Fly Army!

Mounted Landnav

2005-11-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

Dismounted (a.k.a. on-foot) land navigation is interesting, but realistically a Psyop soldier will not spend much time walking from place-to-place. We will drive in vehicles (generally as part of a small convoy). We learned how to navigate through unfamiliar terrain using maps, compass and GPS. We were not given moving-map type GPS units (though they may be available while deployed). Instead we used a large-but-reliable unit known as a PLUGGER.

We were given a list of "grid coordinates" to find for each of several missions. A grid coordinate is the military way of specifying a specific position on the surface of the earth. It is similar to specifying latitude and longitude, but uses a different numbering system.

We had a great time taking turns driving the HMMWV, navigating, and communicating (the person in the communication slot worked the radio to report mission progress to the TOC - Tactical Operations Center).

The experience we gained in the past few days will be invaluable for the FTX at the end of the course. The FTX is the final Field Training eXercise. Most of the FTX missions involve first locating and driving to the objective.

Foreign Weapons

2005-11-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Everyone going through BCT gets to qualify on the M16. In AIT, we get to qualify with other US weapons as well. Today we did something that few do in AIT - learned about foreign weapons - the weapons most likely to be used against us.

The class was divided into groups, and rotated around various stations. My first stop was to learn how to disassemble and reassemble an AK-47. It's a very simple weapon, yet effective for that same reason. It's simplicity makes it very reliable. Not accurate, but reliable. We learned that the average enemy we are likely to encounter is poorly trained in the use of the AK-47, making it even less likely that a given shot will find its mark. However, what the AK lacks in accuracy (especially in the hands of poorly trained combatants) it makes up for in sheer volume of lead it can hurl down range.

After learning to disassemble the AK, we had an opportunity to fire it. Unfortunately TRADOC will not let us fire live ammo from foreign weapons, but we did get to shoot blanks. Not as good as the real thing, but fun nevertheless.

After learning about the AK, I moved on to a station that teaches about the RPG-7 (RPG stands for Rocket Propelled Grenade). They are very cheap in a country like Iraq, with the launcher costing perhaps $50 and individual grenades selling for only a few dollars. The weapon can be effective if used properly. It can also be deadly to the user. We were told of a Marine in Iraq who was severely injured when an RPG he was firing "just for kicks" malfunctioned.

We also got to spend a little time with the Dragonov sniper rifle, and the RPK machine gun. The RPK is similar to the AK, but has a heavier barrel to substain high rates of fire for longer without overheating.

Part of the Psyop job is convincing the supported unit that you can add value to their mission. One of the instructors was traveling with a Marine battalion when they discovered a weapons cache. He picked up an AK-47 and properly cleared and disassembled it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Talk about instant credibility.

Spiderman!

2005-11-03T19:37:00.000-08:00

Most people passed the Land Nav test, but many struggled. Of course the two lost boys had to retest today (see yesterday's blog). The Instructors decided it would be a good idea to send us off solo again, with a new list of points, to refine our skills.

On the way to my first point, I looked up at the treeline just in time to see an A-10 attack aircraft flying just above it, perhaps 200' above the ground. What a great reminder of my ultimate goal - to become an Army Aviator!

I was already good at Land Nav going in to the Army. By now I could pretty much walk straight to my points. So, I quickly located all of my targets, then settled down next to the last one to soak up the sun and write my fiancee a long letter. Few and far between are the times you have an opportunity to just relax in BCT and AIT. If you learn your job well, you may be able to make a few opportunities for yourself.

Once the sun went down, we received a real treat (by SIT - Soldier in Training - standards anyway). We maintained a fire 24 hours a day since arriving at the training location. The Drill Sergeants felt that it was time for us to celebrate our accomplishments. Up they rolled with the company van, and unloaded boxes of hotdogs, buns, desserts, soda (yes - soda. A rare treat!). We enjoyed a feast, roasting our hotdogs over the bonfire.

We began telling jokes, some quite PC and some most certainly not. One really dumb one somehow stuck with me:

A pirate walks into a bar with a big ship’s wheel down his pants. The bartender says, "Excuse me, sir, do you know you have a ship’s wheel down the front of your pants?" The pirate answers… "Aargh, it’s driving me nuts!!"

Then, suddenly, a disturbance in the brush! A figure was running around our camp, holding what looked like chemical lights. It was running... comically. Literally. The Senior Drill Sergeant instructed some of us to give chase. Our team rushed into the trees. The figure ran off, then turned to run right through our festivities! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No... it's... Spiderman?!?! That's right, Spiderman came running through our camp. After quite a chase he was brought down, and his mask removed. Spiderman was really ... Wait! Some of my readers are headed off to AIT soon. Better not spoil the suprise :-)

Bring Fresh Socks

2005-11-02T00:05:00.000-08:00

When you're in the field, you want to bring as many fresh socks as you can manage (given all the other gear you need, too). If you only bring one pair per day, it may not be enough. Land navigation today proved that point.

This morning, we set out in two-man teams as a final practice before our solo land navigation test. Two of our points were bisected by a stream. This wasn't your California mountains stream of clear water over sand and rocks. It was stagnant water, and mud, and muck. It smelled bad.

We attempted to cross by balancing on the branches and roots of the many plants growing in and around this source of moisture. Unfortunately, many of our would-be supports were dead and rotting. We carefully applied our weight, tested our new foothold, then took a step. We almost made it. The final 4' proved a little tough. I had to jump for the other side, but the extra force of pushing off was just enough to snap the old root I was balanced on. I came up about 6" short on the other side, and down I went. My boot slid all the way into the muck on the far bank. I quickly stepped up to the far bank, but not before the putrid water had soaked my socks. In the Army you quickly learn that you're going to get dirty, and you get over it. The lesson here is that dry socks are vital to good foot hygene. If you're in the field, be sure you always have a clean pair to change in to.

Back at the base, we sat down to enjoy lunch. They actually gave us plenty of time to eat our MRE's. Suddenly, I heard the cry "Oh Sh!t". Scanning the area, I noticed one of my fellow soldiers had apparently stowed his travel-size shaving cream in his cargo pocket after morning hygene. Something he did during land navigation must have set it off, because his pocket was filled to overflowing with white foam. It was the first time in a while I had a meal with a show :-)

As afternoon came, it was time to prove our land navigation skills. We were each assigned 4 points, and given 4 hours to navigate to at least 3 of the 4. Ever since entering basic training, we have not been alone. In BCT we were ALWAYS in a group and under supervision. In AIT we were sometimes given pass, but the buddy rule was in effect. Even there we had to travel in a group of at least two. It felt strange being out in the woods by myself. Strange in a good way. I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. I did not stress over finding my points because my navigation skills are strong. Upon reaching my second point, I relaxed with some left-over MRE food I had brought along. The 15 minute break, just laying there soaking up the sun, felt very good.

My third point was an odd one. All of the area surrounding it was burned down. I surveyed the area, and noticed that one fallen tree in the area was still smouldering. I did not have enough water on my person to put it all out, but was concerned that any winds could fan the flames and start a larger fire. Three points in hand, 2 hours left on the test, and my 4th point less than 1km from the base, I returned to report the fire hazard.

At the base, the Company Commander himself decided to drive me out to the site of the burn with jugs of water. In AIT you really respect your Drill Sergeants. The First Sergeant, their bosses, is someone you REALLY respect. The Company Commander is the First Sergeant's boss. In spite of his rank (he was a Major), the Commander quickly put me at ease. We quickly discovered that we're both pilots, and spent quite a bit of time talking airplanes while driving to the site of the burn. It was a good time. Before long we found the burning tree and drenched it with water.

The test was scheduled to be over in four hours. As the sun began to set, two students had not yet returned. We held dinner for them. One team, one fight. As it became totally dark, concern began to spread. Then a search party was formed. I was asked to join one of the search teams. We navigated along the route of one of the missing soldiers, checking to see if he had perhaps fallen and broken a leg en route. Drill Sergeants and instructors drove the fire roads. Finally, after about an hour of search, the word came down that they had been found along a nearby highway. One of them had gotten totally lost and followed the other, who it turned out was also totally lost. They went in pretty much exactly the wrong direction for miles and miles before hitting a highway. You might think that they could catch hell once they returned, but the opposite was the case. They were welcomed back with only a moderate amount of jokes.

In all, the day was fun and successful. Just remember to bring fresh socks.

Things that go Bump in the Night

2005-11-01T23:31:00.000-08:00

It was a clear night, with a decent moon. It was easy enough to see - if you're in a clearing. Go into one of the many tree groves, though, and things become very, very dark.

Tonight we had the opportunity to put our land navigation skills to the test - in the dark. We broke into 4 man teams, and were given objectives that were kilometers apart. Getting your bearing, and walking a straight line once you have it, is much more difficult when you can't see distant objects well - or at all. We decided to have two team members watch their compass as we walked to maintain direction, while a third kept count of the pace. The fourth team member did a backup pace count, but his main job was to keep track of the big picture - to watch for landmarks such as fire roads and streams, and see if we cross them about when we calculate that we should.

Our objectives were four 3' tall posts, each marked with a chemical light. They were all in wooded, hilly areas so you often had to be within about 30' to make them out. Each of the two compass men walked what they thought was the correct direction, then we started our search inbetween the two, moving out in ever expanding circles until locating the objective. Once we had a particularly hard time locating our landmark, so we decided to have all four people keep track of direction for the next one. My three teammates moved off in one direction, while I took a decidedly different route, about 5 degrees to the left of them. The temptation is strong to think "three of them going one way, and me going my own way... I must be wrong". Still I stuck to my guns, and pretty much walked right up to the marker. I would not suggest separating from your team like that in a combat environment, but there is an important lesson to be learned - don't just assume you're in the wrong because the majority has a different opinion.

After that marker, we moved into a very heavily wooded area. We had to exercise light discipline, meaning we only use as much light as absolutely necessary to navigate. At one point I sensed more than saw something very near to me, and stopped suddenly. Carefully probing the area immediately in front of me with my red lens flashlight, I discovered a large (4") spider no more than a foot in front of my face! Had I not stopped, it would have made contact with my left cheek right below my eye. That would have made for a nasty bite! One person in the group took a photo ... I'll try and get a copy to post (OK we really broke light discipline when we took a flash picture :-) Don't do that in combat.)

Moving back toward the base, we were moving tactically on what we thought was the right bearing. We were in a competition to try and return as quickly as possible, but we also had to move quietly. Moving through a large, open field SUDDENLY the night erupted in sound, and there was a flurry of motion DIRECTLY in front of one of my team mates. He jumped back - just in time to see that he had flushed some quail from their roosting spot :-) We all had a laugh and returned to the base camp.

If I had to describe the night in three words, they would be Teamwork, Excitement and Fun.

Special Forces Land Nav Course

2005-11-01T17:58:00.000-08:00

Today we put our classroom skills to the test. Three days and nights of land navigation on the same challenging course used by Special Forces. Each of the first two days are designed as two-man team events. The third day, we set out on our own to prove our skills.

