civilian passengers were asked to exit the plane and the attendants counted the passengers about 20 times. It became humorous after a while, watching the attendants continually walk up and down the aisles, pointing at the passengers, silently mouthing numbers. I wanted to randomly shout out various numbers to throw off their count, but after 3 hours of waiting, my patience was growing thin and I simply wanted to get in the air. Finally, by 0130, we took off and made our way to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.

(Chief D givin' the thumbs up on the plane)

Day 91-92 (Sun-Mon June 28-29, 2009)

2009-07-31T05:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday

Back at it...

Realizing this day would come; I was still dreading it. I had enjoyed a fabulous 3 weeks off in which I was able to visit family and friends and spend some much needed time with Isabella. This morning, she took me to the airport at 0630, and after a difficult goodbye, I hopped the plane returning to Fort Riley, Kansas. The day was filled with travel as Andrew, Mike and I all left San Diego, spent a few hours in Denver and eventually landed in Kansas City where we were met by the Navy Liaison Team and transported another 2 hours back to Fort Riley. Considering the 2 hour time difference from San Diego to KC, we traveled for about 10 hours and arrived in our barracks at 2030. After unpacking we felt the need to burn a little energy and worked out for a couple hours. I made a few calls and then hit the rack.

Monday

Packing and taking my temperature...

We awoke this morning with a few items on the agenda. We checked out personal weapons out of the armory, ensured our military IDs were encoded properly for checking into Kuwait, had our temperatures taken to see if we had the Swine Flu (apparently, if you had a temperature, addition testing and quarantining would occur) and received our finally itinerary for the big trip to come, beginning tomorrow morning. In between all of these little tasks, we all spent some time packing and repacking our sea bags for the trip. The packing strategy involved ensuring accessibility to 5 or so days worth of clothes, bathroom supplies and whatever else one wanted…in case we couldn't get to our additional sea bags, or the bags were lost in transit (how’s that for a comforting thought…apparently, it doesn’t only happen on commercial flights).

(40 man barracks at Fort Riley nearly empty as we pack up our bags)

Days 69-90 (June 6-27, 2009)

2009-07-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

A Very Welcome Vacation From Training...

Returning home from training was fantastic. I don't plan on writing much about this, because I assume no one wants to hear about the family visits and personal things...or do you?

Anyway, after being home for a few days Isabella and I went back to Montana to visit my family once more before heading out. We had a great time and saw a bunch of family. We even sat in the hot tub was awesome...gotta get one of those.

(Just the girls...and Maddex at Zoo Montana)

Keeping with the plan of traveling and having a good time, Isabella and I spent the next week in Los Cabos for our anniversary. As usual when I visit a tropical place I turned several colors...pale white to raspberry red to bronze...nice to have some color, but gotta watch that sun. We had a great time and didn't feel like coming home.

The last week of vacation was filled with me tying up loose ends and Isabella and I relishing our last few days together. It was a good vacation but the end meant one thing...the real deployment was eminent.

2009-07-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Well, I'm finally done with my late posts for Fort Riley. There's quite a few there I know. I have been keeping up with the current stuff, so you can look for those posts very soon. All is well in Kabul. Thank you all for the emails and facebook messages...they're greatly appreciated. Take care.

Deej

Day 68-69 (Fri-Sat June 5-6, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Graduation...been a long 10 weeks

Graduation day!!!! All of class 71 showed up at the gym where we initially entered Camp Funston and lined up for the ceremony. With all of us standing at parade rest, a few words were said by the chaplain and the Executive Officer of Camp Funston. Next, with the audio tape playing in the background, the Army units sang their Army songs, the Air Force sang a verse of their song and then…the audio tape quit…no Navy love. So, in fine fashion as would be expected, we as 25 strong Navy sailors belted out Anchor’s Away…without music. Afterwards, CDR Troup (the head of our Navy Liaison Team) said that our version was by far the best he’d heard in his time at Fort Riley. Go Navy!

All in all, the graduation took 7 minutes. The most efficient evolution we were ever a part of at Fort Riley. Time to go home for a few weeks. Oh yeah, after the graduation, we were informed that our I-stop time would be extended from 16 to 22 days off. Sweet.

Having packed everything up, we boarded a bus for Kansas City International Airport at midnight. We arrived at KCI by 0300 and by 0630 we were heading home. What a good feeling.

Day 67 (Thurdsay June 4, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:15:00.002-07:00

Here you go, I don't want it anymore...

This day was dedicated to turning in all our equipment (Hum-Vs, Radios, CrewServ weapons, etc.). Not much to talk about other than we all started packing up our things to head home for a few weeks. This was called our I-Stop (Individual Stop).

Day 66 (Wednesday June 3, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:15:00.001-07:00

Capstone...bout time

Well, the big day arrived. The Capstone Course was the pinnacle of our training; testing all of the skills we acquired over the 10 weeks at Fort Riley. It was a live, role playing set of scenarios in which we needed to travel to 3 different villages and complete predetermined missions. Both us, and our enemies were given “blanks” to fire for the day.

(Mike's wearing the "nut-hugger" gun turret harness while Jerry is happy for him)

(Me, Andrew and Mike)

(Travis enjoying his coffee and a peace sign...but notice the reflection in the window...I look like a tourist)

We saddled up the Hum-Vs and headed up to the yet another range where we received our briefing and made plans for the mission. Every person on our Team of 14 had a job. In each of the three vehicles, there was a driver, a TC or truck commander who sat in the front passenger seat, the gunner in the turret and two dismounts.

(Notice the cigarette hangin' out of Sgt. P's mouth...classic)

I was a dismount and along with Jerry, Sgt Plewniak (who was affectionately deemed Sgt. P), and CDR Glover. As dismounts, we were the ground security for CDR Heimer, who was accompanied by his personal security, LCDR Shadley. In the first village, our mission was to facilitate the last of our Leader Engagements in which CDR Heimer and LCDR Shadley met with the village leaders inside a village building. The four dismounts, including myself, proceeded to cordon (secure) the building with our M4s in hand. We each took a corner of the building and maintained site of one another to ensure communication. Meanwhile, the village people (not the musical group) who were all paid actors, roamed around the building trying to walk in back doors and distract us. Some acted mean while others curiously investigated every inch of the surrounding territory. Even in the setting of a pretend scenario, it was quite nerve-racking keeping tabs on all of the villagers.

After the meeting, all 4 dismounts pushed through the crowd to bring CDR Heimer safely to the vehicle. However, while we were occupied with the meeting and internal security, our Hum-V crews (providing outer cordon) were dealing with a rogue vehicle with known enemy affiliations. Unfortunately, the vehicle made it past the outer cordon and in the process, one of our teammates, CDR Foster was shot (make believe). Because I was also the “medic” for the team, I ran to CDR’s aid. But, as I was running to CDR, Jerry and I took on fire from the rogue vehicle (basically, the insurgent was firing at us with a rifle from behind the driver’s door). We both immediately stopped and returned fire, but in real life, I would have been a goner. Lesson learned…don’t forget to keep your head on a swivel. None the less, I made it to the CDR and fixed him up for transport. Eventually, we used what is called a 9-Line Medivac request to call in the Blackhawk medivac helicopters to transport our wounded CDR.

Moving on to the next village, we were informed of hostile intentions within. All the dismounts moved to the village center where we had a task of which I can’t remember. Yet, in the midst of our objective, the crowd turned aggressive. Additionally, in a building across the road, a sniper was firing on us. I was hit and needed medical attention. Since we were all trained in CLS (Combat Life Support), Sgt P tended to me and then to CDR Glover who was also hit. While we were being helped, our gunners in the Hum-Vs targeted the sniper and terminated him. Let’s get the crap out of here…

The final village was also hostile in nature. Dismounting again, we all provided security for CDR Heimer to meet with the village elder. During this scenario though, while walking through the main part of the village, we took on fire from a sniper in a second story window. Strategically, we maneuvered ourselves behind buildings and returned fire. The sniper was captured and brought down from the building and a I reinvented my roll as “Tactical Questioner”. Though, I didn’t get anything out of him…I suck. But, the sniper was identified as an insurgent and taken in for professional questioning. Phew, the course ended there and we returned to base for our “hotwash”. This didn’t go as well due to a suspected case of fratricide, but the 1^st Sgt was mistaken and we moved on. End of the day…thank goodness. Being a dismount was not very easy…but it was kind of fun.

(This is what the villages looked like...and no, I don't think that is a piece of crap on the hood...we had just gone through a muddy field...)

Day 65 (Tuesday June 2, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Are we about done with these?...

In the morning we had Leader Engagement #8 where Andrew was the lead and Jerry was his “henchman”. They did well, but could have used the “Water Specialist”…that was me from a previous leader engagement.

(Andrew and Jerry on the couch with the interpreter)

(Mike...riveted)

(Tim...just happy to be here)

(Travis and Josh...shear jubilation)

(I think Jerry is giving me a signal???)

Come afternoon, as a Navy Team, we prepared for the upcoming Capstone Course. I’ll go more into that tomorrow.

Day 64 (Monday June 1, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

...I can't think of a title for this...other than, I ROCK AS A DISMOUNT!!!

This morning we went to one of the many ranges for what was to be known as…Mounted Combat Patrol Live Fire Exercise.

(Morning ride with the back open on the Hum-V...our A/C)

(Just another Hum-V pic)

(It was a georgeous morning...that's looking out the back of the Hum-V)

The range was set up as a course in which our mounted combat patrol proceeded past several checkpoints engaging enemy forces (pop-up targets and automated moving trucks) and even encountered an IED.

(Lining up to go on patrol)

(Mike giving the patented thumbs up sign)

(Jerry ready to roll)

(Dismount...always the last one in)

In a convoy of 3 Hum-Vs, we moved through 3 checkpoints with the gunners in the turrets firing upon the aforementioned targets. At the 4^th checkpoint, I was one of 3 persons (the other 2 being CDR Foster and CDR Harbison) to dismount our vehicle, move on foot to a side road and upon an explosion, shoot the pop-up targets. We all fired our weapons from the prone (lying on our stomach) position. Admittedly, I wanted to be sure to shoot all 20 rounds in my M4, so I put the firing mode on “burst” which fired 3 rounds at a time…I burned through my magazine pretty quick. Cool.

Having moved past one more checkpoint where the gunner fired on the enemy behind us, our middle vehicle was hit by an IED (imaginary) and I had to get out of our Hum-V (which was in front of theirs) and hook up the tow strap…easily done in under 10 seconds…I should have gone NASCAR...either that or rodeo.

(Proud dismount)

After we finished with the course, we received our “hotwash” and learned of our good and bad points. Overall, we didn’t do too bad…even for a bunch of medical personnel.

(Our "hotwash" building)

(Steve, Beth, and Dennis...Dennis looks like he's about to mug Beth)

(Travis...he didn't draw that stuff on the board, despite what he tells you)

This evening we had two events to celebrate 1) Andrew's birthday and 2) Josh's promotion to LCDR. And, in predictable fashion, we ended up at Famous Dave's BBQ for some good ol' ribs. Afterwards, dessert...Baskin Robbins...31 flavors of course.

(L to R: Andrew, Rob, Less, Jerry and Travis)

Day 63 (Sunday May 31, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

R & R...

I didn’t do much today. I think I slept in and worked out at the gym. Movin’ on….

Day 61-62 (Fri-Sat May 29-30, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

What's it really like?...

On both Friday and Saturday, we were briefed by CSTC-A (Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan). A LT Colonel in the Air Force (a physician) and a civilian physician presented information on what was the state of Afghanistan as pertained to the medical mission. I can't go into details about this, so this blog is going to be pretty short.

However, Saturday being a half day, in celebration of the penultimate weekend as we approached graduation, some of our Navy team members coordinated a BBQ fiesta with the Army Reservists who were in their barracks. The food was awesome. Here are some pix.

(Mike, Steve, Josh, and Neil...you can tell they're hungry)

(Rob, just wanted to show he's competent in the kitchen.)

(Tim, I think I've seen that hand sign before...)

(Mike and Jerry...Thrilled I'm taking a picture of them.)

(Less and Dennis..."I once caught a fish this big...")

(Motley Crew)

(Obviously myself, Jerry above and Lach next to me.)

Day 60 (Thursday May 28, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Video games are for kids...or are they?

