Man Is A Social Creature

The great majority of troops coming into a post must first live in a transitory housing area, as there's some overlap between the soldiers who are leaving and their arriving replacements. Transitory housing is rarely comfortable at the best of times, as it's intended to be brief. Unfortunately, "brief" is a relative term. In the tent we share with elements of another unit, who happen to be on their third transitory housing location, I've calculated that every two men (we have bunkbeds) share a total footage of 35 square feet. Five feet of width, and seven feet of length. In this space are two people, their beds, body armor, rucksacks, two duffle bags, and miscellaneous small bags or personal items (such as the large flat-screen TV the videogame-game addicted Specialist next to me has hauled with him from post to post). I never thought I'd find quarters that would make me miss living in looted Iraqi buildings.

Ugly Gun Sunday

In Country

After 40 hours travel, I've finally made it to the base I'll be working at. Open source information about the post is here, although as rotations come and go, the infromation is a bit behind in some aspects. As you can see above, the local urban structure is pretty basic. More on some of the effects of that later. But for now, an Army informational guide posted on the inside of our armored bus. Remember, the last sentence is probably there because someone couldn't figure it out on their own sometime in the past.

Sounds About Right

"Never, under any circumstances, ever become a refuge... Die if you must, but die on your home turf with your face to the wind, not in some stinking hellhole 2,000 kilometers away, among people you neither know nor care about." - Ragnar Benson

Once your away from your family, home, and community, you're at best a statistic, if not someone else's prey.

Courtesy of SurvivalBlog.

Ugly Gun Sunday

New Uniforms

A little article, straight from the Army, on the new uniforms we've been issued for our time in Afghanistan. Most Soldiers I've spoken with think their a considerable improvement over the grayish ACU pattern, which seemed to be geared towards blending with broken cinder blocks or gravel pits. The new OCP (Operation enduring freedom Camouflage Patter) actually makes one harder to see in most environments, as well as bringing back buttons rather then "hook and pile" for the leg cargo pockets- a change long wished for by those of us who actually use them.

I'm Off

By the time this post comes out, my flight to Afghanistan should be days past, thereby complying with Army security standards. As I write this, I’m waiting to get on the aircraft I can see a few hundred yards away. To get to this point, it’s taken stuffing 200 lbs of gear into 150 lbs worth of space; a bus ride from hell in tiny seats, where both myself and the guy next to me exceed the provided shoulder width of the seats by a three inches apiece on both sides; and sitting in a concrete bay floor at the airport for several hours so far, with the possibility of sleeping on it for the night if the lightning doesn’t desist soon. And we’ve still the roughly twenty hours of flight to look forward to. Based on personal experience, I would rather sit through an hour of incoming mortar rounds. But it sounds like we’ll get to experience that too, so I’ll get to see if my memories of which are less irritating are accurate. Makes me wonder if the old troop ship concept was a better way to go; at least you could walk around if the weather wasn’t too bad.

Southern Hospitality

I've been the recipient of more literal pats on the back, thank-yous, and kids wanting to say hi than I've ever experienced the past few months. The civilian post office I was at yesterday has a Marine Medal of Honor recipient's dress uniform jacket with awards permanently displayed behind glass in the lobby. And damn near everyone who's spoken to me here has a family member going to, coming back from, or on deployment. There's a lot of good people in Mississippi.

However, I will note that Wal-Mart, no matter the state, seems to attract the same odd individuals.

We Do More Before Eight AM

So, you've seen some of the exciting aspects of the Army Medic Lifestyle in a field environment lately. But what happens when all the fun is over? Why, more training of course! Get hands-on experience in these fast paced areas:

Vehicle washing!

Inventorying hundreds of small items by hand!
Trash collection/scorpion avoidance/lizard chasing!
Bundling hundreds of cots into identical piles so they can be broken back down for issue in another week!
Sure, it's an intellectually demanding life. But few jobs outside of being a traveling carny offer greater satisfaction when the day is done.

Ugly Gun Sunday

You Know You're Too Close To The Flag Pole....

when First Sergeants randomly pop through tent walls. Perhaps he's just making sure everyone is staying on task:
You mights as well enjoy that quiet time, because sooner or later one of these will be coming in:
Dropping off those lucky few the NTC trainers have designated as wounded:

Good training there; I'm hoping to rarely need it.

November 11th

Being that it's Veteran's Day, a couple of thoughts:

Being in the military is truly a privilege now. This wasn't always the case; through much of our nation's history, it was viewed as a last refuge for those who couldn't make it in polite society. While this may have had some substance to varying degrees, there have always been those individuals to whom military service was a calling, rather than a compromise. We are fortunate to have had them.

In regards to being thanked for military service. I'm old enough to remember being called a weekend warrior by those that never had to work a weekend at all since high school, let alone using that weekend to prepare for chemical warfare casualty treatment. I'm grateful for the thanks, but best of all is simple respect. To have so many outside the military freely support those inside is a wonderful situation I'm thankful for, and that I hope I have earned.

Of all our prior service people still with us, I hold a special regard for the Korea and Viet Nam veterans. Military service of any type demands sacrifice from the individual, families, and co-workers. Deployment into a hostile theater increases this demand. But hardest of all is the duty borne by those who serve when a cause is unpopular, and the service member rendered invisible or worse through weariness of war. If anyone has earned an extra measure of respect, it must be them.

Finally, on personal service. It has been a privilege, in the truest sense of the word, to have worked along side so many outstanding men and women over the years. I've had the pleasure of knowing far more people who are exceptional in their loyalty, friendship, and duty to one another when it's most needed. Through bitter cold, sand storms, floods, and hostile fire I've experienced bonds of friendship that are rarely found in kinder circumstances. Their worth is beyond measure, and I count myself fortunate to have them.

It has been pleasure serving with many of you; I hope this day has brought back as many wonderful memories as it has for me.

Just Hangin' With The Neighbors

The berm around our FOB (an outsized designation for an area with five small tents in one corner of a gravel field) at the NTC was riddled with holes. About half of them were occupied by these guys. We would watch them or the ants for long periods of time, because they were more interesting than anything else there.

Thank You. Thank You So Much.

You know, when I went to medic school way back in the dark ages, WE LEARNED SHARPS AND BIOHAZARDS GO IN SPECIAL CONTAINERS.

Not in the trash trailer with week old discarded chow for other medics to sort through after you've left. What the hell are they teaching these days?

Ugly Gun Sunday

Mmmmmmmmm

Meals out in the field at NTC. It's like a TV dinner for thirty heated with chemical packs. The same meal every breakfast, and a different meal, but again every day, for supper. For over two weeks. I now completely understand why my grandfather refused to ever eat veal again after his enlistment.

Service Announcement

A few blogs have been delisted, due to their not being updated for a considerable period. If you're one of the authors, let me know if you start up again or have a new site. I'll be happy to update the list to reflect those changes.

Made Of Wrong

MREs have come a long way, but there are some things that just shouldn't be included. Ever.

Oh, The Happiness............

The Wife has just pointed out the obvious to me; if the Stupid Party wins control of the house, doesn't that mean Granny Rictus McBotox is longer Speaker? I was so focused on race results individually, I completely forgot the big picture.

The beer is so much sweeter suddenly......

What Is Best In Life?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.


It ain't perfect (Boxer, Barney "Gummer" Frank), but it's a considerable improvement.