Upon arriving at our bivouac sight, we first setup large, 15-man tents. They would provide our shelter during the cold evenings. Then, we gathered a large amount of wood from the surrounding forest. A perpetual fire would provide our heat (there was also a heated tent for treating cold weather injuries, if necessary). While setting up camp, Tex (the funniest person I have ever met from Texas) caught a lizard and tied it (using the strand inside 550 cord) to a tree. It would become our mascot for our stay.

Even skills you once mastered must be practiced lest they grow rusty. Our first practical exercise demonstrated that for me. We were to navigate to four points, each quite some distance apart, using map, compass, and our pace count (pace count: the number of paces you need to cover 100 meters). Being a pilot, I felt quite comfortable with the task. Tex and I each took a bearing, counted our pace independently, and felt comfortable that our goal - a 3' high white post - must be close at hand. We searched. And we searched some more, and finally realized that something was amiss. After a while it dawned on me. The magnetic north pole of the earth is not exactly aligned with the true north pole. You need to add in a magnetic deviation factor, the value of which depends on where you are on the earth. The correct value is printed on your map. We had both failed to apply magnetic deviation, leading us well off course. One option would be to return to the starting point and begin over, with the correct initial bearing. That would take a long time (it was a timed event). With a basic knowledge of trigonometry, it's possible to estimate the effect of the missing adjustment and calculate a new bearing from the first point you found. That would have been an option. I found an easier route. The point was plotted on my map. I looked for the bends in roads near the point, and the bends in roads I could observe. After just a little while, I formed a mental picture of where I must be on the map, and could then simply visualize the correct position of the marker. Think outside the box. Use all information you have available to you. We learned a valuable lesson today.

Halloween

2005-10-31T22:19:00.000-08:00

On Halloween we got to Trick-R-Treat. However, we first had to earn our candy. The morning began with competitive log PT. We divided into groups, and each group had a task to perform involving a log. One group had to roll the log as quickly as possible all the way across the PT field. Another group had to carry their log the same distance, moving as quickly as possible. Yet another group...

After we got our blood pumping, we got to do LINES training (basically Ju-Jitsu). So far we had been practicing in 1-on-1 groups. This time we lined up with 10 attackers against one defender and hit the defender full-speed (one after the other), with about 3 seconds between attacks. It was fun! Some of us got a little bumped up, but like they say - you can't learn to win a fight unless you practice fighting. Mall-style, no-one-gets-sued type martial arts doesn't cut it if you actually might fight someone who is out to kill you.

It had been several days since we had mail call. In retrospect, I'm sure this was intentional. Mail call happened outside, at night, on a grassy area in front of the company. There was quite a few boxes of mail waiting, including many packages with Halloween candy. We began a new mail call tradition today. The Drill Sergeant picked up a letter, read out the name of the recipient, and the entire class echoed that name. Then the class began a countdown from 5 to 1. On 1, the Drill Sergeant let the mail fall to the ground. If it hit the ground, the recipient had to knock out 20 pushups. It was a lot of fun! We even had a few diving catches (as well as dive-and-misses!).

No food is allowed in the barracks. However, there was plenty of candy in the many packages that were handed out. The solution? 5 minutes of trick-or-treat, followed by 5 minutes to eat everything we got. This was a test of our ability to function as a team. A total of 10 minutes is PLENTY if you organze yourself, but not nearly enough if everyone acts as an individual. The Drill Sergeants had us line up single-file in front of those who had received candy and start to pick out what we want from each of them. This strategy would fail, as at most 1/3 of the class would make it through the line in time. We quickly reorganized, and had those at the front of the line take large hands full of candy, and then move out to distribute to those at the back of the line. We had our treats passed out in 3 minutes flat, and had plenty of time to enjoy our Halloween treat.

Teamwork is a theme that repeated itself constantly in AIT. Learn teamwork - and learn how to take charge and organize a team - and you will do well.

Over the Hill and Through the Woods

2005-10-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

Psyop is part of the Special Operations community. As such, we are well equiped. When we're out in the field, we will always have GPS. Why then should we learn to navigate by compass (for direction) and pace counting (for distance)? Well, first of all, technology breaks. Usually at the worst possible time. Even if your device doesn't die on you, your batteries might. If you were told to prepare for 2 days in the field, and you're on Day 14 (this happens!) you might not have enough batteries along to power all of your technology. Also, GPS is susceptable to being jammed - especially in a war zone.

One more reason to learn to do things by hand - to open your eyes and understand what your technology is telling you - is that it's all too easy to be misled by your technology if you don't use it properly. Here is an example: I fly volunteer, civilian search and rescue. One day we were called into a safety briefing. One of our highly trained pilots had run out of fuel on a mission and had to land on a highway. Did he have a leak in his fuel system? Did he face massive, unpredicted head winds? No. He had simply entered Jackson, WI into the GPS rather than Jackson, FL as intended. Even though the GPS pointed him in almost exactly the wrong direction, he followed his technology. Having a sound understanding of the principles behind your technology is critical, especially when your life depends on it. Jessica Lynch's convoy had GPS.

Today we began to learn how to navigate over the hill and through the woods, even though our goal wasn't grandmother's house, but rather small markers in the middle of the Special Forces Land Navigation course. We did have a basic introduction to land navigation in BCT, but if you didn't already know land nav, the BCT course would not help you much. It was too short, poorly taught, and coupled with minimal practical application. Not so in PSYOP AIT. We had thorough classroom instruction, coupled with interesting and relevant stories to illustrate especially challenging situations. Land nav came easy to me because I'm already a trained pilot, but I still enjoyed the class thoroughly. We will have several days in the field to apply land nav - and I'm very much looking forward to it!

Females in AIT

2005-10-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

One reader asked me what life is like for females going through AIT. Being male my observations are from the "outside", but here is what I saw:

Females certainly received no special treatment in the AIT class I went through. No more, and no less, was expected of them than of males. However, I got the impression that the females created problems for themselves. I'll write about what I mean in a moment.

One of the females in the class cut her hair short, approached every challenge with a can-do attitude and very much acted like a soldier. Some of the other females branded her "GI Jane". That name frustrated her at first, but I think she began to wear it like a badge of honor as she became very successful in the program. On the other extreme, there was a female who would smile at everything, and apparently is very used to getting her way whenever she acts cute. She became a special project of one of the Drill Sergeants and had quite a hard time. Part of the "special" treatment was being given a student leadership role during a critical time. She had to lead actions of the class during our final field training exercise. Sometimes her decisions or indecisions caused (simulated) deaths. She took this very much to heart, and learned quickly that war is not a game. In my opinion the special treatment she received was professional and motivated out of an honest desire to turn her into a fine soldier.

Another female forgot to bring tampons to the field (a big no-no: you are taught that you MUST plan for all of your needs while deployed. There are no drug stores in the Iraqi desert to pick up a few things you forgot). A Drill Sergeant found out, and decided to "punish" her my making her Student First Sergeant for a few weeks (Student First Sergeant is a student tasked with organizing both the Psyop and Civil Affairs elements that made up our class). They reasoned that she would realize through being responsible for other people that she needs to be responsible for herself. I think it worked out well. She rose to the challenge, and did an outstanding job leading the class.

Females were not the only ones who received special treatment. There were several males who did not act as a soldier (especially a Special Operations soldier) should. They were given the same hard (but fair) time. Some of them stepped up to the challenge, and some failed. The ones that failed did not graduate with the class.

I mentioned earlier that the females created problems for themselves. On the male floor, there were occasional issues with a person not doing his duty here, or a person not squaring away their bunk there. However, on balance, we got along. From what I hear, the female floor was more like Jr. High School. There were females who flat refused to clean up anything, but were nasty-dirty themselves. There were clicks, and the clicks made fun of each other. There were bitter rivalries. A few of the females decided to hook up during pass (strictly forbidden!), and they fought over the same guy. One female got caught doing that and was removed from the class (the male involved was an already-trained soldier from a different company, I don't know how or if he was punished).

At one point a Drill Sergeant from the other class was upstairs yelling at the females in their barracks for a solid hour because of their infighting.

I don't have first-hand insight into what went on up on the female floor (except for one funny story I'll relate another time), but apparently it was quite an emotionally challenging environment.

Pole to Pole, Hole to Hole

2005-10-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Today was spent in the field. After breakfast, we had a class in survival. Many valuable lessons were learned, but one stuck out in everyone's mind. It was about the proper technique for spooning - sharing of body warmth. The Sergeant's advice was simple and easy to remember: "Privates, if you're spooning just remember this simple rule: 'Sleep pole to pole, ... or hole to hole, ... but never pole to hole. Otherwise it can be very embarassing when you wake up in the morning'." (Think about it)

By late morning it was time to hop in our HMMWV's. I was looking forward to this! We got to push the vehicles hard, accelerating full-speed, braking hard, and maneuvering to avoid obstacles. The only thing I didn't like about this training iteration is that it ended too soon. Still, we will have plenty of opportunities to drive HMMWV's during the rest of training.

Tonight we got to combine two neat things, NVG's and HMMWV's. We got to drive in the dark, navigating with night vision goggles. One problem that NVG's have (at least the early generation we were using) is that they are monocular - you see the same picture in each eye. Depth perception suffers. To help us understand the problem, we played "catch" in the dark. We took a chem light, taped it over until you could barely see light coming out with the naked eye, then put on the NVG's and tossed it back and forth. It was hard! You have no real idea how far away the stick is as it comes toward you. My partner and I set the record for most catches, mostly be getting the stick to hit our chest and then cradling it.

Night driving itself was a rush. Three of us went out at a time, along with an instructor. Only two of us had NVG's (the instructor had a set as well). The one without night vision really had to trust in the driver - he could not see what was happening, but felt the HMMWV bumping and twisting over the road. When my turn came, I realized that you could catch turns in the road by keeping an eye on the way the treeline turned ahead of you (since the trees were cut out to follow the road). It was over too soon. I would love to do it again!

Dancing in the Dark

2005-10-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

We're out in the field now. In BCT, "the field" meant sleeping in a tiny two-man tent, both ends exposed to the elements, sleeping on a thin bedroll. In AIT (or at least in Psyop AIT) they take a different approach. They told us we'll never do that in real life. Today we are in FOB Freedom (FOB means forward operating base). There, we sleep in "tents" that sleep about 16, have wooden floors, and a high-quality heater. We sleep on cots. A far cry from BCT! We're spending 3 days in the field, rotating in groups through varous training iterations.

Once the sun went down, we moved into our field classroom (a large tent that doubles as the mess hall). There, we received instruction in the use of Night Vision Goggles (NVG). It was great! Having watched so many action movies, I knew about what to expect. Still, it is fun to sit there in total darkness, put on a device, and be able to see. We had to take turns, so we got to mess with our friends who were not wearing NVG's at the time :-)

Every Saturday we have been learning LINES, a variant of Ju-Jitsu.

After NVG class we got to put that to practice in the dark. We got together in 2 man groups, and tried to take each other down. You much more feel than see what you are doing. It was great fun! Some of us (including me) got bumped up a bit, but you can't learn to fight if you don't fight. Is this really the Army? Somehow we had way too much fun.

Get Up That Rope, Private!