Our first evolution of the day was the Mounted Combat Patrol Class. Here, we learned how to look at a village and prepare a mission to engage it. We determined how to set up cordons (security posts) around the village and within it, and how to utilize our assets (soldiers, vehicles, etc.) to complete the mission. This was all done inside a classroom. Afterwards, we went outside to set up our mission for the upcoming Capstone Course (a course designed to test the skills already taught).

(CDR Foster describing our route and tactics.)

The second half of the day is where the fun began. We were bused up to Custer Hill, where we originally stayed in our first week of training, and received a brief on the dynamics of the simulated mounted combat patrol. This was a video game designed to simulate the movement in hostile territory, where strategy was imperative to maneuvering through villages and past traffic and hostile engagements were likely.

(An intrigued crowd during our simulation briefing.)

We were broken up into teams of 5 which included a driver, a TC (truck commander, sitting shotgun), two dismounts (backseat ride alongs) and a gunner (up in the turret). We all sat at computer terminals in the layout of the truck. On each individual's screen was their point of view in the vehicle. You also had the option of viewing the vehicle in first person (inside the Hum-V) or via third person (like an angel from above...cue the Gregorian Chant). We spoke to one another through headsets.

(First person view from inside the Hum-V...yup, I was in the back seat.)

(Third person view...or "Angel Vision".)

The missions began with us maneuvering our animated soldiers into the vehicles and driving in a convoy with the rest of the teams until we reached our destination. There certainly was some hostile fire along the way and our gunners did a great job of taking care of us. Yet, while every silver cloud has it's lining...it's a cloud none the less, and fate wielded it's ugly hand. Jerry, our gunner for the mission, had developed a knack for getting shot and today's mission was no different. From up in the turret, he fought valiantly but in the end, perished. Sorry Jerry.

(Travis and I as backseat dismounts...there wasn't alot to do for us.)

(How the simulation was set up for the 5 teams.)

(Travis in the driver's seat...who's watchin' the road?)

That's enough for today.

Day 59 (Wednesday May 27, 2009)

2009-07-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

Wax bullets hurt, just ask Jerry...

Today we participated in Glasshouse instruction, Battle Drill 6, and Force on Force.

Glasshouse instruction was essentially teaching us how to enter a room or building safely. I think it's called "Glasshouse" because they use movie theater line barriers as the walls so the audience can see what is going on. We were taught to enter a room 4 at a time. The first person determined the state of the door (open, closed, locked or unlocked), the second person, standing immediately behind the first, had their weapon pointed over the shoulder of the first to engage the enemy from that direction. The third person pointed their weapon upwards to guard for enemy attackers from second story buildings. The fourth had their back against the third person and faced towards the back with their weapon also pointed in that direction. By design, provided 180 degree security while against a wall.

(Left to Right: Chief Erhard, LCDR Riggs, CDR Myers, and LT McClure)

Hand signals were passed down the line to signify the state of the door and when the team was ready to enter the room/building. Upon entering, the first person usually took the right side, the second took the left, the third stepped inside the doorway and to the right and the fourth stepped inside the doorway and to the left. Each individual had a sector of the room and called out their security in the order they entered.

(Here is the same group above demonstrating positions inside a room.)

(CDR Myers (top) and Chief Erhard (bottom) moving around a corner.)

(Mike and Andrew storming the castle.)

Further teaching demonstrated movement down hallways and up stairs as well, but I'll spare the details for now.

Battledrill 6 and Force and Force was a live combat situation in which our 25 team members were divided into 2 teams (each team took a turn). We engaged a building where there were know enemy...with wax bullets themselves. They also had protective gear on but instead of Army attire, they wore dark blue robes to simulate the enemy. After putting on our protective head and face gear, we loaded our M4s with wax bullets. (Every time I say wax now I can't help but think of "40 Year Old Virgin" where Steve Carell's character gets a wax job..."we gonna need mo waaax".)

Our team moved down a dirt road to a building sitting by itself. Upon an explosion, we tactically moved to the building for entry. I was part of the initial 4 troops to enter the building. Once inside, we moved through the first and second rooms, shooting some cardboard cutout enemy. The second team moved in behind us, however in the process of moving past the underside of a stairwell, a couple of team members were shot and had to sit out. There was an insurgent lying down in the dark stairwell plucking off anyone who came around the corner. This individual was difficult to see and shoot but eventually, we got him. Unfortunately, one of my teammates was the victim of fratricide (friendly fire). "Jerry, tough luck...how's your butt?" Because 6 of our 12 team members had been wounded, and I was the medic for the team, I had to disengage the fight and tend to the wounded. I pretended to treat their wounds and everyone survived...hooray for me. The exercise continued for another 10 minutes in the upstairs of the building and in the end, we won...at least, that's the way I'm going to remember it.

(This is the protective gear for our heads. I'm in the middle and I think Jerry and Travis are my sides.)

Immediately after the exercise, we were taken to another building to have a "hot wash". This is a post-exercise evaluation and critique. We didn't do so well in the grand scheme of things, but being our first time, and being a bunch of medical personnel to boot, we received some praise.

Day 58 (Tuesday May 26, 2009)

2009-07-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Gun Show...

Today was interesting, and probably one of the most useful days if one considers carrying a weapon. We went to the Short Range Marksmanship Range to learn how to tactically use our personal weapons, the M4 and M9.

(Where would we be without another Hum-V picture? Left to right, Jerry and Andrew)

As with all the previous ranges, we were briefed ahead of time on the safety fundamentals of the range. Shortly thereafter, we split into 3 groups of about 10-12 (some of our Air Force compadres were with us) and instructed on the different elements of the range. First, my group went down to the, what I will call "tactical movement" area and learned how to fire behind objects used for cover. Next, we were taught how to move with and draw our M9 pistols while engaging the targets and switch to our M4 immediately. Finally, we learned how to engage a target with our M4, while we were moving. I will explain each of these in more depth as they come up.

Being in the first group, about 15 of us headed down to the range. There were orange cones set up at 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5 meters from the "black paper on wooden targets". Each one of these distances would be a spot from which we would engage the target. Initially, we started at 5 meters with our M4. This part of the exercise had us begin with our weapons in the "low ready" position. This means having our weapons pointed at the ground...so as not to shoot thy neighbor...I joke, but serious stuff. The instructor, over a loud speaker, would then say "Target......Up". On "Target", we would look at the target and on "Up", we would aim and fire a "controlled pair". A "controlled pair" is two rounds fired at the target in about 1 second intervals. Then, everyone would turn to their right and face their neighbor's back (again, weapon always in the low ready position). As before, the instructor would call out "Target......Up" and we would view the target, move from a 90 degree angle to the to facing the target, raise our M4s and engage the target with a controlled pair. We did this facing left and 180 degrees away from the patient. Additionally, we engaged the targets by walking towards and away from them. Mind you, we didn't walk backwards and fire, rather, we turned and stood still while engaging the target. This is very difficult as one tries to steady your aim while moving.

After practicing on the black paper targets, we were given white paper targets with a yellow triangle at the head, a red circle on the chest and a black square in the abdomen. Standing at either 5 or 10 meters (I can't remember), we began in the low ready position and upon the loud speaker command, we would engage the target. However, you couldn't just shoot where ever you wanted; you needed to shoot at the target declared by the loud speaker. For example: "yellow triangle...bang bang, red circle...bang bang". (The "bang bang" was me shooting...in case that wasn't clear.) We fired 20 shots and counted our results. 19 in the target zone for me...not quite sure where that 20th shot went though...hmmmm.

The next exercise was practice at switching from our M9 to our M4, repeatedly. We were given two targets dressed in "very distinct attire", 5-10 meters away, and placed next to one another. On the command from the loud speaker, we shot a controlled pair with our M4 at one target, placed the weapon on safe (this is a very important concept), switched to our M9 and shot another controlled pair at the second target. Each target fell if hit twice. We repeated this process as the targets alternately popped up.

The last and most exciting exercise was a course with three shooting stations. Two participants started out lying on their stomachs, awaiting the "go". Once released, the pair ran to a four-walled enclosure with no roof and two windows facing the targets.

(Here are Mike and Andrew waiting to run.)

Each participant took a window, used the walls for cover, and fired a controlled pair at the targets. To make this more interesting, each person approached their window from the wall in the middle of the windows. Thus, one was required to shoot left-handed from the left window and right-handed from the right window. After the first controlled pair fired, the two participants switched places and repeated the process.

(You are seeing the left window.)

Having finished, the participants ran out of the enclosure and over to 2 orange barricades (one for each). They fired from the right and left sides of the barricades in the same manner as in the enclosure, and then moved onto the last station.

The final site was an old vehicle. The participants lined up side by side, leaned over the hood of the vehicle and fired their controlled pair at the targets...taking great care not to shoot the hood. The instructors yelled and screamed and threw smoke bombs in the area to raise the level of excitement. All good fun.

Please check back to see the video below. It shows a full run through the course. Unfortunately, the internet is a little slow and not allowing me to post it.

Days 54-57 (Fri-Mon May 22-25, 2009)

2009-07-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

Memorial Weekend in Nebraska...

Friday, May 22...Excited to start the weekend with my wife and go see some of my greatest friends, I discovered an alarming absence of water flowing from the faucets in our room at the Navy Lodge. Crap! A shower is one of the few luxuries I enjoy to get my day started...and they robbed me of it...whoa is me. As it turns out, the Fire Department was working on one of the fire hydrants this morning and they underestimated the duration of the draught. Fortunately, within an hour and a half, we were blessed water once again and I could resume my day.

Before heading out of Manhattan, Isabella and I decided to head back to The Chef restaurant for breakfast. We had visited this place once before on Isabella's previous visit and enjoyed it thoroughly. This time was no exception.

By 1100, we hit the road and over the course of 2 hours, found our way to the Payne's house in Lincoln, NE. After settling in and introducing Isabella to Dylan and Drew (Brian's boys), who affectionately called her "Abella", we all piled into the Payne minivan and headed to the Embassy Suites Hotel to link up with John and Hilary Hutt, their kids, Ryan and Lindsey and John's parents. We sat in the lobby, ate Italian food and soaked up the moment...what a good night.

(Me with Drew, Dylan and Ryan)

(Me, John and Brian...been a long time since we were all together.)

Saturday May 23...This morning, the Payne's invited all of us to the YMCA for their weekly getaway, where the kids played in the pool and Isabella and I worked out. Afterwards, we returned to the Payne's house for a Memorial Weekend BBQ. This was fantastic! Melissa, Brian's wife, had her family over and in addition to the Hutt's, John's parents came as well. Great food and wonderful friends...tough to ask for more than that. The night ended with Brian and I meeting up with John at his hotel and an opportunity for the guys to grab a beer and reminisce. Having known Brian and John for the better half of my life and growing up with them in Billings, it has been remarkable how close we have remained despite our geographical distances. I couldn't ask for better friends.

(John with Ryan and Lindsey at the YMCA pool.)

("Abella" with Dylan and Drew...pay attention Drew.)

(Drew and I...that is one crazy smile)

(Brian and John watching over the kids.)

(Awww, my sweetheart.)

Sunday May 24...The Payne's were kind enough to let Isabella and I accompany them to church this morning. Following the service, Isabella and I ventured off on our own. We headed into downtown Lincoln and made our way to Haymarket Farmers' Market; a very cool area of downtown with some trendy spots to eat. We enjoyed a great afternoon together and after picking up some souvenir Nebraska Cornhusker gear, we headed back to the Payne's. Come evening, we met up with the Hutt's and we all went to Chucky Cheese for pizza and "good times". The kids had a blast. As an added bonus, Brian's sponsor family from his days at the Air Force Academy were driving through Lincoln and were able to join us for pizza. They were incredibly friendly people and fun to visit with.

("I feel uncomfortable...")

(The Paynes and Brian's sponsor family.)

Monday May 25...Last day in Lincoln before heading back to Fort Riley. With the Hutt's and us leaving today, we all decided to head to the park for a picnic...and to let the kids play. The park was set near a lake and quite beautiful.

Isabella and I had a wonderful time and are so thankful to have had the opportunity to spend the weekend with two of my closest friends and their families.

Days 50-53 (Mon-Thurs May 18-21, 2009)

2009-07-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

(Unemphatically) Yay, lectures...again

Once more I find myself uninspired to expound on the details of these days. In a lecture series entitled "ECADC"...I have no idea what that stands for...as is the case for many of the acronyms in the military...we learned about insurgency, counter-insurgency and strategic level processes. Honestly, while I believe I could recall and demonstrate the proper action illustrated in these classes should the need arise, for the life of me, I cannot describe their content. So, let's leave it at that and chalk it up to a week indoors.

