Turtle Roll

What a week! All of our days have been 14+ hours, we did have one that was 12 hours and it felt short. We did a lot of courses, death by PowerPoint, and also did a lot of shooting, the M9 pistol and the M16 rifle. It's good that they are focusing their training on shooting techniques, you never know when you might have to be a "killer" as the Army calls us here. When we do go shooting we have to go in full "battle rattle" which means full gear, helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, body armor, ear plugs, ballistic glasses, and gloves. Which brings me to the title of this entry, Turtle Roll. We were walking in a patrol formation, two lines with about 5 meters between each person. I was watching the person in front of me and thinking, he better watch where he's going he's going to turn his ankle and then BAM! I went down like a sack of potatoes, turning my ankle while wearing 75 pounds of gear, not good. The person behind me said that the outside of my left ankle hit the ground and my foot turned inward. I looked like a turtle with the gear on, thank God that Sam came back to help me up, I might still be there if he didn't. haha. That happened Wednesday and it's swollen to about the size of a grapefruit with some bruising. I'm just taking Motrin every day and trying to keep it elevated at night. I just don't want to get it looked at and be placed back in training, should be okay. Tomorrow we are going shooting again, this time doing something called flexy-fire, you start in the down position and then bring the pistol up quickly and letting two shot loose, should be fun. After that I have a room at a hotel in town where I am immediately going to drop off my laundry, place my foot in a bucket of ice, watch movies and order room service. It's going to be the last time to spoil myself for a long while to come. Well that's about it for now, take care and Shayna I miss you and love you very much!

Ready to Rock

Well day 2 completed, about 16 or so to go! woohoo. Yesterday was a very, very long day. Gear issue, classes and standing in lines took up most of the 16 hour day. Today started with Army physical training (PT) at 0545, followed by weapons issue and yes, more classes. So far the training has been well organized and mission specific, not too bad at all. Sorry about the picture being canted to one side, I couldn't switch it for some reason. I'm wearing the Army protective equipment, about 25 pounds, the M16 rifle, and a Beretta 9mm pistol on my right leg. Not comfortable at all, I can only imagine how it feels for the young Army guys and Marines that are kicking in doors wearing this equipment in the heat, a lot of respect goes out to them from all of us here! The first night I was complaining to Shayna about the living arrangements, but she cooled me down by saying that Afghanistan will be better! She's great. Tomorrow is our PT assessment, 1 mile run, and then a 4 hour class on something, the Drill Instructor said it's going to be death by power point, hopefully I can stay awake! That's about it for now, love and miss you Shayna, and everyone else of course. Take care.

Smokey the Bear

Well we're in South Carolina now. We arrived last night and were welcomed by Army Drill Sergeants! Looks like I'm now going to go through Army boot camp! Shouldn't be that bad, although we are having a barracks inspection in a couple of hours, complete with hospital corners! The game starts.......again. I think that I'll be able to gauge how the next couple of weeks will go by how this barracks inspection is handled by them, oh please let it be good. Today was spent eating breakfast and lunch and that's about it. I've met some really good people here so far, so it looks like I shouldn't be stuck with a Mr. Depression like I was on the last one, that is always a downer. Well that's about it for now, Shayna I love and miss you much, everyone else take care! I've also posted some more pics under the photo gallery link.

Hoorah to Hooahh, the Transition

First and foremost, I have hot water! Now an explanation on the title of this entry. Hoorah for the USMC, who we normally deploy with and Hooahh for the Army, who we're deploying with now. Chris K. a friend of mine from Lemoore asked me before I left if I knew the difference between the two. He said that Hooahh is what Hoorah sounds like when you have something in your mouth! It's been a great week catching up with two old friends from past deployments and work, Dan McClure and Anne Ashton, they definitely made it a tolerable week. I have their blogs listed under links if you'd like to follow what they will be doing in different parts of Afghanistan. Of course since we know each other we aren't deploying to the same place! Figures. I'm loving that I can contact Shayna so easily right now, that is making the time go by much more quickly than I imagined. Next week I'll be with the Army in South Carolina doing some training for a couple of weeks and then off I go to my final destination. Speaking of that, change 2 revision 5 on where I'm going to end up. I don't know if you noticed but I changed the weather and clocks on this page to denote Farah instead of Kandahar! As of now I'll be going to SW Afghanistan instead of the SE, not a bad deal. I was going to be close to Pakistan, now I'll be close to Iran, I guess I don't get to choose my poison! There are only 8 of us out of the 190 currently training that will be going to Farah, so it will be similar to when I was in Ramadi, Iraq. The advantage is that there will not be a lot of "busy work" that usually accompanies a deployment with a lot of personnel, thank goodness, I can't stand busy work! I'll be able to do some more entries while I'm in SC, after that it may be sporadic at best, I'll make it work though. Overall the gear issue and briefs were painless and well organized, which is a plus! Shayna I love and miss you much. Take care everyone, and you should be able to leave comments now even if you are not registered through blogspot. See ya!

No Hot Water

Well I'm in San Diego now for the week of gear issue and training. The day started with Shayna dropping me off at the base at 0700 so the duty driver, HN Brandon Potters, could drive me down. All was going well until we were 1/2 hour into the drive and I realized that I left my orders, medical records, etc. sitting in the back seat of Shayna's car! Not good! So we turned around and I had to say "see you later" to Shayna all over again, so I had the worst part about the deployment, for both Shayna and I, happen twice, again not good. After the 6 hour drive back to San Diego and a long wait at the billeting desk, I was informed that the room I'm in will not have hot water until tomorrow afternoon, woohoo! Who needs coffee in the morning, I'll take a 40 degree shower anyday! haha. Over all it was a good trip and the room is really nice, less the water situation. Well that's about it for today, Shayna I miss and love you very much. Take care!

168 Hours

168 hours until my journey begins, doesn't seem like a lot of time. I was just talking to Shayna about the deployment and telling her that I'm proud to go and help. The job I have here in Lemoore is satisfying, but nothing compares to being where people need you the most. Basically you forget about the dangers and become completely submersed in the situation at hand, which is helping people survive. How will I react to being in another situation much like Ramadi? I don't know, but what I do know is that when it's all said and done I will really feel like I've accomplished something, which is a feeling that very few people get to experience in their lives. I know that it all sounds a little corny, but it is the absolute truth. The worst part is, obviously, being away from your new bride and all of your family and friends, but what is absolutely fantastic is all of the support I have and will receive from everyone, heck of a change from what you read about the Vietnam war participants. Again thank you for the support and keep on reading! Take care.

Cement

Well this past week has given me plenty of images that will be cemented into my memory for the upcoming deployment. It's very important to have images in your mind, as well as hard copy, to get you through the times when you've had enough of the "game" and would like to return home. Trip to Florida, marriage to your dream girl, and family, what else could you possibly need after that? Maybe a lottery winning, that's about the only thing that could've made it better! At times when by myself watching the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico, all I could think was, I can't believe that I'll be standing in a line getting 4-5 sea bags of gear in a couple of weeks. That was a definite buzz kill, but it gave me the opportunity to really take things in while I could. The whole experience also made me realize how sweet it's going to be when I return home, that's going to be a good day. Well that's about it for now, take care.