2005-10-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we saw the Senior class - the class that's about 4 weeks ahead of us in training - return from an obstacle course. They were battered, bruised and exhausted. The rumor is a few ended up in the hospital as well. They did not return from just any obstacle course, they returned from Nasty Nick, the Special Forces obstacle course. Nasty Nick is known for being, well nasty. There are multi-story towers you can only get up by climbing thick ropes. You can only get down them by sliding over ropes, either balanced on your belly or hanging from arms and legs. Parts are supposed to require balancing on a narrow beam high above the ground, while others apparently involve mud and water.

Way back in High School I used to be able to climb up a rope - barely. That was half a lifetime ago for me.

Today is Sunday. At this point in our training, Sundays are somewhat regulated affairs. People who attend various religious services go in groups at the appointed times. Services start between 0830 and 1100 depending on the faith. I had an important conversation with the Company Chaplain that I will come back to in a later blog. Those not at a service are generally assigned to a work detail. The duty Drill Sergeant (there is only one on duty for both classes) supervises the work details. Today, DS Bergstadt was in charge of us. He's normally assigned to the Senior Class. He also happens to be crazy. In a good way, but crazy nevertheless. For example, he's known for rappelling down the outside of the barracks to pop in on students at night to try and catch them in the act of doing the wrong thing. One time when a student dumped a load of dust on his students heads, he... You'll have to stay tuned to find out what happened that time (the student doing the dumping was me!)

Today DS Bergstadt decided that it would be a waste of valuable training time to put us on work details. Instead, he took us over to a rope climbing facility and proceeded to instruct us in the fine art of hauling our rears 30' vertically up ropes. The technique he showed us was to wedge the rope between the top of one boot and sole of the other, while reaching up to grab the rope as high up as possible. Then you just hold tight (don't pull up with your arms) while bringing your knees up to your chest. Lock your feet to the rope again, and stand up. Repeat until you reach the top.

The result of this training was - I had no idea how I would be able to complete Nasty Nick. I could repeat the climbing procedure no more than twice, getting me about 5 feet up the rope, before my hand strength gave out. With just a few weeks to go, I was very worried about Nasty Nick. On the other hand, I could not wait for the challenge.

Driving, Army Style

2005-10-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

After cleaning off all the mud from this morning's PT, we headed off to our classroom for an introduction to driving the HMMWV ("Hum-vie"). It was pretty slow for me (being an experienced driver with 4x4 / large vehicle experience), but necessary for some. Three people in the class do not have a civilian driver's license.

There was some valuable / unique information in the class, but it could have been conveyed in 15 minutes rather than 4 hours. Still, there was one bright spot: We learned that we would be driving HMMWV's at night, with night vision goggles. Cool! I can't wait.

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Speaking of driving, one reader wrote in with a vehicle related issue. She is leasing a car from Honda, and wants to return it under the provisions of the SSCRA when she's activated for basic training and AIT (if you don't know what SSCRA is, and are in the military, or are considering joining, click that link! It's good stuff to know).

Honda refused to take the vehicle back, saying that since she's allowed to take it to the state she will be serving in, they are not obligated. As far as I understand, that does not matter! SSCRA says "The service member or the spouse must prove that the service member’s military obligations have materially affected his/her ability to pay on the [auto lease] debts. "

I was in a similar situation with Toyota, and they took the vehicle back with no hesitation at all. Guess what, once I got out of AIT, I went and got another Toyota.

I would be interested to hear from you about companies that have treated you well, or didn't treat you well, while you were serving our country.

Speaking of buying our Toyota, we got our new one for $884 under dealer invoice. My wife wrote up how to do that. It's easy. It just involves spending $12 with Consumer Reports, and knowing how to drive a hard bargain.

The writeup is at a website called WWWatcher. Pass it along to anyone you know who is in the market for a new car!

Gettin' Dirty

2005-10-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

The morning started off ... not so well at all. It had rained the night before, the PT field was muddy. (Can you guess where this is going? :-) Somehow whatever we did, we were not fast enough, did not push hard enough, did not try hard enough. After stretching and several rounds of pushups and flutter kicks, the Drill Sergeants told us to run down a hill (to a point where we could no longer see them) and await instructions. They then called "Fall In!" (the command to get into formation). We sprinted as fast as we could, lined up into something vaguely resembling a formation (many would call it a gaggle), and then tried to straighten out into four uniform rows. After we failed miserably for a minute or so, one of the Drill Sergeants would yell out "Too slow! Back down the hill!". After about the fourth iteration, the Drill Sergeant stood so that we would have to stand in deep muddy puddles and called "Fall In!". I thought "sh*t, my socks are going to get wet." Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew my socks were the least of my worries.

As our feet became wet, the Drill Sergeant called out "Front leaning rest position - Move!". You may recall from a previous blog that the "front leaning rest position" has nothing to do with resting. You get down on hands and feet, body straight, ready to perform the pushup. "Down!" called the Drill Sergeant. We moved down in unison. "Up!" was the next command we expected to hear, but it never came. Instead, we heard "All the way down!" There we were, face down in the puddle. "Roll to the left!", "Roll to the right!", "Roll to the left!", "More to the left!" (to make sure everyone ended up in the deep part of the puddle. "Up!"

After that, we did our final stretches, and were dismissed to go upstairs, shower, and get ready for our first day of HMMWV driving school. You might think that we would be upset, but the opposite was true. In the shower we all kept talking about how much fun it was to roll around in the mud - kind of like being a kid again.

Jedi Warrior

2005-10-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

During Reception Battalion at Basic Training, you are issued "dog tags". The politically correct term these days is "ID tags", though most NCO's slip up and use the traditional term. Your dog tags include important information: Your name, social security number, blood type, and religious preference.

Today in formation, one Drill Sergeant told us an interesting story:

"Recruits, all of you have your religious preference on your dog tag. Me, my dog tag says 'Jedi' because I want to look down from above and watch that poor priest trying to figure out what the heck to do with me. He'll have to call up Skywalker Ranch for advice. He will have one heck of a time trying to figure out where to get a dozen Ewoks to dance around my funeral pyre!"

Interesting trivia: This Drill Sergeant's legs appear in the Jim Carrey film Dumb & Dumber. In the scene with the ski lift in the back, his legs are the bright green ones.

Waking up at the Crack of Dawn...

2005-10-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

... would have been wonderful. Instead, our night ended at 0330. Today was our first APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test). Fort Bragg is not a training installation, and AIT is sometimes hard-pressed for facilities. The only field available for the test was only available until sunrise.

After getting up, we did some stretching and light warming up in the company area. The stretches go something like this.

Drill Sergeant: "The neck rotation!"
Students (chorus): "BAM!"
[we move quickly to the start position and start when the DS begins counting]

That continues through a series of movement exercises: the neck rotation, the hip rotation (looks like you're doing hula hoops without the hoops), and the knee rotation.

Then begins the stretching

Drill Sergeant: "The overhead arm pull!"
Students (chorus): "Lead the way, Drill Sergeant, lead the way!"
Drill Sergeant: "Ready... streeeetch!"

Perhaps you're wondering why I detail our stretching routine. There's a good story about that yet to come. Hang in there, you'll enjoy it!

I hit the PT field with a sore throat, but still managed to hold my pushup and situp scores (to the exact numbers) and had my best 2 mile run yet - 15:45. For you 18 year olds out there that's not a very good time, but for a 39 year old it's a decent score. It gave me about 72 points in that event (plus or minus a bit). You need 60 points in each event to pass AIT.

Survival

2005-10-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

This morning we were standing in formation, getting a briefing from the Drill Sergeants about what to expect from the class. At one point they told us about survival training. We learned that they will teach us how to kill and prepare chickens, so that if we're ever trapped behind enemy lines we can do it quietly without being discovered. One Drill Sergeant went into some detail about what it is like to kill a chicken, watching closely for students that show signs of being squirmish. I bet those are the ones that will be selected to demonstrate the kills :-)

At this point, a young recruit named McWillie enteres the story. He acts extremely overzealously, shouting out "Drill Sergeant yes Drill Sergeant!" and the like (normally you only see that in Full Metal Jacket these days). He shouts it in such a strange voice that you just know he's messing with the Drill Sergeants, but he has such a serious look on his face that no Drill Sergeant has called him on it.

The Drill Sergeant finished telling us about the chickens. A few of us were casually sucking down water from our Camelbaks. The DS asked if there are any questions. McWillie shot his hand up, and was promptly called on. He shouted out in his highly enthusiastic voice "Drill Sergeant, I don't want to kill chickens. I want to kill a BEAR!!!" Have the class spat out their water, and we all burst into laughter. The Drill Sergeant couldn't help himself - he started to laugh with us.

This Place is Different

2005-10-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

The very first night in Reception Battalion (the first week of Basic Combat Training), we were issued a plastic 2 quart canteen. It looked like the kind of thing they issued in WWII. In fact, I'm pretty sure mine was first issued in WWII.

When we left Reception Battalion for the meaty part of BCT, all of the Drill Sergeants wore a Camelbak, while we toted around our uncomfortable 2 quarts. The Drill Sergeants made a point to let us know that they were issued their Camelbaks, a privilege of graduating from Drill Sergeant School.

Today, at AIT, we were issued our basic gear. First we received a Blackhawk brand backpack. An omen, I thought. I hope to fly Blackhawk helicopters in the future. It's quite a nice backpack, rugged and comfortable to wear. That was to be our book bag for the classroom portion of AIT. It also came in handy for missions in the field. Then we were all issued - a Camelbak! As a civilian you might say "no big deal, I have a Camelbak, too". What you need to realize is that the military takes away pretty much all of your privileges when you enter basic training, then slowly restores them as you prove yourself. No one in any other AIT receives a Camelbak (as far as I know). It proved to be herald of things to come - Special Operations training is very well funded compared to other AIT's (and very well run as well).

Displaced Civilians

2005-10-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

I arrived at AIT the night before most of my fellow students. When we got up in the morning, a certain Drill Sergeant Barker gathered up the 6 of us who were already at AIT and showed us his standards for cleaning the common areas of the barracks, then gave us MRE's and sent us to relax outside. DS Barker' demeanor was much more Bill Cosby than Sgt. Carter. He seemed like a man who possesses calm authority - like a man who gets his way without ever raising his voice. This suspicion would prove to be true.

A MRE meal in Basic Training was punctuated with people trying to get the best possible trades with their peers, whining and complaining until someone trades away their Peanut M&M's for Cheese with Jalipenos (or until the meal was done, which usually happened first). My first breakfast at AIT was different. People were not trying to eat as much as they possibly could. In fact, many people shared their goodies with the other students, or just plain gave them away. It felt good to be with people who don't place themselves above all else. It showed in the way they shared their food, and would later show in the way they show dedication to the mission and to their battle buddies.

Then came the "shark attack" ... or so we thought. The bus with the rest of the class pulled up, drill sergeants began to gather with stern looks on their face. We tensed, suspecting that the DS's would tear into the class at any moment. What happened next was the first of many events that showed that Psychological Operations is different.

We placed our possessions down in formation, and were instructed to file through a tent to sign in. Then, friendly NCO's in full battle rattle started handing us water, while others walked next to us, asking us innoculous questions about where we're from, what our name is, introducing themselves by first name, and asking us if we have everything we need. It was ... surreal.