However, given the gloomy, "sour-puss" nature of the first paragraph, the end of the week brought anticipation and elation. As you may have noticed, our week ended on Thursday. The Army, in all their splendor, granted us a 4 day weekend beginning on Thursday at noon...very cool. Isabella flew in that evening and after her drive from Kansas City International Airport, she picked me up and we had some BBQ at the Whiskey Creek Steakhouse. I have been incredibly lucky to have Isabella come out to visit. She's awesome! After dinner, we returned to the Navy Lodging to relax before leaving for Lincoln, NE in the morning to see the Payne and Hutt families.

Day 48-49 (Sat & Sun May 16-17, 2009)

2009-06-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

Aaahhh, the Weekend...

Boredom had set in...no commitments or requirements for us. I believe we passed the time on Sunday by going to the new Star Trek movie.

(Mike is trying to look smart by reading a book...clever.)

(Yup, these are me feet. Oh, I can't remember if I mentioned this, but half way through our training, Mike and I had an agreement that we would switch beds (top to bottom). So, my little Hooch was lost. However, in the spirit of the Hooch, I strung up these sheets to provide a bit of privacy and shelter from the glaring florescent bulbs above. Ingenuity at it's worst.)

Day 47 (Friday May 15, 2009)

2009-06-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

I Got Frisked...and then Drank Beer

Today was all about tactical questioning and detaining. We began with a few classes on how to detain suspicious individuals (for example) in a village and refer back to previous training on search and seizure of worrisome items and people. At some auspicious point in the lecture, I was volun-told to be the “bad guy”, introduced to the front of the room and in an awkward haze of giggles and snickering, I got frisked.

Now I know how my dog felt after a good petting…but not in a good way. They also discussed what laws govern us during these operations. Finally, we were given a lecture on “tactical” questioning. This is not interrogation, merely information gathering of a specific nature. They stressed this point.

In usual fashion, following the lectures, we were taken out for a practical exercise to demonstrate our understanding. In one of the mock villages on base, there were paid actors who come from a nearby town (Junction City) to play the part of Afghans. Our task was to secure the village, detain the individuals suspicious of terrorist activities, gather information from them and search the premises for contraband. My job was “Tactical Questioner…Extraordinaire”. After posting security at the exits to the village, we moved into the small compound (walls surrounding a two-story building) and lined up the “Usual Suspects” about 5-10 feet apart, on the wall. I think there were eight of them. Four members of our team maintained security in the compound, keeping the suspects under control. One suspect was particularly unruly, yelling and trying to walk away at every chance. Another 3-4 team members went into the building and began the contraband search while I remained outside with HMI Gann as my recorder. We proceeded to question the most dubious individuals first. However, that little idea of mine turned out to be unsuccessful, as we didn’t even get to the informative individuals until the end. By the way, it’s much more difficult to come up with productive questions when the suspects are good at deception. I could never be an interrogator.

(This is team 2...not mine...they were next to our compound.)

(Here, HM1 Weber is securing the suspect...nice job HM1.)

In the end, we detained the correct individuals and released the rest to the Afghan National Police…I guess that’s how it normally happens. End of the workday.

Having "kicked" down doors and berated the "village people"...not the ultra-sensitive, costume-wielding, all male musical group...we prepared for Friday night. One of our Chief Petty Officers, Chief Carter, arranged for as many of our team members as were willing to attend the Tall Grass Brewery Tour. This was fantastic! Not only did we get some great beer, but they had a local establishment, Pat's Blue Ribbon BBQ, cater the soiree.

Good times...good times.

Following the "tour", the brewery arranged for an Aggieville Pub Crawl to follow. Aggieville is Manhattan's version of a college tourist attraction...or multiple bars easily accessible and arranged in close proximity to one another. Having previously and successfully tested my ability to handle small but effective doses of alcohol (on a few notable occasions in the past), I refrained from over consumption and "enjoyed" my night. One of our compadres, who will remain "nameless", did not fare so well; or maybe very well, depending on one's point of view. I think we meandered through 5-6 bars over 3 hours and for a few of us, the night ended with a ride back to Camp Funstun via a shuttle bus. Everyone made it home safe after a good night.

Of note, to facilitate my own memory many years down the road as I look back on this, one of my "nameless" team members lost something on the bus, but with the astute attention to detail of another team member, he found the lost item. The name of the individual and his item have been left out to protect the innocent...

Days 45-46 (Wed & Thurs May 13-14, 2009)

2009-06-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

"Come in Radio...don't call me Radio, Unit 91...then don't call me Unit 91, Radio"

-Supertroopers

May 13...BASIC FIRE SUPPORT

Already trained in the art of "deadly combat" (yeh, that's right), our sights shifted to learning the art of "calling for help" (not as "sexy" as the former, but just as necessary). In this class, we were given the basics of how to call in fire support, due to being in a compromised position (enemy attacking) or in the orchestration of a strike from a distance. Using a wall of one room as a projection screen, a large but real picture of a territory with buildings, roads and vehicles was displayed; much like a view of the countryside from a hilltop. In front of us, on the table, was a topographical map of the same territory with coordinated grids. Through our teaching, we were given a target on the wall projection and asked to find the coordinates on the map. Subsequently, we used a special set of binoculars with measurement lines in the optics and our maps to determine the distance and angle of incidence (what direction we are pointed). After determining the distance from us and the coordinates, we called in the air strike to the command center, requesting the attack. Essentially, we sat at our table and pretended to use a radio to call in the attack while two individuals sat at the computer, spoke back to us and entered the command into the computer. Then, an attack plane would sore across the projected wall image and drop bombs on the target. Very much like a video game for training.

May 14…Engaged in Leadership...and Lectures

Another day of lectures. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but here are the class names: ROE (Rules of Engagement), Law of War, Code of Conduct, Graduated Response, and Media Awareness. Enough said. As the last exercise of the day, we had one of our Leadership Engagements. Below, you can see Josh and Travis sit with an interpreter between them discussing made up issues with the village leaders…riveting.

(Check out the fascination of the audience.)

Day 44 (Tuesday May 12, 2009)

2009-06-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Saving lives and blowing things up...No contradiction whatsoever

Today was interesting. Not only did we “learn” about saving lives, military style, we were introduced to the MK 19 (pronounced Mark 19). This is a big gun used to fire grenades…cool.

The morning was fairly relaxed; no 0400 wakeup call, no Hum V preparation. Instead, our team met up at one of the warehouses on Camp Funstun where we were informed of our last “Combat Life Saver” evolution. I realize I haven’t spoken of this in a while, so let me get you up to speed. The Combat Life Saver course is designed for every soldier heading into war. They teach the basics of medical response as it pertains to the military and combat care. A few principles include the “Golden Hour” (a finite period of time in which a critically wounded soldier should be medically evacuated to a medical facility for advanced care to increase the chances of survival), “Care under fire” (just as it sounds; first and foremost, return fire and provide security prior to administering care), and “Tourniquets are invaluable”…OK, you won’t find that last one listed anywhere, but it’s true…so they say.

This evolution was a practical exercise. We were given a scenario in which a large piece of machinery had blown up on our base and the explosion and fire had injured multiple people. Our medical contingency consisted of 14 Navy (all medical) and about 15-20 Army (not medical) personnel to handle the situation. Following a siren to simulate an alarm for the explosion, we all headed outside to assess the situation. As a means of providing the Army team more medical experience (aren't we generous), we let them be the first responders and treat the patients initially. Subsequently, they brought the wounded soldiers to us and we triaged them for further medical need and evacuation. Ultimately, we prioritized each of the eight patients for transport via a Blackhawk helicopter. The exercise only lasted about 30 minutes.

The second scenario (for our two teams) depicted a mortar (bomb) exploding in a cafeteria injuring several people. Again, to offer our Army counterparts more practice, our Navy team acted as “couriers of wounded” and mentors to assist in triage and treatment. To enrich our experience, the instructors set off explosions every 3-5 minutes. No destruction occurred via the explosions, lest a little bit of my hearing. All of the injured soldiers were actors and one gentleman in particular was acting deranged. It was quite humorous for the first few minutes as he yelled expletives; though eventually, he just became annoying. I suppose that was the point; how to deal with the “crazies”.

(Josh and Mike giddy about the range.)

While the Combat Life Saver evolutions took up the morning, we were rife with anticipation for the afternoon. You see, we were headed to the range to fire the MK 19 grenade launcher…and as a bonus, we didn’t have to clean the weapons afterwards. (Air Force got stuck with that duty, since we cleaned all of the CrewServ Weapons the prior week...we still got the short end of that deal.) Essentially, this was a fun day on the range.

(Me just gettin' a feel for the MK 19.)

(Grenades!!!!)

By the time we reached the range, the wind was whistling and cloud cover had drowned out most of the warmth. Bundled in our rain gear (though it never did) we all gathered around the instructor and learned about the “ins and outs” of the weapon, referred to as PCM (Preventive/Prevention Cleaning and Maintenance). Following this, we picked up our ammunition and headed to the Hum-Vs. They mount the MK 19s on the Hum-Vs, just like the .50 Cal and other CrewServs. We were each give 32 rounds to fire. While aiming is possible via “traverse and elevation” dials, this is certainly more of an “area” weapon and shooting for vicinity is common. Basically, when it was my turn, I blasted off my 32 rounds with reckless abandon and burned through my ammo in less than 2 minutes. I liked it...it was fun. If you paid attention, as you stood behind the Hum-V watching others shoot, you could see the rounds as black dots in the air and follow their trajectory.

(Just waiting our turn.)

Again, it was fun, but it was cold out and everyone was a bit tired from the long day at the range yesterday. With that, we called it a day.

Writer's Block

2009-06-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

I apologize for being so "delinquent" on my blog for the past 3 weeks. I have been remarkably unmotivated to write anything. However, I have continued to take many pictures and am in the process of writting again. Geez, I sound like a novelist with writter's block.

If you get time, check back soon and I will have plenty more to show you. Take care and I'm thinking of you all as I finish up my last week here in Kansas and prepare for deployment.

Day 43 (Monday May 11, 2009)

2009-05-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Let's shoot more stuff...

M9 Qualification

After a short, but entertaining weekend, we're back at it again. This time, we were heading to the range to fire our personal weapons, the M9 (9 mm pistol) and M4 (rifle...similar to the M16). Our wake up call for this evolution was not quite as bad as the 0430 alarm just a few days earlier for our range day on the big weapons. And, in standard fashion, you can see I was sporting the "cup o' Jo" again. We're really roughin' it, huh?

(That's not a gang sign...alla Ironman...it means day 2 on the range.)

Our first task for this morning was to qualify on the 9 mm pistol. After the safety brief near the bleachers, we moved out in groups to receive our magazines with a particular number of rounds loaded into each one. Magazines, in this case, are the cartridges full of ammunition that are loaded into the weapon...not variably interesting viewpoints by journalists assimilated on paper...sorry, bad attempt at humor...this journaling thing is tough.

Approaching the range, there were two rows of mounded dirt at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 meters intervals, in front of each firing sector. (see the first two pictures below) The sector (or lane) is the area an individual will fire in. Having been given a chance to fire a few rounds for familiarization, we proceeded into the qualification. Unfortunately, I can't remember the sequence of the pop-up targets, but the general idea was have our pistols at the "low ready" position (which means pointed at the dirt...away from your neighbor) and fire upon the targets as they popped up. As the targets pop up, one only has a few seconds before it disappears...so you have to be on your toes. For anyone who hasn't fired a pistol...or even those that have, it's not as easy as it sounds. But, we all qualified and moved on to the M4 evolution.

Ready to draw my "9".

Part of the team waiting around after shooting the M9.

M4 Qualification

(M4 firing range beyond the tower.)

The M4 range was a bit more complex than the M9. Having traveled up the road to a different range (actually, it was range next door), we began by "sighting in" our weapon. Initially we sighted in our "iron sights". Sounds tough, doesn't it..."iron sights". Truth be told, these are the sight posts anchored to the weapon; one near the barrel and one near the trigger. We fired at a paper target approximately 25 meters away. Initially, we shot for a "group", which means we fired a single round, three times and walked to the target to check our marks. If our group was within a 4 cm square area, we would start adjusting either our far "iron sight" up or down, or the near "iron sight" left or right. Each time we would fire three single rounds and check our positioning.