They walked us into an area that was enclosed with engineer tape (white cloth tape, about 3" wide). We clearly were being contained, but the "guards" were very friendly. Next we heard a HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle - Hum-vie) fire up it's motor, and it rolled up a small hill into our view. Atop it was a powerful loudspeaker system. And then came ... The Laugh. Sergeant Bowers has a loud, overpowering, manical laugh worthy of a Hollywood movie. It is an incredible tool to demoralize the enemy. He would later show us a video of him sitting in a HMMWV in Fallujah as a 500lb bomb demolished a building in an airstrike his team had called in. In the instant of impact, The Laugh started up - demoralizing all enemy within earshot.

Each Instructor and Drill Sergeant was introduced in turn, then we were instructed to return to our gear. That's when all hell broke loose. We were given our room assignments, then given two minutes flat to get our gear upstairs and secured, then get back down in formation. There was the expected bottleneck at the doorway as everyone tried to get in first, then again in the stairs on the way up. I found my room (luckily it was very close to the stairway), and then promptly realized that I had no clue where I had packed my lock, and suspected it was at the very bottom of my duffle. Not paniced, but certainly concerned about the prospect of being singled out on Day One, I told my new roommate "Oh sh!t, I can't find my lock!". Calmly, the man who would prove to be one of the finest soldiers in AIT, pulled out a spare lock and slapped it on my locker, gave it a tug to make sure it was secure. That done, we raced down the stair together. A little stress situation like that gives you great insight into the character of a man. SPC Paul "Esca" Escajadillo put his battle buddy ahead of himself when he took a moment to help me secure my locker, and it would show again and again that he does the right thing, rather than what is convenient for him.

We ran back into formation, and stood at attention wondering what would happen next. It had certainly been more than two minutes by the time that the last soldiers returned. Would we be punished for taking too long? The next thing that happened was truely comical to me, in particular because my locker was secured. Clothes came pooring out of the windows! Shoes came flying down, BDU's floated a bit slower. The ground was soon littered with uniforms, socks and underwear. Then, DS Patterson - a short, athletic black woman - appeared at an upstairs window and announced in a voice that belies her short stature "Where is Private Hick*"? When the Private announced himself, she held up a magazine and asked "What the hell is this, Private Tits & Ass?" Now I could not find the exact cover, but start with this:

Remove a bunch of the clothing, and add paint splats all over the model. The Private was out of trouble when it was realized that he had a paintball magazine, but the nickname Private T&A stuck for the rest of the course.

Once the T&A incident was over, we acted as a team to gather up the scattered belongings of our battle buddies who had not secured their wall locker, and moved upstairs to get properly settled into our new quarters.

* Name changed to protect the innocent

The Calm Before the Storm

2005-10-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

The bus ride up to Fort Bragg was uneventful and relaxing. I felt happy, mostly because I was able to spend around two hours on the phone with my fiancee before boarding the Grayhound. As the bus sped through the night, I could not help but wonder what AIT would be like. Many of the guys at Fort Jackson had friends who joined a bit earlier and had already moved on to AIT. We heard that it's pretty much a 9-6, Monday-Friday affair. We heard that they got their cell phones after the first week. We heard that "punishment" was doing 10 pushups, and then everyone could order pizza. We didn't hear wrong (as far as I know). BUT, none of these people were in AIT for Special Operations. That makes a world of difference, as I would discover.

I traveled with one other person, a female whose graduation date also got messed up. We arrived at Fort Bragg late at night. Upon checking in with the Drill Sergeant on duty, I found that I was assigned to a room with three other people. Gone were the 8 man bays of BCT. We each had our own bed, a nightstand, clock, dresser and chair. Something else was different, too - the people. If BCT was like an inner city high school, AIT was turning out to be much more like Freshman year at an ivy league school. I found I was not the only one to score a 99 on the ASVAB. In fact, there were several of us. I also was not the only one to receive a leadership award. The people around me were - sharp.

I fell asleep happy about my situation, and wondering what the next day would bring.

The Sweet Taste of Freedom

2005-10-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

... tastes remarkably like peanut M&M's.

Today I woke up to a new world... one in which I'm no longer a Basic Training soldier. My AIT (Advanced Individual Training for Psychological Operations) starts a week before Basic Training Graduation, so the Army had no choice but to graduate me early.

After wakeup call, everyone else went down to begin the arduous task of cleaning all of our gear. It has to be turned in just as clean as we got it. I was different. I was shipping out today! Instead of joining the cleaning party, I packed up a few things and walked myself down to chow. A corporal then drove me over to Outprocessing, which took just a few minutes. I was given a Grayhound ticket to get me from Fort Jackson, South Carolina to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That bus was set to depart at 1700 (that's 5PM for you civilians), and I had about 8 hours of time to fill.

My Class A uniform (the one that looks like a suit with lots of pins and ribbons on it) was still in the cleaners for pressing, so DS Annoyed drove me over to get it out. On that trip, when we were alone, he talked to me like he would to any other adult. It was almost surreal. He constantly hollers and tries to instill discipline, far more so than any other Drill Sergeant. There he was, talking to me like a colleague. Like a fellow soldier. He shared with me that he takes such a strong approach because he feels that soldiers who leave IET (Initial Entry Training = Basic + AIT) without discipline are at risk on the battlefield. I can't argue with that. Many people I saw in Basic are likely to do the wrong thing under pressure. It's widely believed among NCO's that I've met that Jessica Lynch and her unit got into such trouble (and many died) due to lack of discipline.

The laundry facility itself was truely impressive. It reminded me much more of a factory than of the cleaners on the corner. It was huge. There must have been thousands and thousands of uniforms there, being cleaned, pressed, repaired, taken in or taken out.

Class A's in hand, DS Annoyed said I'm officially done with BCT. I asked him if I could walk myself to the PX (kind of like a mall with a Walmart). He thought for a moment, then said "you're officially en route to Ft. Bragg, so you can go where you want".

What a strange feeling. No one looking over my shoulder, free to go where I want at my own pace. Free to eat whatever I want! MRE's come with a piece of candy or a cookie. Back in the day when we were still allowed to eat that treat (before a few girls were caught eating the chicklet-sized rubber - uh, gum - that comes with them), I always hoped to get the Peanut M&M's, but never did. Now, cash in hand, I walked up to the PX and bought some. Oh, boy. Free at last. Free to... eat Peanut M&M's. Freedom never tasted so sweet (and crunchy).

Returning to the barracks to say final farewells, I could not resist the temptation to slide a bit of forbidden fruit under a few friends pillows. I hope they enjoyed it!

The Board

2005-10-14T11:29:00.000-07:00

Alpha Company is made up of four Platoons: Nightbreed, Death Row, Wolverines, and of course my platoon, the Undertakers. Each platoon is led by it's own Drill Sergeant team. Drill Sergeants are selected from the top 10% of Army NCO's. As such, they are very competitive.

One event is very important to them: the Leader of the Cycle Award. Each platoon's senior Drill Sergeant selects one soldier to represent the Platoon, and sends that soldier to a Leadership Board. That Board consists if the First Sergeant (the most senior NCO in the Company) and the four senior DS's (one from each Platoon).

I was the soldier selected to represent the Undertakers.

The Board is a formal process. The soldier reports to the President of the Board (in this case the First Sergeant). Then drill movements are presented (left face, right face, about face, rightstep march, and so on). After that, each Board member asks the soldier two questions pertaining to things we have learned at Basic Training. The Drill Sergeants from other Platoons try to trip you up and test your confidence. For example, after giving a correct answer they will give you a stern, disapproving look and ask if you're serious about your answer. Stick to your guns. That's what they want to see.

Two of the other soldiers weren't really competitors. They only started seriously studying the day before the Board. My Drill Sergeant gave me a week's warning, and I had been studying throughout the entire Basic Training course anyhow. One other soldier, however, was outstanding competition. He is focused on getting into Special Forces (through a program known as the Q-course), and comes from a long line of soldiers. He was good, but not good enough. I won the competition, earning the Leader of the Cycle distinction.

PG Again

2005-10-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Today, I became PG (Platoon Guide) again. The previous PG, Private Watts, was doing the job well. DS Annoyed has been drifting between platoons the last week or so as the company struggles to figure out how to best assign personnel, and he was watching over us today. There was some miscommunication, and DS Annoyed ended up yelling at a group of people who were just doing what they had been told to do. Rather than apologize for his mistake, or even just let it go, he decided to fire the PG and put me in his place. It was an unwarranted move, but I have the job again nonetheless. I did discuss the incident with the Platoon’s Senior Drill Sergeant, with whom I have an excellent rapport, and we quietly agreed that I could choose my successor when I ship out early to AIT, and that I will choose Watts. He is an excellent leader, and deserves to lead the Platoon across the parade field at graduation. Now that I have the job, I will do it to the best of my abilities.

One Hell of a Day

2005-10-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

We moved out to the field today for Victory Forge, our final FTX (Field Training Exercise). Victory Forge brings together all of the soldering skills we have been taught as we apply them to lifelike training scenarios.

The first day in the field is a day to setup things, get squared away, and prepare for the start of the scenarios the following day. I volunteered for a work detail that was finishing up one of the training areas – a vehicle checkpoint. Much had been already built, but there were many sandbags to be filled, which had to be placed to make fighting positions, and hundreds of meters of Constantine wire (similar to barbed wire) to be laid. Putting down the Constantine wire involved pounding large metal stakes into the ground, and then unrolling large spools of the wire between the stakes. A spool of Constantine wire looks like a large Slinky (about 4’ across) with razor-sharp protrusions along the entire length. The wire then needs to be fastened to the stakes. Three spools of wire are used for each segment: Two on the ground next to each other, to make the obstacle wide, and a third role on top of the first two, to make the obstacle high. Finally, barbed wire is laid over the top of the Constantine wire to hold everything together firmly.

The job would not take very long with many people working on it. However, to work with Constantine wire, you need to wear special, heavy-duty work gloves. Unfortunately, they were in very short supply. Most people on the work crew finished up about 9PM. Six were selected to stay on to finish the work requiring gloves. Tall people are needed so, lucky me, I was one of the six. Once the work force diminished from 40 people down to 6, the pace slowed as well. Add to that the fact that we had all been working for 12 hours already, and it started taking a long time to get things done. To top it off, about midnight thunderstorms started moving in, and we had to pause the work repeatedly as heavy rain burst forth from dark clouds overhead.

Apparently, the First Sergeant promised the Company Commander that the work would be done in time for training the next day. If we had not finished everything to standard, there would not have been any real impact on training. Still, the First Sergeant said the work had to be done, so we had to get it done. He did stay out there, with us, until we finally finished – at 4:30am! Weary, we returned to our encampment and laid our heads down to rest. A good hour after finally falling into a deep, satisfying sleep, I heard a deep voice boom “Soldier, why are you still asleep?!” Used to little sleep, I instantly became awake enough to say, “I was on a work detail that got off at 4:30am.” Now, some details begin in the early a.m. hours and last only a few hours, so DS McMillan, who turned out to be the one standing over me, asked “and when did this detail start?” When I responded “at 9am the previous day” he said in a deep, friendly voice “Get some sleep, soldier!” I drifted off into pleasant dreams until I awoke on my own some four hours later.

Even though it was one hell of a day, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quite an experience working in a team, completing a must-do task against a deadline, using brand-new skills. I have done that kind of thing countless times in my software development career, but it was a different kind of experience building something like that with my hands and surveying the work when it was done.

Push, Sit, Run!

2005-10-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

Today was the final PT test. To graduate from BCT, you need to score at least 50 points in each of three events: The pushup, the sit-up, and the two-mile run. The actual numbers you need to get depend on your age. Being 39, my Drill Sergeants joke that all I have to do is show up breathing to pass the test. Just passing, though, is not my goal. I want to excel.

Unfortunately we have been able to do very little PT (physical training) the past few weeks. Much of what we did do is tailored to help those who are having trouble meeting minimums just barely squeak by without hurting themselves. This is not just my opinion: many Drill Sergeants complain about the new PT system they are required to implement. Still, I was able to improve upon my practice tests. I did want to break 16 minutes for my two-mile run and fell short by 6 seconds, but got respectable scores of 72 points on my pushups, and 80 points on each of sit-ups and the two-mile run. I still have a lot to improve before I finish AIT (my goal is to finish with at least 90 points in each event).

Omaha Beach

2005-10-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

We have been in “buddy teams” for all of BCT. The idea is to get you used to always being with at least one other person when in a combat zone. You train like you fight. A secondary reason is to combat abuses of trainees at the hands of Drill Sergeants; a problem that plagued military services since their inception, but now seems to be largely in check. Generally it did not matter what kind of buddy you ended up with. Today, that changed. Today, we went to the Omaha Beach Buddy Team Live Fire Range. That means that both team members are moving down a firing lane at the same time, shooting live rounds at targets that appear. Each lane was about 20 meters (60’) wide, with cover such as a beat-up car, pile of tires, sand bags, etc. every 5 meters or so. Overall, the lane was approximately 200 meters long. The team members took turns advancing toward an “enemy emplacement” at the end of the lane. While one moved, the other provided cover fire. The last thing you want on this range is a partner who is careless with his weapon – one that does not exhibit muzzle discipline, in Army lingo. My partner turned out to be quite a reliable person. We moved down our lane, covering each other as we moved, and reached the final obstacle. At that point, we had to toss a practice hand grenade through a window about 15 meters away. I was one of only two people that actually got the grenade through the window that day.
It was an interesting and fun day, but like the hand grenade range, hopefully a skill I will never need to employ. Then again, it’s better to be trained for the unexpected than to be unprepared when the unexpected happens.

Boom!

2005-10-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

We have been practicing for a week or so, off and on: “Proper grip, thumb to clip, pull the pin, throw that shit!” Hand grenades. Today’s the day to throw live ones at the range, and to qualify with grenades as a weapon. This is the one class where safety is taken the most seriously (though safety is a key element of everything they do). Drill Sergeants are no longer allowed to teach the class. Instead they have designated instructors who do nothing else, week after week. Some of the people who go through BCT are, well, not the best candidates to throw a softball, let alone a live hand grenade. To reduce the risk to students and instructors, training goes trough multiple stages. At first, we have to throw practice grenades, but going through all the motions as if we’re throwing the real deal. If you can’t toss the grenade at least 5 meters (we duck behind a concrete wall!), you get a CW chalked on your Kevlar helmet. CW stands for Chicken Wing, and means that the instructor you throw the live grenade with has to pay extra-special-attention. On the other hand, if you violate any safety rule (such as not ducking behind the wall after throwing the grenade, a slash is chalked on the Kevlar. Slashes are sent to retraining in a separate lane. After that, they are sent back to try again. Another safety violation changes the slash mark into an X, and the student is banned from the range and must return a different day, potentially causing a late graduation. We had two X’s in the company.

Throwing the actual grenade is pretty anti-climatic. I was a bit nervous, but with all the practice beforehand, I knew exactly what to do and went through the motions instinctively. Duck… wait… boom! Get the second grenade… duck… wait… boom! Done.

It was certainly quite an experience to throw live hand grenades, but it’s a skill I will hopefully never need to use.

McMillan

2005-10-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

With DS Annoyed reassigned to a different platoon, we got a new DS today – DS McMillan. He’s one interesting character, and a great Drill Sergeant. He’s very tough when the situation calls for it, but he can turn around and motivate you to do your very best. He brings a great deal of energy and experience to the job. He has a very direct approach. Some other DS’s like him, while some others really seem to have a problem with his style. Pretty much all of the soldiers in my platoon like him, except for the ones that continually do the wrong thing – he’s very hard on them, but always tries to tailor punishment to promote learning and behavioral change.

One thing that particularly stands out with him is the cadences he sings. Cadences are the songs that are sung while marching soldiers. Some of them are very creative. Some can’t be sung anymore (at least not within earshot of officers), but those tend to be very funny. Darn PC is everywhere these days… DS McMillan is very musical, and very motivated, and that combination gets the whole platoon fired up. We turn heads around the Battalion when he marches us by.

We learned many cadences at BCT. Just one example follows (it is one that makes sense without knowing the music, but the music makes it all the better).

Around her neck…she wore a yellow ribbon.
She wore a yellow ribbon… in the merry month of May.
And if you asked her… why she wore that ribbon.
She wore it for the soldier who was far, far away.

Around the park… she pushed a baby carriage.
She pushed a baby carriage… in the merry month of May.
And if you asked her… why she pushed that carriage.
She pushed it for the soldier who was far, far away.

Behind his door… her daddy kept a shotgun.
He kept his shotgun… in the merry month of May.
And if you asked him… why he kept a shotgun.He kept it for the soldier who was far, far away.

NIC-at-Night

2005-09-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

NIC, the Night Infiltration Course, is designed to provide a basic feeling for what it is like to be in a firefight. It seems more appropriate to a cold-war scenario, or perhaps even a landing on the beaches of Normandy, but it was interesting nonetheless. We started at one end of a sand pit the length of perhaps two football fields, and had to low crawl to the other end, with machine guns firing over our heads, simulated explosions left and right (the area where the explosions go off are carefully fenced in), and the occasional flare that gets shot up. When a flare goes off, it’s like a bit roman candle, except that the rocket pops a parachute, and returns to Earth still burning so that the “enemy” can spot us. We have to stop moving while a flare is burning, then resume crawling as soon as it goes out.

It was a fun little exercise, but has little to do with today’s real world combat.

Robbery!

2005-09-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

The day at the US weapons range was great, but things quickly took a turn for the worst for 6 of us. While we were out, our barracks was robbed. The perpetrators broke padlocks off of some of the wall lockers, and stole whatever money they could find. One person lost around $400, but it was truly poetic justice. He had been stealing food out of the DFAC (dining facility) – in particular things we’re not allowed to have like desserts, and selling it in the barracks.
For me, the ordeal turned out to be pretty interesting. The MP’s as well as civilian police responded (CSI does not handle petty theft) and conducted a full-blown investigation. That included searching the entire barracks along with each individual wall locker. The officer in charge had a peculiar sense of humor that I found quite funny. He kept teasing people to see how they react. For example, while searching one (rather gullible) private’s possessions, he came across liquid laundry soap. He told the private, in a very official sounding tone, “I need you to dump that out so I can inspect it.” The dumbfounded (and dumb) private actually began to comply, but the officer told him, grin suppressed but showing, “No, no, that’s OK. I trust you.” One of the officers is a former Psyop. He told me a bit about training at Ft. Bragg, and told me I will thoroughly love the job. In the end, the culprits were not found. However, it did make for an interesting diversion from otherwise not-so-exciting days. I just feel sorry for those who lost valuables that they actually earned.

US Weapons

2005-09-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today was a fun day. We went out to the range and had the opportunity to try our hand at a number of weapons in the US arsenal. The M249 squad assault weapon fires the same ammunition that the M16 does, but is capable of automatic fire. It is a heavier weapon, better able to abate the heat build up by firing rounds repetitively. The M240B is a heavier weapon than the M249, firing 7.62mm rather than 5.56mm rounds. It is also considered a superior design. The M203 is a grenade launcher that bolts on under the handgrip of the M16, firing 40mm grenades out to several hundred meters. The AT4 is a light anti-armor weapon, playing a similar role to the Russian RPG, but much more accurate and reliable. Finally, the claymore mine provides good defense, and can also be used well in an ambush. We had the opportunity to fire all of these weapons. The day at the range was just basic familiarization. In a pinch, those of us who paid attention would know how to load, fire and clear each weapon. We did not have enough practice to be considered anywhere near qualified. Still, it provided a good taste of weapons some of us will train on in AIT or in our units, depending on whether our job requires it.

Dressing Up

2005-09-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

So far we have been doing all our training in BDU’s – Battle Dress Uniforms. Now we’re approaching the end of BCT and graduation is in sight. Graduation is a ceremonial occasion, and BDU’s just will not do. Today, we were issued our Class A uniforms. Some people call them “dress uniforms”. It is amazing how quickly almost 200 people can be fitted for what amounts to suits and have them tailored to fit. It does feel good to put on the Class A’s. It’s a sign that training is almost done, and a sign of achievement.
Today they also started moving Drill Sergeants around. DS Annoyed has been moved to a different platoon, where he became the senior DS. He is knowledgeable and his skills will be missed, but on the other hand his approach makes the time in BCT unpleasant. Hopefully his replacement will have both the knowledge, and the skill to impart that knowledge without the need to be, well, annoyed all the time.