(Sighting in the "iron sights"...the first group is in the lower right corner and the next two groups show me moving closer to center mass.)

After this was accomplished, we sighted in our M68...the laser scope. With this scope, we don't use our iron sights at all. Rather, once the laser is sighted in, we look through the scope and put the little red dot on the target and fire. I believe this was made for goofballs like me who have rarely fired a gun...very easy. The "sighting in" portion of the M68 was very similar to that of the iron sights. Again, first we shoot for a "group" and then adjust a "traversing" (right or left) or "elevation" dial to march our group closer to the "center mass" of the target...center mass basically refers to the bull's eye. The only way this works, is if the shooter has the same sight picture every time. This means, I will always look at the same point on the paper target (center mass) and shoot my three rounds. Therefore, the targeting mechanism moves, not my view of the sight picture. I know I didn't explain that very well, so feel free to ask me about it later.

(M68 Laser sighting in...progressively, each group moves towards center mass.)

Once our M4's were sighted in, we moved down to the qualification range and collected our ammunition. There were between 16-18 lanes on this range. As we moved out to our respective lanes, we were met by an instructor who would be with us during the entirety of the shoot. His job...as was the case, all were men...was to help us maintain safety with the weapon and direct us as to which targets were going to pop up. These targets were set between 50 and 300 meters, at intervals of 25-50 meters. Honestly, I can't remember where each one was. Anyway, the targets were green silhouettes of people that would fall down once hit, though I think many of my targets that were broken...because they didn't go down...OK, maybe I'm making that up.

For the qualification, the initial phase was spent standing in a fox hole (a cement box built into the ground) with our M4 supported on sand bags.

(My teammate firing from the "fox hole" and the instructor to his left.)

We used one 20 round magazine for 20 targets. The second phase consisted of a 10 round magazine for 10 targets in the fox hole, unsupported by the sand bags. Finally, the third phase was conducted out of the fox hole, in the kneeling position; firing 10 rounds for 10 targets. This last position of firing was the most difficult. It's amazing how tired one becomes over the course of the qualification and how hard it is to steady your weapon without any support. But, I believe this is part of the intent, to familiarize us with the weapon, our proficiencies, and limitations. Overall, I shot 31 out of 40 targets for a designation of "Sharp Shooter". Not bad for my first time. We have some pretty good shooters on our Navy-Army team, and a couple scored at the Expert level...36/40.

We were done with the daytime qualification by 1100 and headed back to the barracks for a little "R & R". As with the larger "Crew Serve" weapons on the prior range day, we still needed to come back for the nighttime qualification.

Back at the range by 2000, we received our safety brief and had our PEC 2 Infrared Lasers sighted in by the instructors. Wait a minute..."what is a PEC 2?" you ask. Well, this is another laser sight on our M4 that allows us to target objectives at night, while wearing our night vision goggles (NVG's). It's a very cool device. Essentially, while wearing the NVG's, you turn on your PEC 2 and point your weapon down range. Once you see the bright, light-green dot on the target...Fire! Due to the nature of this laser, you don't even need to look through your sights, rather you can "shoot from the hip" so to speak. One interesting point about this night shoot is that unless there is some ambient light source creating enough light to see the target, or the target is holding a light, you can't necessarily see them. So, as each target popped up, a flashing light would appear, center mass. Now, because most of our enemy would not click a flashlight on and off at us repeatedly, the flashing light was to simulate gunfire from the end of their weapon...clever. Again, we had 40 targets. However, all of our shots were from the standing fox hole position. And again, I got a "Sharp Shooter" classification...couldn't break into the Expert level.

This was a lot of fun and my instructor, Staff Seargent Keller, was very cool and very helpful.

To top it off, we weren't out at the range until 0500 the next morning either. I think we finished up by 2300 and were home by 2330...beautiful.

(Some of my teammates hanging out in the bleachers following their qualifications.)

(Mike, aka "Fifty Cal", just chillin'.)

(I don't know who this is, but he keeps popping up in my pictures.)

Day 41-42 (Sat & Sun May 9-10, 2009)

2009-05-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a nice, relaxing day. I think I slept until 1030...fantastic! After doing very little, aside from a light workout, some of our team members were going to make margaritas outside around dinner time. As luck would have it, another group of Army Reservists, were also planning a little BBQ. Forces collided, stars aligned, the heavens were appeased...in other words, we combined efforts and had a big ol' BBQ with alcohol.

Following the BBQ, a few of us went to the LT Dan Band concert being put on for free on base. The band is named for it's base player, Gary Sinise. Ring a bell? Gary Sinise is a movie and TV star from such shows as CSI: New York, Apollo 13 and probably most notably, Forrest Gump...hence the LT Dan reference. They sang music from the 70's all the way up to contemporary. It was great. And, after learning that Gary and his band do free concerts for the troops and their families, and how supportive and grateful he is...I am a huge fan. Thank you Mr. Sinise.

Stage for the band.

Gary Sinise playing in the crowd.

Gary Sinise playing on stage with one of the singers.

Sunday...more sleeping in. I was very lazy today.

Day 40 (Friday May 8, 2009)

2009-05-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

In the previous episode, we found our "hero" (quit laughing) thoroughly exhausted from a long day's shoot...

My quick nap lasted about 80 minutes before having to get up and head to a classroom where we needed to clean our weapons from last night's shooting extravaganza. What began as an hour and a half instruction and practical on cleaning turned into an 8 hour cleansing of all things metal. (Not so bad, but most of us had only a little over an hour of sleep in the past day and a half...felt like residency again.) First, the weapons we shot the night before were, basically, dipped in a solvent tank to help remove or loosen up the carbon and copper deposits that build up over the course of firing. While this helped, it's amazing how stingy some of these deposits are and where they accumulate...always in the smallest, most difficult places to get to. Anywho, our Navy-Army teams trudged admirably and knocked out every weapon we used...and probably some we didn't. I'm pretty sure our instructors added a few that needed to be done and figured our free labor was better than theirs.

Our only real break in the day (from cleaning) was a trip to the EST (Engagement Skills Trainer). Here, we shot our M4's (personal rifle) for the first time. Well, let me clarify; we didn't actually shot them as much as we attached a laser to the end of them and dry-fired them at targets. This simulator exercise was done in a building where we shot at targets on a screen about 10-15 meters away. The screen simulated targets at distances from 50 to 300 meters (I think). It was fun, however, one of the three positions we shot in was lying on our bellies with sand bags supporting the weapon (called "prone supported"). This, in itself, would not have been so bad had it not been for my helmet continually falling into my field of vision...my body armor was pushing on the back of the helmet forcing the front down. But, after I took off my gloves and stuffed them into the inside of my helmet, it sat higher on my head and seemed to work just fine. The other two positions we shot in were the "prone unsupported" where we lean on our elbows, and "kneeling unsupported". I shot well enough to score a "Sharp Shooter" qualification, hitting 31/40 targets.

As the day ended, I was officially sapped. In bed by 2030, asleep by 2031.

While I don't have any pictures for this day, I do have a picture my sister sent me, entitled...Your Care Package. Cute, huh? This is Isabella and I's nephew, Maddex.

Day 38-39 (Wed & Thurs May 6-7, 2009)

2009-05-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone. Wednesday was a pretty light day...I think I was done by 1200. Therefore, I have elected to say very little about it; after all it's my blog and I can do what I want.

Sorry, I was feeling a bit sassy.

Thursday...RANGE DAY!!!! Let's shoot stuff!

Alright, here we go. Our day began at 0430. That's right, the infamous barracks lights dazzled us with their brilliance awfully early this morning. However, I think everyone was a little excited to make it to our first day on the range, so tolerance for the wake up call was certainly evident. That being said, I dug myself out of the Hooch (my bunk) and threw on my battle rattle and made my way out to the Hum-V. But, first thing's first...as you'll notice in the initial picture...coffee was necessary. Yum, love that cup o' Jo.

I don't believe I've described what our convoys, or more appropriately named "Mounted Combat Patrols" entail. It's quite the process. Prior to our team of 7 vehicles pulling out of the parking lot, we must ready our individual transports. And, in true military fashion, there is a checklist. With that, we comb over the vehicle, checking lights, oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, dash panel measurements, and radios. Additionally, each vehicle has an oil drip pan under the engine and a chalk block that must be put away before traveling. There is more, but I'm sure you get the picture. As I said before, we have a team of 7 vehicles, broken down into 2 teams, "Blackbeard" and "Neptune". For those interested, the names are derived as a result of our Navy heritage. I am part of the Neptune crew.

(If I haven't mentioned this, we have approximately 25 Navy personnel and 4 Army personnel. The Navy contingency is wholly medical whereas our Army brethren are a logistics crew. Our Navy ranks range from E6 to Chief (enlisted) and LTJG to Commander (officer). There is a Major, Sergeant First Class and two Staff Sergeants in the Army crew.)

Having checked the boxes, we proceeded by convoy, 11 miles into the interior of Fort Riley where multiple firing ranges are organized into a circle...all firing to the center. Mind you, the radius of this range is many miles. Hopefully, that answers your questions in regards to worrying about the guy on the opposite side of the range firing in your direction. (I know I thought about it.) When we arrived at range 7 (0730), we all gathered in a bleacher area for a safety briefing. There were a total of 80-90 participants in this exercise, 25 Navy, 4 Army and 50-60 Air Force.

After the briefing, we meandered down to the ammunition stockpile at the base of the observation tower in the above picture, gathered one .50 Cal belt (50 rounds...one round = one bullet) and another box containing a 100 round belt. Andrew (the Internist and Critical Care doc) was my battle buddy for the day. Essentially, we were always paired for our time on range. Andrew also knows a bit more than I do about weapons, so he helped me throughout our qualifications on each weapon.

Lookin' tough...as usual.

Total of 150 rounds of .50 Cal ammo.

Dat's a whole lot'a ammo...all .50 Cal rounds.

As you can see, we all stood in a line awaiting our turn to occupy one of ten Hum-V's with a .50 Cal gun mounted in the gun turret. Since Andrew and I weren't in the first group, as we stood by, it became painfully evident that our ear protection, affectionately called "ear pro", was most necessary. These weapons fire with a rather emphatic "pop"...kinda gets your adrenaline going.

Finally it was our turn. I decided to go first and from the minute I crawled onto the Hum-V and lowered myself down into the turret, I felt as though I just consumed 5 shots of espresso, a six-pack of Mountain Dew and washed it all down with a Red Bull...apparently it gives you wings???? In other words, I was mildly excited.

While I would assume most of you have not been inside of a Hum-V turret, it's a lot like a round sun roof, but you stand on the middle console. Also, it's not as comfortable standing in this hole and trying to brace yourself while you line up your shot and prepare for the "kick-back" of the weapon. But, this is not suppose to be your living room Lazy Boy recliner either. You can swivel the turret from side to side and lock it in place as you see fit.

Now, after I settled in, the instructor (a contract worker who was a former infantryman in the Army) acquainted me with the weapon and what they call the T & E. The "T" stands for traverse (meaning side to side movement) and the "E" stands for elevation (self explanatory). Traversing was accomplished with the turret swivel, while elevation was altered up or down with a wheel knob located under the weapon (see my left hand in the picture above...it's on the elevation knob) With such a large weapon, one needs these movements to adjust the weapon for proper sight pictures. A "sight picture" is the picture of the target one sees through the weapon sights as one lines up the shot.

Below is a picture of the range. The mounds of dirt are set at different distances. On the right side, you may notice to two dark posts just to the left of the "3-4" sign. It is one of the targets that pops up and down throughout the qualification. That particular target is located at 600 meters (1800 feet). The remaining targets for the .50 Cal are located at 400, 500, 700, 800, and 1000 meters (multiply meters times 3 to get the distance in feet). Shooting at the 1000 meter target is over a half mile away...not a close shot.

Several times I have mentioned "qualification". For each weapon we fire, we are tasked with hitting a certain number of targets over a period of time. The .50 Cal, requires hitting 7 out of 10 targets over the course of 13 minutes to qualify. The targets initially pop up one at a time (one at each distance, for total of 6) and then two at a time (for the remaining 4 targets). Our 2 Navy-Army teams needed a minimum of 8 out of 29 people to qualify for our group to move on. Everyone on our teams did well and many qualified. I was lucky and hit 8/10. I give a lot of credit to my instructor who was helping me line up my shots by telling me "right...left...up 1...down 2".