A BCT Birthday

2005-09-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

Most people don't look forward to celebrating their birthday in Basic Combat Training. I'm no different. To make things worse, the day did not start out well. Standing in the Company morning formation, the First Sergeant, the NCO in charge of running the Company, came out and yelled loud enough for all 170 people in the Company to hear, "Soldiers Johannsen and Brown report to the Commanding Officer immediately after formation!" Reporting to the C.O. is almost never a good thing. When I got there, I discovered that Brown was there for Article 15 punishment for starting a fight. Again I wondered, "What is going on?" The First Sergeant came out and asked my first name. Five minutes passed, and then another sergeant asked the same question. Curious, I thought. Then clarity - it turns out they were really interested in Private Jonas, who appears next to me on the Company roster, and is a short female. Relived, I returned to my Platoon. The rest of the day turned out to be a great birthday, except that my friends and loved ones weren't with me (except in spirit). We went to a confidence course, much of which requires teamwork. The first one we did had us climbing up a tower, walking across a balancing beam (with a net below in case we fall) and making our way to a platform where a DS strapped us into a parachute harness and pushed us off the tower - but the harness was attached to a cable, that we slid down to the ground - a drop at 40', while traveling about 200' away from the tower. The trip ends suddenly when the top of the harness strikes a cross beam, slinging the rider from vertical to horizontal almost instantly. Your team then helps you down. Another obstacle had a five man team climbing 5 successively higher log walls - the highest of which was about 12'. Tall, strong people go up first, being heaved up by their team mates. They secure themselves atop the wall, then reach down to hoist the others up. When the walls get to be too high, a belt can be made into an improved sling. There was one female in our group who has no upper body strength and no coordination. Let's call her Private Graceful. When we had to get her up onto the first high wall, another male and I reached grabbed one of her wrists and yanked, while two from the bottom pushed her up. In a flash, she was laying atop the wall on her belly. To be put down on the other side, she would have to turn around (unless she were to go face-first ;-) Unfortunately, she did not have the slightest clue how to do that. She started to flail around wildly. I was doing my best to stabilize her, when my friend Private Green suddenly turned bright red. He let out a yell that caught everyone's attention. Graceful had firmly planted her elbow on his, hum, sensitive area. And left it there. The poor guy experienced drawn-out pain while he tried to get out from under Graceful without throwing her off the wall. In spite of the painful interlude, we had a great deal of fun negotiating the walls - something I was uncertain of being able to do when we arrived that morning. By far, the most interesting and unnerving obstacle is the Skyscraper. Imagine five 10 feet by 10 foot wooden platforms, all stacked atop each other 5'-7' apart - forming the floors of a mini skyscraper. The task is to climb up - on the outside. On the way up, the hardest job is going first. There is no one above you to help pull you up... or to grab you if you slip. I was both the tallest and the strongest, so that job fell to me. The first floor was not so bad. The spacing between floors is moderate, and the fall isn't that far. Once I was up, we decided to pull up Private Graceful. She was panicked. On the one hand, she knew this course is a requirement to graduate. On the other hand, she had no concept of how to accomplish it, and quite a fear of heights. Once she got half way up, she panicked. There was no safe way to put her back down, so we did what we had to do... hoisted her up. I grabbed her hands and arms hard, pulling her up like a sack of potatoes, while the others found a grip on her flailing legs and pushed her hard. She was terrified, but we were not about to let her fall. One last pull, and her upper body rested on my platform. I scooted back, grabbed both wrists, and gave a hard tug, bringing the rest of her to relative safety. We did it, as a team, but it was all too much for the Drill Sergeant. Too much risk. A fall from this first level could result in a twisted ankle for someone who keeps their wits about them, but it could prove far worse for a panicked person. A fall from a higher level could have a far worse outcome. The DS removed Private Graceful from the course, leaving the four of us to press on.

We all made it up onto that first platform without too much difficulty, working together as a team. The next one was not that bad either. Then came the third of four. It was spaced the furthest apart, requiring quite a stretch - hanging over quite a long drop - for me to get my fingers in place to grab on. Then I had to jump, trusting in the strength of my fingertips and my buddies not to let me fall. By this point, we were certainly in broken bone territory, if not worse. The final platform was relatively short, and we easily made it to the top. There, we celebrated briefly, rocking the sturdy but flexible tower back and forth and chanting the name of our platoon: "Under-takers, Under-takers, Under-takers".

The way down was at least as challenging as the way up, in a different way. Fortunately, the first level down was not that far. Still, it's quite a feeling to hang your body over a ledge, with no one below you to help out (again, the tall and strong one went first...), trusting in your fingertips to hold you, and your balance to get your body securely on the next platform. After I was down, Private Forreal went next. She has two anatomatical features that made it difficult for her on the way down: She's quite short, and she has size E breasts. The first seems obvious enough, but none of us anticipated the second offering a challenge... until the difficulty struck. She was hanging over the top ledge from the waste down. I placed a hand behind her leg to begin to guide her down, and then she let her weight slowly slide over the edge. Then, she stopped... stuck in place, the victim of her anatomy. She didn't communicate her predicament, but rather tried to work herself loose - which she did with rather sudden success. She fell earthward as her chest cleared the edge, accelerating rapidly toward the ground. Reflexively, without time to think, I grabbed the roof with my left hand and her waist with my right, and yanked her in with all my strength. She was secure. No bones would break today.

The next level down was physically the most challenging for me, having the largest gap. Having the benefit of experience from the previous level, I just grabbed a gap in the floor boards with my fingers, lowered my body all the way down, and pulled my legs up and in to contact the floor below.

The rest of the descent was uneventful, but reaching ground floor was a great feeling. The Skyscraper certainly lived up to its reputation... challenging people and building confidence.

Once the course was done, there was one final birthday treat. All of the Drill Sergeants went home early, and the First Sergeant opened up the floor... to student impersonations of their Drill Sergeants! Some of us should have been appearing in the comedy club rather than training to be a soldier, so good were some of the acts that were put out. It was a riot. We had such a good time joking and laughing.

BCT is not the place to celebrate a birthday, but I had about the best birthday anyone has had in basic training.

Reflexive Fire

2005-09-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the range to try out hand at reflexive fire, the same skill we practiced without rounds the day before. On previous ranges, the targets averaged 175m, almost two football fields away from us. Here the closest target was just 12.5m away - think soccer, penalty shot - and the furthest was only 25m. Very up-close and personal. Everyone in the Platoon has a combat support role (logistics, mechanic, administration, etc.). We all hope never to see an enemy that close. Practicing once at the range hardly prepares you for the real thing. In fact, the real thing is exactly what happened to Jessica Lynch and her convoy. They were a bunch of transportation specialists who happened to take a wrong turn. They were ill-prepared for the resistance they encountered. My unit practices that kind of scenario. Also, if we do move over land, it is generally with infantry support due to the nature of our mission. I hope that the soldiers I trained with today get more training before they end up in Iraq.

Qualification

2005-09-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

The past two days, I could only fire once per day because so many people were struggling. Today, I did not get to fire at all! So many people are still having a hard time that they said anyone who qualified yesterday will use the score from yesterday, so that there is more time and ammo for the others to attempt their qualification. I really thought I could hit 30 targets, but now will never know. I guess just qualifying a day ahead of time is pretty good, especially considering I only ever shot a rifle once, 23 years ago, on my uncle's ranch. The trick to qualifying on the M-16, and shooting well, is simple - listen to what the DS is telling you, and do it. Some of the people who have the hardest times are the ones who's paw or grandpaw taught them to shoot, and fail to adapt their technique to the M-16.

The day was very long. Even though I could not shoot, I did have time to write two poems - perhaps providing me with a little balance. Even though I could not shoot I still had an interesting day. By the afternoon, many had qualified and the DS's were working on the hard cases. Perhaps 120 of us went to an adjacent field to learn and practice "reflexive fire" - taking the weapon off safe when a target appears, engaging that target, and then promptly returning the weapon to safe. The DS's were all needed at the firing line, and they put me in charge of the exercise.

Most of the people there really wanted to learn. We were practicing a skill that keeps you alive in a war zone. However, there were a few soldiers, maybe 10% that treat BCT like high school - a place to run their mouth and be disruptive. Generally, they are kids from the hood. The worst offender is a big black kid, named Davis, that reminds me strongly of a character in Jet Li's movie 'Romeo Must Die' - the fat character that's always running his mouth. Normally, when a trainee is left in charge, the kids from the block do whatever they want. Not with me. When Davis began talking to his friends loudly enough to constitute a disturbance, I stopped training, addressed him directly, and politely asked him to behave. He turned to me with an intimidating look and asked "Who the F*ck you talking to". Usually, others back down when he pounds his chest like that, I just pretended I was a DS, walked right up to him, face-to-face, spouting off something like "Many people here will be in Iraq in a few months. Now, if you want to get your fat ass shot up because you don't know what the hell you're doing, that's fine with me. But, most of the people here want to learn how to keep themselves alive." I used my best DS voice, too :-) He was shocked, and shut up - for a while. A bit later, he decided to test the waters again. I let him know, at the top of my lungs, but remaining professional rather than getting angry, that I'm conducting training, and he's disturbing it. DS Annoyed happened to walk by just then, and gave Davis a half-hour smoke session. The fat boy sure needed the workout ;-) For days afterwards, people commented on how well I handled the situation. I'm just glad I could get important training to people that need it.

Practice Quest

2005-09-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today we were back on the same range. I got to shoot it for the 2nd time. For many others, it is the 4th or 5th attempt. Again, I "qualified" on my first attempt. Again, many others did not. I still didn't break 30 of 40, the number required to become a sharpshooter. However, I'm getting to know this range and think my chances are good for tomorrow.

I have memorized the order the targets appear in, and figured out just where to aim for each target, given its distance down range. When first fired, a round begins to climb. Then, after a few hundred meters, gravity pulls it back down toward the actual aiming point. Additionally, if the target is slightly up or down hill, aim must also be adjusted. Tomorrow's the day...We'll see!

The Real Range

2005-09-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Finally, we got to shoot on the actual range we will qualify on. It's different, in that there are targets from 50m to 300m in 50m increments, with two targets at 50m (left and right of the center line). The near targets pop up for 3 seconds, while the furthest are up for 9 seconds. Even though we practiced the same thing on the simulator, the feel of the actual range is quite different. The sim gives you an idea of what to expect and is good for practicing technique, but is no substitute for the real deal.

The past few weeks, there have been countless butterflies all over the place. They're black, with blue and green neon highlights in their wings. They're also quite large. At one point, while waiting to fire, 3 of them landed on my M-16, which was lying on the sandbags of my firing position.

I thought it would make a great photograph. That photo would make a good statement about the role of warefare in society - there are many beautiful things in the world that fighting destroys. Armed conflict should always be the choice of last resort.

When my turn came to shoot, and the butterflies had left on their own accord, I did well enough - "qualifying" on my first try. That was my only opportunity to shoot today because most other soldiers did not fare as well. That others shot time and again, until the bosses came. Hopefully, tomorrow will go better for them.

Eat Led Succa!

2005-09-15T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today we went out to a somewhat different range. The targets popped up at distances we hadn't practiced yet. I hit enough targets in the first go, so I didn't get to fire again. The ones who have trouble get to fire multiple times. The focus is on gettting everyone through, rather than on equal training time.

In Vietnam, the weapon of choice was the M16A1. It was full automatic. Pull the trigger once, and bullets keep coming out until you release the trigger, or the magazine runs out. Turns out, it's very hard to keep units supplied, if they fire like that (especially when they're on the move), and most bullets didn't hit their target. For that reason, the M16AZ was introduced. It can fire a single shot, or a 3 round burst. That strategy has proven very effective.

Given that, a lot of heads turned when one of the trainees pulled the trigger, and emptied the magazine into his target. Somehow, something inside the weapon broke just right to make it full automatic. Must have been fun!

The Day After

2005-09-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

I'm tired :-(

Can You Hear Me Now?

2005-09-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Everything you could possibly need at BCT, except for your toothbrush, razors, and soap, is issued to you by the Army. Anything else you may have brought gets put in your personal bag and locked away until the end of training. Well, not quite. One of our DS's goes out of his way to help us, and someone took advantage of that today. He allowed someone to remove something from their personal bag, and accidentally left the door to the room unlocked. That room is on the female floor. One of the females decided, rather than tell him, to sneak into the room and get her cell phone. Not only did she make calls, but at least 6 other females made calls as well. Unfortunately, like DS Annoyed likes to say, "If more than one person knows about it, it ain't a secret." The transgression was soon discovered. Normally, since we're in White Phase of BCT, punishment should be individual rather than collective. Indeed, the individual with the phone, as well as a few other females that admitted to using it, are being punished under Article 15 of the UCMJ (Universal Code of Military Justice). That can mean up to forfeiture of 1/2 month's pay for 2 months, and up to 14 days extra duty. However, the DS's decided that so many people eventually knew that the storage room was open, yet said nothing, that the entire Platoon will be punished by pulling duty for the whole Company. Since there are 4 Platoons in the Company, that means we all have double-duty. That means we'll each get a good, solid 3 hours of sleep. Ouch!