Now, shooting the weapon is completely different than I anticipated. You don't hold the weapon like a normal rifle, or pull the trigger in the same way. Instead, you hold two vertical handles on the end of the gun and use your thumbs to depress the trigger. Admittedly, I thought there would be a huge "kick" with each shot, but the mounting mitigates the recoil for the most part. Sheepishly though, I think I closed my eyes the first few times. (Please check out the video at the bottom of this blog to see me shooting the .50 Cal.) I know I said earlier in my blogging that the Hum-V driving day was the best, but in the first few hours of this day...WAY COOLER!

JC "Major Christenson" and I hanging out, awaiting our turn.

Exhausted from the excitement and .50 Cal qualification, we all took a little break in the bunker where a couple of the Army junior enlisted were selling hot dogs, chips and sodas...and Hostess cream-filled cakes. We were able to take our battle rattle off in this bunker, which was heaven.

Following the .50 Cal qualification, we essentially went through the same motions and fired both the 240 Bravo and 249 SAW. I think we were given 200 rounds a piece for these weapons. For the "Gun Club" aficionados, the 240 Bravo shoots a 7.62 millimeter round and the 249 SAW shoots a 5.56 mm round. Below, you can see the 240 Bravo.

It looks and feels more like a conventional gun with a butt stock and trigger where my right hand is. This was a more difficult weapon to shoot...for me. While the .50 Cal was more stable and heavy, this weapon was a bit "squirrely". The recoil after firing wasn't bad at all, but because the gun is so much more mobile in the turret, it moves easily after each round is fired. The 249 SAW was even smaller and characteristically the same. In regards to the targets for both of these weapons, I believe the 240 Bravo targets were from 200 to 800 meters and the 249 SAW targets were from 100 to 600 meters. Qualification on both of these weapons was either 6 or 7 out to 10 targets...sadly, I didn't get either. I think I only hit 5 targets on the 240 B and 4 targets on the 249 SAW. That was a tough pill to swallow. But, the remainder of our team did well and enough people qualified.

This was the target range for the 240 Bravo. Again, you can see the dark posts, shaped like people, on the mounds in the distance.

Here I am taking a little afternoon break in the parking lot. It was hot and I was a bit tired from lugging that battle rattle around all day.

After all the Navy, Army and Air Force teams finished shooting all three weapons, we were allowed to make our way back to Camp Funston and grab some chow before the night shoot. One would think this shouldn't be too hard...just drive the vehicle back down the same road you came on in the morning. Well...let me elaborate for a few sentences on how that went. All 7 vehicles moved out and before you knew it, we were on a different road than what we came in on. Fortunately, it was simply a dirt road paralleling the paved road. But, I felt as though it was taunting us the whole way, because we couldn't go as fast. Adding insult to injury, the Air Force Hum-V's were on the paved road and passed us at an alarming rate...rats. When we finally made it onto the paved road, we missed one of the turns...SH&T!!! So, we made a "U" turn in the middle of the road and proceeded in the correct direction. However, we weren't done yet. Not more than 5 minutes into the drive, one of our vehicles "smelled something burning". Double SH%T!!! So, we pulled to the side of the road, ditched the defunked Hum-V, loaded the orphans into a flat-bed Hum-V like illegal aliens on a farm, and drove back to the barracks. All in all, it took us at least twice as long to get to base as it should have...oh good fun (this is sarcasm). It had already been a long day, but we were just getting started...

Bellies full and minds fraught with anticipation for the night shoot, we convoyed back up to range 7. Following another safety brief, we lined up to gather more ammunition for the .50 Cal shoot. The sun didn't actually go down until about 2000, but we had to wait for the sky to become dark enough to make the shoot worth while. By 2130, it was on. We didn't use Night Vision Goggles (NVG) for this; instead, we used a night optic device called a PAS 13 Thermal Weapon Sight. This kicks butt. Since a normal NVG uses some ambient light to distinguish images, we would have required some light source down range either on or from the target to detect them. In the case of the PAS 13, the targets were illuminated by the emitting thermal energy (a heater) like a human being or a hot gun barrel. Down range, the targets light up bright green, or black, depending on your setting. Then, it was pretty much the same techniques as the daytime shoot. We used the same optics for the 240 Bravo as well. (There was no 249 SAW shoot this evening.)

As a Navy-Army crew, we all shot well and moved through our range shoot pretty quickly, however, the Air Force had more people and required more people to qualify on the .50 Cal at night. They weren't doing so hot. So, by 2300, most of our group sought shelter and rest (as seen below). I couldn't sleep, but I did take my battle rattle off...soooo much better.

Well, the Air Force finished their .50 Cal shoot by about 0000. Thus, onto the 240 Bravo. Yes, we still needed to complete that shoot. Longer story made shorter, we concluded shooting around 0330. After "policing brass", which means, "now that you've shot all these rounds...go pick up the brass casings", we loaded up the Hum-V's and set out for home. All I know is that my watch said 0500 by the time I took a shower and crawled back into the "Hooch" for a quick nap...

To Be Continued...

Update

2009-05-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I realize that my blog is severely behind, however, I've been trying to get it up to date...in chunks. So, please be patient if you are reading along. If you are coming in periodically, feel free to look back a few dates, as I have probably placed new posts.

I finally figured out how to put movies on this blog site so if you like, go back to May 2, 2009 (in the Blog Archive section) and scroll to the bottom. There will be a movie of the HEAT (Hum-V, Egress, Assistance, Trainer) where we get turned upside down in the Hum-V and had to get out.

I hope you are all still enjoying the site. Take care and I hope to you are all doing well.

Deej

Day 37 (Tuesday May 5, 2009)

2009-05-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Guns, guns, guns...and Hum-Vs...

Today was fraught with big equipment gathering for our team. We started the day by receiving our Hum-Vs and Crew Serve Weapons (50 Cal, 240 Bravo, and the 249 SAW (squad automatic weapon)). These weapons are named as such because it takes a crew to service and use them.

(Jerry looking tough...he is our driver)

(Andrew as the Truck Commander in the front seat and Travis as a Dismount in the rear)

(Me, just chillin' as the vehicle medic and dismount)

(Mike, manning the turret...he was in a different vehicle)

These next few pictures are of our team waiting to turn our Crew Serve Weapons into the armory.

(Lt to Rt: Weber, Wolf and Cantorna...Charlie's Angels)

(This is our Hum-V's crew: Andrew, Travis, Jerry and myself...yes, I'm the only one wearing a helmet...So.)

In the afternoon, we had a class called PMI (Preventive Maintenance Inspection). Here, the Army showed us how to disassemble, assemble, and perform function checks on the 240 Bravo, 249 SAW, 50 Cal and weapons we will encounter in Afghanistan such as the AK 47, RPK and the Dragunov Sniper Rifle.

(Lt to Rt: Tim flashing the peace sign, Dan turned away and Les with the 240 Bravo)

(Me trying to figure out how to make the black thingy work)

(Part of the 50 Cal...the barrel (about 4 feet long) is missing)

(Here are the weapons we may find our counterparts and insurgents using. You may also notice the two square black objects on both sides of the gun closest to the camera. These are night vision optics, mounted on the weapons.)

Day 36 (Monday May 4, 2009)

2009-05-16T17:55:00.000-07:00

I am the water specialist...

As I mentioned in the previous blog, we didn't have an obligation until 1200. And, as luck would have it, our only tasks of the day were to watch or participate in two leadership engagements. If you don't recall what a leadership engagement is, well, I'll tell you know. It is a mock meeting in which a few members of our team role play different scenarios with either our Afghan counterparts (Afghan National Army-ANA) or Coalition Forces. Because we are going as advisors, the Army is prepping us for what we can expect out of these meetings.

Today, Mike was given the responsibility of leading a meeting and picked me as his "water specialist". Why, you ask. In the previous meeting, as we were told, the village well had run dry and there was no more water for the people or their crops. Our team was tasked with meeting with the police chief, village elder and provincial governor to discuss how we could help in their situation. Because we are advisors, we advise the ANA officials who in turn offer assistance to the Afghan people. Wow, did anyone follow that? I'm not even sure if I did.

(Here, Mike and I are speaking with the Afghan Nat'l Army Colonel about what we will address with the village. Maybe it's me, but I look like I'm either confused or disinterested in this picture...honest though, I was paying attention.)

So, during the meeting, Mike and I took turns speaking. Initially, we greeted the Afghans with bits of Dari that we learned in our language class. Then, we were asked, and in turn asked, how every one's families were doing. We were also offered tea (chi tea), which is apparently the custom in Afghanistan. Mind you, all of this is done through interpreters. Next, we got down to brass tax...so to speak. We outlined what our plans were for the short and long terms in helping the village. The Afghans followed up with questions. Finally, we agreed on what needed to be done and ended the meeting. "It was a good meeting overall"...at least that's what they tell us in every meeting.

(This picture has a lot going on, but I'll try to explain. The two individuals on the left are from the village. The man in the light brown robe is the governor and the other man represents the Afghan Police. On the right, the first man in fatigues is the ANA Colonel, the second man in civilian clothes is the interpreter and Mike is at the end of the couch. And lastly, I am sitting across from the camera. On the table you can see cups and a tea pot. The other soldiers you see in the picture are our team members watching the meeting. One more thing, these couches are not very comfortable...just saying.)

Days 33-35 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday May 1-3 2009)

2009-05-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home...

I certainly consider myself very fortunate to be back home and seeing Isabella so soon. I know some of my team members have not had my same opportunities to visit friends (the Paynes) and their families.

While at home, aside from assuming my rightful place on the couch in front of the TV for some much needed ESPN-time, Isabella and I saw the movie, X-Men Origins, ate Mexican at Old Town, watched DVR episodes of American Idol and The Amazing Race, had an Acai "The Works" and a coffee at Java Jones, and indulged in Phil's BBQ...I love that place.

Just good to be home with my wife.

On Sunday, as we were heading to the airport and grabbing a bite to eat, I found out the airline was delayed. So, I was able to spend a few more hours with Izzy; I'll take what I can get. Because of the delay, Mike and I didn't get into KC until 2300. Notably absent was Andrew, but he flew his own plane back to Fort Riley. Josh was there waiting for us, as he was coming from San Francisco. By the time we pulled into the parking lot at Camp Funston, it was 0100. On a good note though, our first obligation of Monday wasn't until 1200 noon, so I got to sleep in...I like sleep.

Days 31, 32 (Wednesday & Thursday April 29, 30, 2009))

2009-05-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

"Roger Roger, what's your vector Victor?", Over.

(Airplane, the movie)

I'm combining these two days because they were pretty much the same. This was our introduction to "Comms" or communications via several different radios. I don't know that I've said this in a while, or if at all, but I am getting to do things that I never thought I would. I suppose, this is my true introduction to the military...I'm getting to play soldier now.

However, please do not let my words slight the importance of all the Army is teaching us. I appreciate all the teaching and while I hope I don't have to utilize much of it, I will be as ready as I can with the time they've given me.

Anyway, back to "Comms". Essentially, they taught us how to use 4 or 5 different radios to communicate with one another (for example: from Hum-V to Hum-V or Hum-V to Base or Hum-V to Aircraft) While this was fairly interesting, most of the information was presented in such a fast manner that it was difficult to initially get a grasp. But, by the end of the first day, the proverbial picture was much clearer.

Good tools to possess, but as the three day weekend approached by 1500, Andrew, Mike, Josh and I were on the road, heading for Kansas City International Airport for a trip back to San Diego. We got into San Diego by 2300 and Isabella was waiting in the airport for me...how great to see her. We gave Mike a ride to his house in Coronado and completely surprised his family; you see, he didn't tell them he was coming home. This was Mike's first trip back to see his family since coming to Kansas. Good times...good times.

(One of the many radios they taught us to use)

(Lt to Rt: Travis, Mike, & Jerry...Mike has no idea what's going on.)

Day 30 (Tuesday April 28, 2009...Bye Bye Izzy

2009-05-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

After a raucous good time at yesterday's class, we slowed things back down again with another day of lectures. Not much to say about these except, the I had a nice break in the day as Isabella was able to come have lunch with me before heading back to San Diego. It was fantastic having her out here and fortunately, with a three day weekend coming up, I will get to see her again as I am traveling back to San Diego for a few days. Here are a few pictures Isabella took of the Fort Riley Campus.

(Here I am waving goodbye to Isabella and headed to class)

(Self explanatory)

(This is what Main Fort Riley Campus looks like)

(On base housing at Main Campus)

(Izzy's room at Will Hall when she came to visit)

(Statue on Fort Riley)

(Monument on Camp Funston)

Day 29...Part II (PM)

2009-05-15T13:56:00.001-07:00

The second part of the day was a bit more interesting. For this exercise, our group of 30 people was split into teams of 10. Our objective was to secure our area, evacuate our casualties, perform the necessary medical interventions to stablize them, and medivac them out of the area via the incoming helicopters. Easy, right?...no problem. This exercise was performed outside in a makeshift "battle zone" compound. This would have been great, except for the fact that is had rained rather hard the night before and was drizzling today, making the ground sloppy and muddy. In order to simulate gunfire, we were given paintball guns to fire on the opposing forces (our instructors who were playing the bad guys and firing paintballs at us). There were also explosions, sirens, purple smoke and additional instructors yelling at us the whole time. Again, this was designed to provide distraction and chaos, similar to battle field conditions. As our team moved into the staging area, we were told there was a Hum-V hit by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and there were 3 wounded soldiers, all taking enemy fire.

Next came a kick in the butt as we moved out the door and a "go gettem", for morale. Moving our way to the Hum-V, we returned fire on the enemy and strategically maneuvered to the crash site. After we arrived, the enemy (instructors) quit firing on us and we appreciated this... Now came what was easily the most difficult part, extracting the soldiers out of the vehicle. These were not real soldiers, but manikins weighing 180 lbs each. WOW!!! Combine the weight, smooth plastic manikins and sloppy wet mud, and you have a recipe for disaster. It was incredibly difficult removing these "soldiers" and once they were extracted, carrying them to a safe location was almost just as hard.

While two groups of 4 teammates each went with a soldier, myself and another teammate ended up caring for the third. The two larger groups had litters (stretchers) to carry out the soldiers while my little group had only ourselves. It's been a long time since I've worked so hard trying to hang on to a 180 lb object and carry it 150 feet...in full battle rattle...Oh wait, I've never done that! It was hard...I know, nag nag nag.

None the less, we successfully moved the patients through a tunnel and over a barrier and began the life-sustaining procedures (similar to what I described in the morning exam) in the dark rooms. The evolution ended after we moved all three soldiers another 200 feet to a make believe helicopter and gave the medics our reports. I was "on my knees" and "panting" exhausted. And to think, I was convinced I was in decent shape...not quite. But, a valuable experience and even a little fun. I got pretty dirty too.

After returning to the barracks and showering (oh, and I needed it), Isabella picked me up and we grabbed a quite bite. Completely baked, there was only one thing to do...go the Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner!!! Yeah! Isabella and I asked one of my friends to come along. (See pix below) What a day.

(check out the video below...should give you an idea of our day.)

Day 29 (Monday April 27, 2009)...Play day part I (AM)

2009-05-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Back to work after the all-to-short weekend...

Today's instruction was a bit more exciting than the epic lecture day we endured on Saturday. Today was all play. In the morning, we took the knowledge we learned in the classroom and applied it during live, simulated scenarios.

(This is our manikin to work on)

There were four stations set up, with a dummy patient in each one. We donned our full battle rattle and had our medic bags with us as they turned out the lights, pumped smoke into the rooms and turned on siren and gun blast noises to distract us. The idea was to simulate an actual combat zone. Once the instructors were ready, we were asked to go to our individual stations and assess our patients.

This is a bit different than BLS (Basic Life Support) or ACLS (Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Support) for those whole have done this. While we consider the ABC's (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) of emergencies, what they teach in the military is to first secure the area. Securing the area means returning gunfire as necessary and or protecting yourself prior to helping the soldier. Secondly, arterial bleeding (typically from amputations) has shown to be the number one killer to those injured and therefore, we are to apply tourniquets where necessary prior to moving the patient or even treating the airway. Next, we move the patient to a secure location. Now comes the airway. Finally, more familiar territory. I even had a chance to teach a little during this lecture on the Saturday course. During this assessment, we check breathing and do one of three basic maneuvers: place a "nasal pharyngeal airway" (NPA) into the nose of a unconscious or semi-unconscious patient to relieve any obstruction; place a "combi-tube" (easily placed tube into the trachea or esophagus used to breath for someone) into the airway, if the NPA isn't working; or do an emergency cricothyrotomy. For those who don't know what that last long word is; a cricothyrotomy is a procedure for placing a breathing tube into the trachea ("windpipe") at the level of the "Adam's Apple". The reason being, we can't gain access to the throat via the mouth due to an obstruction of some kind. This is somewhat gruesome for the faint of heart, as we use a scalpel to cut into the throat and shove the tube in...eeewwww. Just kidding...I mean about the "eeewwww" part.

(This is our instructor)

Well, once the airway is secured our next step is to check out the body for other wounds. The third leading cause of death in the field of battle is a wound to the chest. This can cause a pneumothorax or tension pneumothorax (air filling one side of the chest cavity between the lung and the chest wall). This will collapse the lung making it difficult to breath and possibly inhibit blood flow to and through the heart if the pressure builds too high. Bad stuff. We address this by putting a plastic cover over the wound to keep air from getting into the chest causing the pressure to rise. Unfortunately, the air in the chest cavity can build up and we need to relieve that pressure with a needle placed through the chest to let out the air...placed about 3 inches below your collar bone and above your nipple..."Is it a bit nipply in here..." Clark W. Griswold, Christmas Vacation. Finally, we place an IV and keep the patients warm until help arrives to transport them to a medical facility. For testing purposes, this whole process had to be accomplished in less than 15 minutes...no problem.

(This room was at least this smoky and almost pitch black.)

Day 28 (Sunday April 26, 2009)

2009-05-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

...Aaawww, a day off...

Looking forward to a nice, easy day off, Isabella and I started out with breakfast at a place called The Chef, in downtown Manhattan. Judging by the line of people waiting outside, we assumed the selection was a good one. Fortunately, we were right. Good food!!! Still taking it easy, Isabella gave in to my movie addiction and let us go to The Fast and Furious movie. With a good portion of the day to burn, we drove around the Kansas State University campus and then took in an early dinner at a local pseudo-Mexican restaurant. By then, we were spent and called it a day.

Sorry I don't more now, but tomorrow's another day...(well that was brilliant insight, wasn't it?)

Nothing like a Harry Steak

2009-05-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

Day 27 (Saturday April 25, 2009)

Nuts! I hated having to work on a Saturday, especially while Isabella was visiting. Today’s class was “Advanced Med”. Unfortunately, this day was filled with lectures meant for medics, not docs; meaning it was too basic and by 1500, I was bored out of my skull. That’s OK though, not all instruction can be gripping.

Isabella spent the day touring Manhattan, relaxing and patiently waiting for me. And in her usual spectacular fashion, cheered me up immediately when I saw her as she picked me up. (She also was able to come pick me up at lunch. We had pizza and wings...nice break in the day.) Tonight, we went to Harry’s Steak House. This is apparently one of the nicer establishments in the downtown area. I had the filet mignon royale (fancy for steak with crab on top) and Izzy had the Salmon. The meals were delicious. Following dinner, we saw Observe and Protect. This movie probably falls into a Seth Rogen cult classic. Not necessarily for the faint of heart, it was entertaining. As both of us were tired from a long day, we retreated to Baskin Robbins and then the Arm Lodge and called it a night.

Having Isabella here in Kansas has really been a treat and made the time here much more tolerable. She’s AWESOME!!!

2009-05-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Day 26 (Friday April 24, 2009)...CLS and a Hefeweizen?

Isabella drove me down to the barracks in the morning and I prepared to tackle another day of Combat Life Saver class. This was a testing day for us. Having applied the skills acquired in yesterday’s class, we had stations set up test our skills…nunchuck skills…bow hunting skills…computer hacking skills…Napolean Dynamite reference for those not tracking. The exam was much like that of a Basic Life Saver coarse or an Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Saver coarse…though not as strict. Next, we were given a written test of 40 questions. Not too tough. Finally, they taught us how to put in IV’s in one another. I couldn’t handle all the blood and flunked…just kidding. I did, however, let our inexperienced team leader put one in me. And I must say, he did a great job; not a drop of blood.

(The first picture is Mike (radiologist) putting an IV in Josh (family practice doc). Travis and Jerry are in the background acting interested. The second picture is me torturing our team leader with an IV...I don't think it hurt that bad.

Awesome! We were out by 1400. So, I called up Isabella and we drove into Manhattan and ate at the Little Apple Brewing Company. The food wasn’t bad but when I asked the waitress for a homegrown microbrew similar to a hefeweizen, all I received was a blank stare. Not one to dwell on her lack of lager knowledge, I politely asked for the Winter Wheat Ale. It tasted like a Budweiser…oh well. Still early in the evening, we were a little bored and ended up at the Manhattan mall. Sorry, that just sounds funny. What can I say, though, it’s a small town. Having walked off dinner, we called it a night and went to our room to watch a movie and relax.

2009-05-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

Day 25 (Thursday April 23, 2009)

Isabella flew into Kansas today and drove from Kansas City International Airport to Fort Riley. But, before she arrived, we had class…

COMBAT LIFE SAVER (CLS)...day 1. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? Essentially, this is the life-saving course designed to provide basic and applicable knowledge and skills to every soldier deployed. The course is tailored to combat situations and what we, as soldiers, can do in the field to sustain life and transport the wounded to an advanced care arena where critical care docs can work their magic. This was a good class for even the docs to experience; knowing what the priorities are of the medics in the field can only help us do our job better. I’ve included a few pictures from the day. Here is one of our Majors volunteering to have a Nasal Pharyngeal Airway put in his nose…awake…yuck. This airway device is a tube that extends from the tip of the nose to the back of the throat, creating a passage way for air to enter. This is helpful when unconscious or semi-conscious patients can’t keep their tongue from falling against the back of the throat, inevitably blocking air movement. Here, we were taught how to use a “litter” to transport a patient. A litter is a historical military term (as far as I know) for a stretcher used to carry out the wounded.

Check out the goofy look on the guy looking at the camera instead of paying attention to class.

After the Combat Life Saver class, we had another “Leader Engagement” in which two of our team members practiced using an interpreter to navigate through a meeting.

Anxious to bolt from the last task of the day, I ran back to the barracks, called up Isabella and had her come pick me up. She found a room at the Army Lodge on base, which made it very convenient to see her once our training exercises were complete. We took it easy and just relaxed. It was great to have her there. I missed her terribly. Yes, as you may have suspected, I didn’t return to my 39 roommates and the guy who snores two bunks down from me. And, I didn’t miss it a bit.

2009-05-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

Day 24 (Wednesday April 22, 2009)

After such a long day playing with the Hummers, we were able to sleep in and report back to the motor pool for an additional Power Point presentation on tactical HMMWV movement at 1000. Following lunch, we broke up into groups of 14-15 and prepared for a mission. Oooo, a mission! Suspenseful, huh? The evolution was a test for us, as a group, to move from point A to point B in a “Mobile Combat Patrol”…I think I’m saying that correctly. All I know is it’s not suppose to be a “Convoy”. Along this journey, we were likely to (1)encounter an IED (strategically signaled by a large orange cone, because the groups before us were not picking up on the bomb at the side of the road), (2)have one of our three Hummers blown up by the IED, (3)tow the targeted Hummer out of danger and finally, (4)change a flat tire on the Hummer…not a bad day’s work for a bunch of Newbies. Our Hummer consisted of myself (backseat guy), Andrew, an Internal Med/Critical Care doc as the TC (Truck Commander), Mike, a Radiologist, as the gunner (coolest job), Jerry (Radiology Tech) as the driver and Travis (Pharmacy Tech) as another backseat guy. We were all stationed in the first Hummer of the patrol. Great. I love being the rabbit. (Yes, that was sarcasm). Having spotted the IED with the greatest of ease, we were informed that our second of three Hummers was hit by the IED. Phew, nice not getting blown up…sorry Hummer number 2. Having towed Hummer number 2 out of danger, I changed the Hummer tire with 3 other guys. Nascar pitcrews have nothing on us…except for power ratchets, power jacks, organization and experience. Other than that, we rocked.