A Dog's Life in Iraq

2005-09-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

While waiting for the Virtual Range, we did more "concurrent training". During a break in the action, a sergeant came up to us and answered questions about Iraq. One question led to an interesting story. There are many stray dogs in Iraq. Most suffer from under-nutrition, wandering the streets in search of food and water. On one patrol, a high-speed, all-business Ranger, weapon at the ready, turned a blind corner, and suddenly - his features softened, his eyes widened, and he said "Ahw, a puppy!" The camp mascot was adopted. The puppy was well-cared for and loved and quickly grew. It began going out on patrols in the Hummer with the soldiers that adopted it. One day, though, the patrol didn't go as planned. The soldiers had to pick up a Lt. Colonel from a remote village and return him to the base. Upon seeing the friendly pooch, the Colonel demanded "What the hell is this mutt doing in a military vehicle?" and threw the poor canine out on the street. The convoy was forced to return without it. After returning the dog-unfriendly Colonel to his unit, the soldiers quickly mounted a new patrol - a search and rescue mission. They would not abandon their four-legged friend. Upon reaching the village, they quicky realized that the dog was not where they had left it, and no one in their group knew the Iraqi word for "dog". Instead, they resorted to "woof, woof!" and pantamime. The Iraqi villagers thought it was hillarious, but it was also effective. In short order, they found their companion.

One might think that's more than enough bad luck at the hands of military brass for one little dog, but the pup had another problem to face. The Air Force said the local stray dogs were getting onto the runway at Bagdhad International, creating a hazard for aircraft. The USAF Commander ordered his security team to shoot all the strays. After a time, they showed up to put the mascot to sleep. An MP ordered "step away from the dog, I'm going to shoot it", pointing a loaded shotgun. One of the soldiers picked up his friend and said "the hell you are!" The USAF man advanced with his weapon, and the soldier grabbed the shotgun, smashing the butt-stock in it's wielder's cheek. The man left, scared dog still in the arms of its rescuer, to sommon the MP's. However, the soldier's CO stood behind him, and no charges were ever filed. Soldiers have come and gone, but the dog still calls that base its home.

Virtual Range, Real Skills

2005-09-12T18:13:00.000-07:00

We returned to ETS, the Victory Range again. This time, it was programmed to show us the range we will qualify on, with targets at 50 meter intervals, from 50m out to 300m. Firing on the simulator was very instructive because we got instant feedback about mistakes and improper techniques. I shot 32 of 40 targets, enough to qualify as a sharpshooter if I do that on the real range. I can't wait for the real deal - it should be fun!

Zero

2005-09-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

I already managed to zero my weapon yesterday, so I spent much of the day coaching battle buddies who were having trouble. I went 3 for 3 in helping people through the process, which felt good. I also got to shoot again, and put 16 of 18 rounds within a 4cm circle from 50 meters. The last two fell just outside. I enjoyed the schooting, but the best part of the day was helping others succeed.

The Range is Clear!

2005-09-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today was a day many of us have been looking forward to - we finally get to fire the M-16's we have been carrying around for weeks. Just to make sure we get full enjoyment out of the day, the Army in its wisdom decided to wake us up at 0430, or 4:30am. Also in its infinite wisdom, the Army forgot you need lights to see your targets, so after eating chow and being bussed to the range, we spent a good 45 minutes waiting for the sun to come up. In spite of that snafu, it proved to be a fun day. We had about 170 people (all of A Company), but only 32 firing lanes. So, we were divided into firing orders. It takes time, in the interest of safety, to bring each firing order on and off the range. So, at any given time, most people were involved in "concurrent training" - dry fire exercises designed to train certain aspects of marksmanship without firing rounds. They are useful - up to a point. However, you can quickly get more than enough of them. As a result, much of the day became "hurry up and wait". Still, the time spent on the range was fun and instructive. Before you can hit a target reliably, you have to "zero" your weapon - set the sights so that they are right for the way you hold it, allowing for your anatomy. Before you can zero, though, you need to be able to place two groups of three shots reasonably close together. Today, we were trying to group. To accomplish that, we fired at a paper target 50 meters away, with a 1/6th scale replica of a real target. That simulated firing at a real target 300 meters away. Today not only did I group, but I zeroed as well. Sweets are generally off-limits during BCT, but zeroing earned me a Moon Pie. They don't really taste very good, but I sure enjoyed eating it.

Ultra Nintendo

2005-09-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today marks the beginning of BRM- Basic Rifle Marksmanship. Rather than give you an M-16 and a bunch of rounds right off, the Army has gone high-tech. They have a super-modern rifle range simulator called an ETS. It's set up inside a building with 15 shooting lanes. Each lane holds a working replica of an M-16, except that all kinds of sensors have been added. Each position comes complete with sandbags. The far wall is a giant projection screen - every gamer's dream. It depicts all of the shooting lanes, using images from our actual ranges, enhanced with some computer graphics. When you pull the trigger, it records where you hit - but it also records a whole lot more. It keeps track of how much the rifle moves just before you fire - a measure of how stable your firing position is. It also measures how stable you hold the rifle after you fire - something called follow-through. When firing, it is important not to jerk the trigger, but rather slowly increase pressure until the weapon discharges. The computer tracks trigger pressure as well. It even records canting - turning the rifle left or right about the barrel. The virtual range was fun and instructive. Tomorrow we get the real deal. Hopefully that will be just as fun. Sure would be great to get an ETS for Christmas! I wonder if it will run a flight simulator.

Let's go Camping!

2005-09-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

The last two days we were on the Red Phase Field Training Exercise, ie. camping, Army Style. The first day we learned how to use Army field radios (an easy task for a pilot). They do the same thing as a tiny handheld aviation radio, but are about the size of a bread box. They do have one extra function - to jump between frequencies (making it difficult to locate the sender or intercept the transmission), but I'm sure that alone does not justify the size. We also learned basic squad movement tactics, and practiced them. Come nightfall, we entered our ponchos-turned-tents and got some rest. We didn't even get to roast marshmallows. :( The next morning, we got up an hour before daybreak and took up a defensive perimeter. Enemies never attack US positions at night (at least ones with any sense) because our night vision gear is so good that we own the night. Just before daybreak, when the first light begins to fall, is the best time for the enemy to attack. For that reason, we take a strong defensive stance during that period. This exercise was just a taste of what awaits us in the field. We have a 3 day one in Whtie Phase and wrap up our training with 7 days in the field at the end of Blue Phase - an exercise called Victory Forge. Hopefully they won't forget the marshmallows!

Things I Miss

2005-09-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

It's been about three weeks now since I left for Fort Jackson. In that time, my life has completely changed. I'm in an environment to turn civilians into soldiers in just 9 weeks. To facilitate that, every aspect of life is strictly controlled. Of course, that leads to missing things. I miss my friends and family, and most especially Rose. Other than that, though, topping the list are some things you might not expect. Right up there is a sofa - we have no where to sit day in, day out, except the floor (though I must admit, right at this moment, I'm lounging on my bed writing this. A calculated risk, as most of the DS's are home for Labor Day). On a similar note, I miss a table and chair. Unlike many here, I don't miss junk food or sweets - though a good Jamba would taste great right about now. I also don't miss computers, at least not yet - except that I would LOVE to be able to chat and send e-mail. One of the other guys here is a pilot, and we often speak of how it would feel to get behind the controls of an airplane. Just a little over a month to go!

Tap Out or Pass Out

2005-09-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Every so often, so the theory goes, you run out of bullets for your M-16 and your bayonette is in the shop. When that happens, you must engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. The Army selected modified Jujitsu to teach its soldiers. Where it may take a civilian years to become skilled in Martial Arts, the Army figures a good, full day of mass instruction should suffice for its high-speed warriors. So, we spent the day learning how to pin eachother and how to break pins. The DS's tried to make it seem like a big deal in the days leading up to today by sporting a knowing grin and telling us "you either tap out or pass out". In reality, when we got paired up, most battle buddies asked eachother "we ain't gonna hurt eachother, right?" At the end of the day we learned a little something useful about pinning opponents, but if Bin Laden ever jumps me, I'm still going to punch him in the nose.

Not Exactly Coleman

2005-09-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our frist FTX, or Field Training Exercise. Basically, it's camping, Army style. We don't know exactly what to expect yet, but we do know it won't be like a weekend trip to Cuyamaca. We also know we won't have tents. We'll have ponchos instead. Amazingly, a two-soldier team can combine their ponchos to make a very servicable tent. At least, that's the theory. It looked pretty good when we practiced setting them up today, but then again, it wasn't raining. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Gas, Gas, Gas!

2005-09-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

Usually when our platoon talks about a gas attack, we are referring to Private Garcia and his perpencity to break wind. Today, things are very different. Today we enter The Chamber. We have received training in the use of our Promask (Protective Mask), and today put that skill to the test. Even if we execute perfectly, though we still must breathe in CS (tear gas)...before exiting the chamber, a DS ensures you open your eyes and breathe in the stuff.

We entered The Chamber in groups of 20. While waiting our turn, we traded both useful information and wild rumors about what to expect. One Private was convinced that you have to throw away the underwear you wear into The Chamber. Someone else claimed that if you wash your clothes and then put them in the dryer, that CS will be released and turn the laundry room into a gas chamber. The latter rumor turned out to be true!

Upon entering The Chamber, mask donned, I observed it to be about 30' on a side, dimly lit, and foggy. The fog was coming out of a coffee can - the source of CS gas. Immediately I felt....nothing. Within a few seconds, a hot, prickly sensation spread out over my neck, arms, and legs. It felt like having extra, extra, extra strength BenGay all over my body. Some people hated it, but it really wasn't too bad. After a while, a DS came by, had me life my mask, and recite my name, rank, and social security number. Then I put my mask back on, clear out the CS, and breathe normally again. Some people did not understand how to clear their mask, and had a horrible time while the DS talked/assisted them through it. For me it was easy - likely due to my diving experience. Up to this point, The Chamber was no problem. To exit, though, we had to open our eyes wide and shout "Undertakers!" (our platoon name) at the top of our lungs. I did so, and still had some breath left to hold. Unfortunately, DS Annoyed noticed and shouted at the top of his lungs "Breathe!". Eventually I had to, and it was.....horrible! If felt very much like breathing water into your lungs....except that there is nothing to cough out. After a LONG while (actually just 15 seconds), the finally let us out.