A shorter day in many respects, but a greater appreciation for the “strategery” involved in patrols. I didn't have any pictures from this day so I put one in from the previous night. Here you go...that's right, take it in. Impressive and intimidating.

2009-05-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

As you may have figured out, I am recapping from about two weeks ago. This blogging is hard stuff; I've never been much of a journalist.

By the way, and I say this with heart-felt sincerity, "thank you" to everyone who has visited the blog site, commented on the blog site or written me emails while I've been training. It is incredibly uplifting to know I have so many friends and family following and supporting me in this endeavor.

With that...here we go.

Day 22 (Monday April 20, 2009)

Today we learned about IED's. IED stands for Improvised Explosive Device. Essentially, these are landmines placed by insurgents. This was an incredibly important class considering the environment to which we are traveling. They taught us everything from what they look like to how they are employed to where they are typically placed. By the end of the class, I was scared @#$%less. After the classroom work, we were taken outdoors, marched a little over a mile in full "Battle Rattle" and shown how to investigate the territory for IED's. To simulate real-life scenarios, we worked with stationary HMMWV's and a make-shift town (check out the pictures).

OK, Time out. Let me explain a few things first. "Battle Rattle" means body armor and weighs somewhere between 35-70 lbs depending on what exactly you're wearing and HMMWV (Hum-V) stands for "Highly Mobile Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle". The HMMWV's we will be using weigh about 12000 lbs...but we don't have to carry those...sorry, bad joke. (In the picture below, I'm the one in the middle.)

This was all very practical, though as I've stated before, I hope I never have to use this information.

Day 23 (Tuesday April 21, 2009)

Driver's Training today ... yee-haawwww!!! (That was my best Dukes of Hazard holler.) Having checked out our weapons in the morning, by afternoon, we marched in full Battle Rattle over to the motor pool to learn about HMMWV's. (We check out our weapons without ammunition and carry them around during certain evolutions. The idea being, those weapons are considered our "Battle Buddies" and we need to be aware of their presence at all times.) After an initial Power Point brief, because everything in the military is preceded by a Power Point brief, we broke down into groups of 4 and headed to the Hummers.

With one supervisor in the passenger seat, three of us assumed the driver's seat and the two back seats, while the fourth person manned the gun turret (this is where the gunner sits and looks out the top of the vehicle).

We drove out into the middle to Fort Riley and bounced around the countryside for about an hour; all taking turns driving. Unfortunately, I never made it into the gunner's seat. I'm a little disappointed (this is me pouting). Following our drive through rural Kansas, we headed back to the motor pool and learned how to change a flat tire on a HMMWV. This instruction was bound to happen, yet due to a blown tire on our outing, we experienced it a little sooner. We also learned out to tow another HMMWV, both with an A frame straight bar and with a Nylon strap, called a "hasty tow". The hasty tow is appropriate when you are under fire and need to leave immediately.

Finally, the last exercise of the afternoon was a ride through the "HEAT". Oooo, what is the HEAT you ask. Well, it is the HMMWV Egress Assistance Trainer. And again...you still might be asking "what is the HEAT?" Basically, it is a Hum-V simulator for roll-over accidents and a training aide to practice escaping the vehicle. (I tried to post a short video on what this looks like, but I couldn't get it to work.) After entering the vehicle and seat belting in, the trainer was turned 180 degrees upside down to demonstrate "seat belt security" ... sure, I guess I'll buy that. Honestly, I believe it was done to disorient the trainee before the multiple 360 degree turns. After the spinning stopped us in the 180 degree "upside down" position, we were told, over an internal vehicle speaker, to "Egress".

Now, since I was sitting in the driver's seat, I was able to hold myself in place with the steering wheel and avoid strangling myself with the seat belt. However, when I tried to unlock the door, my Tyrannosaurus-like short arms were no match for the distance to the door handle. So, with only one option, I unbelted myself and sank with a thud to the roof of the Hum-V. And, with cat-like reflexes, I tumbled my way to all-fours, discovered the elusive door handle and laboriously, crashed through the driver's side door. Mind you, we had to do this in our Battle Rattle, which makes me the equivalent of a 200 pound, 5 foot 8 inch bag of wrenches bouncing around in a steel box. Impressive, huh? One last episode to this saga; as I get out of the vehicle, I hear about 15 incoherent voices shouting repeatedly "....... close the door!" So, I close the door. Oops. What the voices were really saying was "DON'T close the door!" You see, I was suppose to leave the door open for others to get out if their doors were stuck, because it's not easy to reopen these 450 lb hatches once they are closed. WOW! I'm exhausted just thinking about it. In all honesty though, instructive and fun.

Believe it or not, the day wasn't over. After being let out at 1700 for dinner, we hiked back to the motor pool for our night driving exercise. You're probably thinking, "that's not too tough, just turn on your headlights".

Well, we try make things a bit more complicated, so this evening's evolution was done without lights. Break out the Night Vision Goggles (NVG's)!!! This was cool. Very much like playing a video game. While I don't have any pictures to demonstrate the drive, you'll be able to see what the goggles look like and a really awesome "hero" pose by me. When we arrived at the motor pool, we took out our goggles, put them on, and learned how to use them in the hanger. Everything one sees with the NVG's is in a green hue. So, after stumbling through the dark, we took our new found power to the rugged back roads of Fort Riley. All kinds of respect for our troops using this equipment. We all had a chance to drive and called it a night by 2300. Coolest day yet!

2009-04-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

For those following...here's a bit of a recap.

Day 19 (Friday April 17, 2009)...I can almost taste the weekend!

More of the same classes; Dari for an hour in the morning followed by cultural awareness for the rest of the day. If you (meaning all of you reading this site) get a chance, check out "Inside the Green Berets" Monday May 25th at 5 pm (not sure what standard time), on the National Geographic Channel. It is a documentary on the missions of US Special Forces troops in Afghanistan. It's a real look at what is going on in Afghanistan and the dangers present within. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these soldiers. Also, you might be able to look at snippets of the documentary on the National Geographic website. Just search for the title above.

The night ended with us hitting up Famous Dave's BBQ. A slab of ribs and a cold beer...good night indeed. (The pictures above are of my meal and of Lach, one of our team members, admiring his birthday ice cream.)

Day 20 (Saturday April 18, 2009)

Not a completely free day for us. We began with Dari...again, and ended the day watching half of the movie "Lawrence of Arabia". The movie is riddled with examples of how military advising should and should not be handled. After all, military advising is our job over in Afghanistan. Nice day...done at noon. The rest of the day was free for us. I worked out and did nothing but sleep. I know...party animal.

Day 21 (Sunday April 19, 2009)

No work today!!! Commander Lach (pronounced "Lock") Noyes (pronounced "Noise") put together a little steak, burger and hot dog BBQ for us at the local MWR. He is the general surgeon going to Kabul with our team. Great guy. The MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) is a building on most bases with computer access, big-screen TV, BBQ pits, pool tables, etc. Needless to say, steaks were great, beer was cold and company was good. Some of the Afghan instructors came over and shared in our outing. Good times...good times.

2009-04-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Day 18 (Thursday April 16, 2009)...Great Food!

I tossed and turned all last night. I haven't had poor sleep like that since coming here. So, yet again, I slept in...yes I know, woe is me.

More of the same classes today. But, this evening we had a group dinner in which the Afghanistan workers here at Fort Riley, cooked us a traditional meal. As you see in the pictures, we had rice (similar to fried rice), chicken with a cumin/curry based sauce (at least that's what I thought) and salad with a light dressing (tasted like Italian). They also served us tea, which was to simulate Chai tea, but I'm pretty sure it was Lipton's Lemon Ice-Tea. While moving through the food line, I attempted to speak Dari to the Afghans. Things I said were, "Salaam alaikum" (Hello), and "As deedan-e shumaa khosh shudam" (I am pleased to meet you) and "Tashakor" (Thank you). Washing hands is immensely important prior to eating in Afghanistan, due to the fact that they do not use utensils. Thus, one must use your right hand to eat. Why the right hand you ask(?). Well, the left is considered dirty...sometimes they don't have access to toilet paper...I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that. So, we all used only our right hands to eat. Oh, one food item I forgot was the bread. It is a flat bread similar to Indian flat bread or pita bread. If one is smart, they will use the bread to scoop the food. This works with limited success. Finally, you'll notice tables without legs, on the floor. The Afghans do not sit on chairs, so we were not going to either. All in all, the food was great. In speaking with one our Afghan teachers, Hamraz, I am informed the food in Afghanistan is vastly better than what we ate. If that's the case, I'm looking forward to the local cuisine. By the way, as you look at the pictures above, it has become evident to most of us here that Hamraz resembles Eric Estrada, "Ponch", from the TV show Chips. What do you think?

As I settled in for the night, I realized I was out of clean underwear for tomorrow...RATS! While I suppose going "commando" in my fatigues is an option, I will likely fight for a washer and dryer tonight. Life's tough. Good night.

2009-04-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

Day 17 (Wednesday April 15, 2009)...finally caught up.

Got up late today, 0630. Some of our Navy crew put on the body armor and went for a hike this morning at 0530. I felt compelled to get my beauty sleep and opted out of the exercise. However, due to the lights being turned on in our communal living area, it was more difficult than not, to continue sleeping. (Here comes the segue.) To promote darkness in the early morning, I placed a sheet at the end of the bed and took my poncho liner and tied it up on the open side. This provides me with a bit more privacy too. Mike (my bunk mate) has dubbed my little hideout, the Hooch. I think it's a reference to the Playboy Grotto, but I assure you, in the confines of our 40 man suite, it is all quite innocent.

We were back in class again by 0800 and done by 1445. I went on a 1.5 mile run and headed to the gym. But, the night wasn't done. We, as a class, had a cultural role playing exercise at 1800. Two of our team members, with their Afghanistan interpreter, sat down with two Afghan soldiers and had a meeting. The interpreter and soldiers were actual Afghans and spoke in Dari (their language), simulating what it would be like during the initial meeting we will eventually have with our counterparts (counterparts is our term for the Afghans we will be working with). I have included a picture above. The rest of us stood around to witness and critique the interaction.

That's it for tonight. Still tired despite my extra rest this morning. Off to the Hooch.

2009-04-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

2009-04-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

2009-04-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

Days 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16...wow, I'm really behind.

Day 10 (Wednesday April 8, 2009)

Unfortunately, it seems so long ago that it will be hard to relive that day. It must not have been very exciting. However, I have pictures to prove I existed. (For all my pictures, please see the post at the top of the page.) This was the day we received our cold-weather gear, helmets, body armor, ruck sack and sleeping bag/gear. This is some nice stuff. The only other notable was what we call a "field day" in our rooms. Essentially, we had to clean our rooms and be ready to check out the next morning at 0600. This was relatively minor cleaning compared to Officer Development School (the training I did before going to San Diego).

Day 11 (Thursday April 9, 2009)

Well, up at 0500 to get checked out of our single rooms. We moved down to Camp Funston this afternoon. But, before the move we were issued our weapons; an M4 (similar to an M16 Rifle) and an M9 (9 mm pistol). Additionally, we were given Night Vision Goggles or "NVG's" ... cool. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous carrying these weapons around. The first maneuver is to "clear" your weapon. (I needed to have our Senior Chief show me...though I was not the only one.) This process entailed disengaging the magazine (where the ammunition is held), checking the chamber (to ensure no ammo is present in the gun barrel, releasing the hammer (mechanism by which the ammo is discharged or fired) and placing the firearm in the safety position. All the while, the barrel of the gun is pointed into a "clearing barrel" (big red barrel with bee-bee sized gravel in the bottom) as protection, should the gun fire. We did this for both guns. By the afternoon, we had boarded a bus and headed for Camp Funston. Once there we received an In-Brief on what we could expect over the course of the next 8 weeks. Then, it was off to the 40-man barracks...kick ass! I love communal living. (See pictures above.) I am bunking with Mike, the radiologist from Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) were I work. We didn't know each other prior to this deployment, but he's a good guy and we hang out frequently. Enough for this day...oh, one more thing. As good fortune would have it, we were able to check our guns into the armory (a secure enclosure) while we were not using them). It will be nice not to have to carry them around for the next three weeks.

Day 12 (Friday April 10, 2009)

Only a half day of lectures on Afghan language and culture today. This is fantastic, seeing as how it is Easter weekend. We were released by noon and I was able to rent a car and drive to Lincoln, Nebraska to see my great friend, Brian Payne and his family (wife Melissa, and boys Dylan and Drew). Isabella had to work on Easter Sunday, so she wasn't able to come visit this weekend...but I will see her soon. Lincoln is only 150 miles away. Nice drive straight North of here. When I arrived, Brian and Mel were in church, but Mel's parents (Bob and Rita) were watching the boys at Brian's house. As Bob greeted me at the door, just up the stairs was a recently bathed Dylan (3 years old), towel over his head and shoulders and nothing else on... I'm not sure if this is a formal Nebraska Greeting or merely unexpected circumstance. None the less, I felt welcomed. I imagine Dylan will learn of this one day. And as a rite of passage, I hope I am there to meet his prom date or fiance and, in all good fun, tell the story of Dylan's naked escapade.

Day 13 (Saturday April 11, 2009)

I had a great day with the Payne family. In the morning, we all went to the YMCA and worked out while the boys were at the Y's daycare. Then, off to Taco Bell for lunch. I haven't had Taco Bell in so long. It was pretty darn good. As the boys went down for their afternoon naps, Brian took me to the University of Nebraska to show me around. We saw the football stadium and caught a glimpse of the playing field. There was also a Track and Field event going on right next to the stadium, so I took some pictures and we walked around for a while. Finally, Brian showed me where his office is located. Brian is receiving his PHD in Finance...one of the smartest guys I know. (I hope you realize how proud everyone is of you and what you've accomplished.) Later that afternoon, Brian and I took Dylan to Homes (spelling) Lake to try our hand at fishing. Drew is only 19 months and probably wouldn't have the patience to fish...so he stayed with Mel. While the fish weren't biting, Dylan was able to reel in the worm several times...it truly is the little things in life that are important. After dinner, the boys went to bed and Mel's sister, Mary, came over. Brian had a itch to play "Pitch", a card game. While I had never played before, the others patiently instructed me on the finer points. Subsequently, Brian and I, as teammates, graciously dismantled the Widhelm sisters in the highly competitive game. It was all in good fun.

Day 14 (Sunday April 12, 2009...Happy Easter)

The Payne's allowed me to attend church with them this morning. I thought frequently of Isabella and my family (the Becker's and Nguyen's). While I would have loved to have been with them on this holiday, I could think of no better alternative than to spend it with the Payne's. Brian and his family are incredibly generous. They treated me as family; and in many respects, we are. After the Catholic mass, we went out to brunch at the Embassy Suites Hotel, with Mel's parents and sister. Awesome food. I drove back to Fort Riley later that evening and prepared for Monday. Along the way, I was able to speak with Isabella and Mom and Dad. I even got a chance to say hello to Joce, Rick and Maddex on Skype later that night. What a great weekend.

Day 15 and 16 (Monday and Tuesday April 13 and 14, 2009)

Good Monday everyone! Class was to start at 0800...very civil. But, in military fashion, someone turned on our lights in the barracks at 0515...thank you...that's sarcasm if it was not apparent. So, up we go. Tuesday was a repeat of Monday. Our classes have been quite interesting to this point.

The first hour of class is dedicated to learning Dari, one of the two dominant languages in Afghanistan. We are told Dari is predominant in the region we will be going. The remaining hours of our day (up to 1500 with an hour lunch break) are spent learning of the Afghan culture. We are taught by Afghans, who have recently come to America, and an Army Major and Special Forces Commander. The history of this country is remarkable and the people are very proud and dedicated to their religion, Islam. I am fascinated by this. I probably should have taken more history classes in college.

2009-04-07T16:24:00.000-07:00

Day 5,6,7,8,9...Now it's starting to get real.

For those that are following this blog, I've been out of commission as of late; half lazy and half lack of resources. Let me bring you up to date.

Day 5 (Friday)
We finally received our initial "Sea Bag" (big green duffel bag) full of clothes and boots and were notified of our flight status for our trip to Fort Riley, Kansas. That was a busy night as I methodically packed everything I could into my sea bag and a backpack...I still managed to forget toothpaste...oops.

Day 6 (Saturday)
Woke up at 0600 rather easily...I suppose I was anxious about something. Isabella and I grabbed coffee at Starbucks and then drove to the base where my bag was loaded in one truck and I in a bus. 0815, It was incredibly hard to say goodbye to Isabella, but she was great and video tapped some of the farewell as we traveled to Coronado where the plane would depart. We boarded a C9 Bravo (looked like a 737) and by 1016, we were departing North Island Naval Air Station, heading for Kansas. Isabella managed to make her way to Coronado and I saw her wave as we made for the skies. Now, the inside of our plane was pretty nice. It reminded me of a commercial airline without the complimentary beverage service and stewardesses...no complimentary cookies or peanuts either...I'm not bitter. While the majority of the flight was uneventful, I began questioning our pilots experience during the bumpy landing. In retrospect, I suppose the "Wizard of Oz", "we're not in Kansas anymore" (which...we were), tornado-like gusts of wind had something to do with it. Welcome to Manhattan Municipal Airport! Winds out of the North at 40 mph...ugh. We were met by a Commander, a Senior Chief Petty Officer and a Petty Officer First Class. They, being the Navy, proceeded to bus the 15 of us to Fort Riley where we received our room assignments, 2 sheets, 1 pillow case, 1 pillow and a blanket. During the first week at Fort Riley, we were given our very own rooms with a shared common area kitchen and bathroom between two of us. Quite nice, actually. The remainder of the evening was ours to do with as we pleased as well as the following day, Sunday. Pretty mild first day in Kansas.

Day 7 (Sunday)
Very relaxed day. I spent much of my time speaking with Isabella on the phone and working out. I relished the down time, though I wished it could have been spent with Isabella, family and friends. Moving on...

Day 8 (Monday)
We mustered at 0830 at our dorm room office and proceeded to a nearby chapel for in-briefings regarding our future evolutions here on base. (As with different professions, the military too has a certain terminology one becomes familiar with over time: Muster=attendance, Evolution=task. I will try to clarify terms as they come up.) Walking 5-6 blocks to the chapel seems like a pleasant endeavor on a Monday morning, yet the weather had precipitously changed over night from a balmy 55-60 degrees on Saturday to 30 degrees on Sunday with a windchill of about 10. Needless to say, the weather didn't change much by Monday morning. So, lacking anything resembling cold weather gear, we braved the blustery Kansas winds and trudged our way to the chapel. I was very cold. While thawing in the chapel lobby, I was surprised by the very large Air Force contingent already present in the pews. It would have been foolish for me to think we were the only trainees present for this cycle and while I was not foolish, I was impressed by the Air Forces large numbers (maybe 150) compared to the Navy's 30. I guess they need greater numbers to accomplish a task, Ha! (Just kidding Major Payne). Following the meeting, we ambled briskly back to our dorms (barracks) and awaited our next evolution following lunch...more gear assignments. This was a bit more sobering than I anticipated. After being bused to a large warehouse, we received our body armor. It's hard not to think of the need for this equipment and the place we are going. Again, very sobering and very real. This was the last evolution of the day and the mantra "Hurry up and wait" remains consistent. Keep in mind, I say this with a smile. Nothing left to do today but get a workout in, eat dinner and call family. I'll be doing a lot of that I am assured.

Day 9 (Tuesday...today)
63 degrees...so I hear. Thank you Lord for blessing us with warmer weather...I've become soft living in San Diego. Up and going by 0715, we leave for another warehouse by 0730. We sit and wait for more gear only to realize not all but 3 of us need to be there. Efficiency is running rampant. So, I go workout. I eat. We muster again after lunch and proceed to fill out more paperwork. I probably would have been completely bored, yet the destination for this paperwork-completing-evolution was down near the barracks we (as a group) will be berthing (sleeping) in a place called Camp Funston. I'm sure I'm spelling this incorrectly, so don't hold me to it. Camp Funston is about 5-7 miles down the road from where we are staying currently, Custer Hill. The barracks will have 20 bunk beds in an open bay...yippee.

Wow! I know I have written oodles, but bear in mind, this is also acting as my journal. I don't have access with my own computer currently, but as soon as possible, I will post some pictures. I miss everyone and hope you are all doing well.

2009-04-02T22:17:00.000-07:00

2009-04-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Days 3 and 4...time's a tickin'

Wednesday was a good day. We reported at 0800 and were released almost immediately. I think the exercise of the day was to get a roll call, which they refer to as "muster". The rest of the day was spent taking care of the home-front issues. Fortunately, I was able to spend it with Isabella. To cap it off, we had a great meal at a place called Bertrand at Mr. A's. Great food, beautiful views overlooking San Diego and the incoming airplanes and dessert (sooo good).

Today (Thursday) was suppose to be a short day as well...hmmm, I've learned not to expect anything.

We all arrived in the auditorium for a brief on what to expect once "in country". This was probably one of the most informative briefs of the week. Sorry I can't go into details, but I'm still censoring information. Then we were fitted with "gas masks"...awesome. I hope I never have to use that piece of equipment. Check out the picture above.

And in usual fashion, we ended the day by eating. However, this particular evening was fraught with the indulgence of Phil's BBQ. Wow, what a great dinner. We haven't had a good BBQ meal down here in San Diego until tonight. Again, Wow!

2009-03-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

2009-03-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

Day 2...here we go again

Up at 0600 today; so happy to sleep in a little (the extra hour or TWO really makes a difference!) Today was our medical reconciliation day. By 0700, we were all accounted for and being carted off to have our immunization shots...I have the sore shoulder to prove it. Fortunately, we were done by 0945 and released until 1300 to do whatever we needed to. So, I bolted for home, spent some time with Isabella and was set to relax when...UGH, I was called back 30 minutes later to see the medical provider to have my chart signed off. (Wait a minute, am I not a medical provider? Couldn't I do that? ANSWER: No.)

I arrive back at the processing site around 1045 and proceed to wait until 1130 when I am told the "medical providers" will be at lunch and I should return at 1300. Happy to oblige (no sarcasm at all), I ate lunch and returned with earnest anticipation. Still waiting, I was finally seen by the provider at 1500 and following a few minor stops to have my record re-checked, again, I was released for the day. 1600. Nice to finally go home. I calculated 45 minutes worth of actual work and the remainder...just waiting in lines.

Driving home, I was happy to find out we had plans to go to Buca de Beppo's for dinner with some of our friends from work. The company was fantastic and we enjoyed a great Italian meal. Please see the pictures above.

2009-03-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

Day 1...in the books

It was an early start to the day. I was up at 4 am, or 0400 ("O" four hundred) for all you civilians. Yet remarkably, I was still stuck in a line extending to Tijuana for our check-in. Following this, I moved to another line where a petty officer copied my orders and sent me to another line...you get the picture. This happened at least 2 more times before I finally made it to the uniform fitting. Pray with me that the size 9 1/2 boots don't cause me blisters. Then, it was on to the auditorium for what the, more Experienced, refer to as "Death by PowerPoint". This is a plethora of presentations designed to inform...but unfortunately, is better suited as a sleep aid (competition for Lunesta). And thus, my day came to a close at 1600 (4 pm).

I make light of the need to exercise patience, yet in the long run, I'm sure this is a necessary process and helpful...maybe.

I hope you are all enjoying this.

(This blog should be dated March 30, 2009...but I deleted it from yesterday and couldn't get it back...I'm new.)

2009-03-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I begin the first day of my deployment. Admittedly, I'm feeling the stress of iminent change. Whether I like it or not, this is going to happen.

I'm doing my best to remember the positive intentions of this mission. Most importantly, thoughts of my family and friends keep me grounded.

First attempt at a blog

2009-03-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

This is the first installment of my blog...please forgive my rambling...or, is that what a blog is?

Two weeks ago, Isabella and I were able to take a trip back to Montana to see family and friends. It was a fantastic trip but as you can imagine, time back home was simply not enough. Thank you all for taking time to spend with us. It means the world to me.

Since the trip, I have spent the last week cleaning out my office and tidying up appointments and "to-do's" at work. It's amazing how many little tasks creep up on you when time is of the essence. But, as luck would have it, all is accomplished and as of this coming Monday, I will be officially deployed. I will spend the next week in San Diego going through administration and then off to Kansas for 3 months...I hear it's nice there this time of year...actually no, I'm kidding, I never heard that. But, I've never been to Kansas, so I am intrigued for what is to come.

Hopefully, this site will offer me a way of updating you all on my day-to-day activities. This is going to be a tremendous life experience and I look forward to sharing it with you.