Running out of The Chamber, I felt fresh air begin to relieve the stinging on my skin. My lungs, though, didn't improve a bit. I still felt like a fish out of water. My eyes continued to burn, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of suffocation. After about 10 attempted breaths, my lungs slowly returned to normal. Then, I had time to focus on the fact that my eyes did sting quite a bit after all. It hurts to open them, exposing them to light, but letting in the air is the only way to get rid of the CS. Finally, after my eyes began to recover, I recalled what they said about CS being the best nasal decongestant known to man....and experienced it full-force. All in all, my visit to The Chamber went well. Some people panicked and tried to run out (they were stopped by a DS), while others simply could not follow directions.....and had to go through again. I'm glad - after the fact - to have made the experience, but do not care to repeat it anytime soon.

Fit to Win

2005-09-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, we face the most dreaded part of basic training - the gas chamber. But first, we got to have a little fun. We ran a team-based obstacle course, with each of the four platoons of Alpha Company competing against eachother. Each platoon was divided into four squads, with each squad starting a few minutes apart. The course is divided into four parts. The first squad had to complete the first part before the next squad could start. Within each squad, there's a strong emphasis on teamwork - several of the obstacles require spotters, and no one from the squad can move on until the last member completed the current obstacle. The atmosphere was competitive but fun. It actually felt more like a company picnic than Basic Combat Training.

The first obstacle was a chest-high wall to climb over. Along the path, we had to balance on narrow beams (with squad members spotting eachother in case we fall off), swing the monkey bars, crawl on our backs under barbed wire (the last part went up hill, and our team members pulled us out from under the wire and back on our feet), crawl through pipes, jump into and out of trenches, and run the obstacle made popular by football camp where a number of tires are setup in two rows, and you have to step into each one as quickly as you can. The final obstacle was a 15' high wall made of netted rope. We had to climb up one side, down the other, assemble the entire squad on a retaining wall on the far side, jump down the wall onto sawdust-covered ground, do 10 pushups, and high crawl 30' to the finish line. The platoon was finished when the last member of the last squad crossed the finish line. We didn't win, but we gave the winners a run for their money - and we had a great time!

Die Michelin Man!

2005-09-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

We have been carrying our weapons around for a while now. We learned to march with them, take them apart, clean them, and put them back together. We all want to finally shoot them. Today....is not the day. Remember those old WWI movies where enemy soldiers come storming into the trench and everyone gets locked in a bayonet fight because automatic rifles weren't invented back then? Well, today we practiced the fine art of bayonet fighting. After several dry run practice sessions, they took us to a training area where hundreds of "Michelin Men" stand in rows and columns, ready for comat. A Michelin Man consists of a pole about 5' tall, to which is ffastened a tire, turned to simulate a chest. There is a circular piece of thick rubber, where the hubcap would be. The "head" is formed by a little seciton of cut tire bolled on top of the main tire. Finally, a 4' long, 4" diameter hard wood pole is fastened to the bottom of the main tire, on a hinge, to simulate the opponent's weapon. We first had to parry the enemy "rifle" out of the way, then attack with one of a number of different strokes. Unfortunately, they fight back. The spring on the enemy rifle is pretty strong. The first one I hit out of the way snapped right back at me and whacked my finger. It hurt pretty good for an hour, and left a bruise under my fingernail.

Driving away from the training area, I realized that someone in the Army is either completely dense, or has a great sense of humor. Viewing the scores of Michelin Men from the side, I realized that I was looking at row after row, column after column phallic symbols! Very unmistakingly so. When I pointed it out to my battle buddies, we had a great laugh....it made our day.

Pugil

2005-09-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

Back in something like 3rd grade, our normal PE routine got a little addition - we got to don protective gear, take big padded sticks, and whack eachother. That must have been before the wild growth of lawsuits in this country. I can't imagine that happening today. The Army has no such issue with legal actions, and uses the concept as part of BCT. They call it Pugil. First, we completed male vs. male and female vs. female. The DS matched us up according to size. I'm pretty big - but only the 2nd biggest in the platoon. The title of Biggest Undertaker belongs to to a 6'7" kid from the block who is half my age (gulp!). We had pretty good competition, but in the end he got me (he also went on to the company finals in our weight class). After each platoon had it's own session, the best three males and best three females (one from each weight class: light, middle, and heavy weight) went on to compete against the best from the other platoons. For the semi-finals, we competed against our acrh-rivals - 3rd platoon, while 1st and 2nd platoon had their own semi-final battle. The 3rd is always loudly proclaiming how great they are, but we won 5 of 6 fights! The winner of each sex + weight class from the semi-finals went on to the Company finals. There the competition was harder, but we came away champions! Pugil is one of a few events that bring with it a guidon - a streamer - to add to the Platoon banner.

Land Nav

2005-08-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

Today we got to try our hand at land navigation or land nav for short. That involves measuring a map to see the distance and direction you need to travel, then using a compass figure out the direction you need to travel. Then you start moving. To know how far you have travelled, you count your steps. Before starting out, you count how many steps you have to take to travel 100 meters. After learning the theory, they turned us loose in the woods. Many people were lost, but I had already learned and practiced the skill with Civil Air Patrol (Search and Rescue). The best part was when they sent us out at night to try our hand in near-total-darkness. We had a lot of fun and we were finished in time to "ambush" some of the other groups.

Lock it up!

2005-08-28T19:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight, as we were lined up for evening formation, DS Annoyed came storming out of the barracks and asked in a thundering voice "Private Lemming, just which one of your Drill Sergeans is an asshole?!" Turns out, Private Lemming forgot to lock his locker. The DS used that as an opportunity for an impromptu locker inspection, and found a half-finished letter in which Private Lemming describes his DS's to a friend. The next few days were tough for Lemming...

Double-Duty

2005-08-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Well, Private Hocus-Pocus continues to cause trouble. She's constantly telling others what to do (though she has been given no authority), yet refuses to listen to anyone - be it a well-intentioned fellow soldier in training (which we call a "battle buddy"), or be it a squad leader or platoon guide ("PG"). I am now PG, and one of my responsibilites is to count the number of soldiers presnet in our platoon for evening formation. That is not easy when everyone is walking around, so I give the command "Platoon, Fall In!" That instructs everyone to line up in formation, to facilitate counting. Well, tonight private Hocus Pocus refused to fall in because "she was talking to someone". I gave her the option of falling in immediately, or pulling double-duty. She thought I was bluffing. I wasn't. She must not have enjoyed the long night. She didn't suddenly become a model soldier, but now she falls in when told to do so.

Voodoo

2005-08-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

I was starting to get the feel for being PG (Platoon Guide) today. People began listening even when the DS wasn't around, and I knew what to do and when. Then, on the way back from chow, something quite out-of-the-ordinary happened. It concerns a female I will refer to as Private Hocus-Pocus. Ever since the first day here, Private Hocus-Pocus has stood out as being quite odd, and a troublemaker. She loves to tell people what to do, but never listens to people around her. She has not recognized that in order to be a good leader, you first have to be a good follower. She also seems to be confused...among other things about her religion. We have one female (Private "Be Real") that practices Druidism, which I gather is similar to Wicca. Private Hocus-Pocus also claimed to be Wiccan. The next day, she told someone else that she's Catholic. On the third day, she claimed to follow yet a third religion.

Getting back to the after-chow formation, I was just taking a headcount when I heard a loud "thunk!" I looked up just in time to see that Private HP had just thrown her M16 violently on the ground (thank God we're not issued any ammo yet!) and began shaking and convulsing as if possessed. I went to her, along with several other people and asked "what's wrong?!" She appeared to be in a trance or something, staring with a blank expression and shaking as if trying to cast off something, but acted as if oblivious to the world. Then she just sat down and continued to ignore the world. The DS came over and tried to find out what was going on. After she ignored him as well, he told her (in a loud DS voice), "when you decide to tell us what the hell is going on, we'll try and help you." He then directed me to take the platoon back to our classroom. He and Private HP joined us a few minutes later. She was "normal" again (for her). Most of us put her behavior down to a "voodoo attack".

Sick Call

2005-08-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

People have been getting sick ever since day one. Combine many people in close quarters, a high-stress environment, and little sleep - people are bound to catch things. I have been fighting a cold for several days. Usually I would just sleep once for 12 hours and feel better. Here, that is not an option. Since things seem to be getting worse rather than better, I went on sick call. They saw me around 0600 this morning (no time for a sick person to be awake!) The decision was to give me some cough medicine and a decongestant, and send me back to duty. I asked to be given a running "profile" for a few days, but the medic felt that, since the weather is quite warm, I can run just fine now that I"m taking medication. Seems counter-intuitive to me, but he sees a lot of sick soldiers, so let's hope he's right.

Victory Tower

2005-08-23T17:05:00.000-07:00

Basic Training consists of 9 weeks of instruction, punctuated with several events designed to build skills, confidence, and teamwork. Victory Tower is one such event. They took us out to a clearing in the woods where a 50' tower stands. There, we first demonstrated basic ability with ropes by grabbing onto a thick rope and swinging ourselves over a 10' wide pit. Then the fun begins! We go over to the north side of the tower. There, we climb a ladder to a platform. From there, we climb up a robe bridge consisting of a single thick rope to walk on, and two thinner ropes that serve as handrails. That takes us up to the main tower. At about a 20 degree incline. From there, we crawl back down to the main platform, pulling ourselves on top of a single, thick rope. For me, that was the most challenging part of the day. Then, the exercise takes you back up a rope bridge just like the first one, but this time with only one handrail, located directly above the thick rope you walk on. Once up on the tower again, you proceed down a cargo net (thick ropes tied to form a series of 1 foot squares like a chess board) to return to ground level. From there, it's off to a brief class in how to tie a swiss harness - basically a single piece of rope tied around your waist to form a climber's harness. From there, wearing your harness, you pull yourself up a 70 degree inclined platform, with boards nailed across it to form ladder rungs, using a thick rope. Then for the final thrill - a DS at the top of the tower latches you into a 40' rope that drops back down to ground level - vertically! First, we have to stand with our feet against the top of the wall, and lie our body horizontally, suspend 40' above the ground by the rope and harness. Then down she goes. Kick off from the wall, hand holding the rope off to the side, you accellerate downward, still horizontal, toward the ground. Bring the hand with the rope behind your back, and you slow down, feet move back toward the wall, and you come to a momentary stop. Repeat the cycle a few times and before you know it, you have rapelled a 40' wall! It was a most excellent day.

Week One

2005-08-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

The first week is.....slow. There are lots of classes (admin-related, UCMJ, personal hygiene, customs and courtesies, etc., etc.). There is also lots of marching. Because plenty of us aren't disciplined enough to shut up and listen to the DS, we also become well-acquainted with the front-leaning rest position. While that might sound restful, it is anything but. It is actually the position you reach while on the top-half of a pushup. If you have any doubt as to how "restful" the front-leaning position is, try it out for a minute....or 5...or 10. You can arch your back up high, or sag in the middle, as long as your knee doesn't touch down. One thing is for sure....it builds muscle! Near the end of the week, we were issued an M-16. While that might sound cool, but it loses much of its charm when you realize that your weapon will be with you from daybreak to sunset. That litttle 8lbs gets to be quite heavy after 12 hours of carrying it around in your hands (never slung over your shoulders). It also makes for an excellent exercise accessory. If your're not quite sure how to incorporate it in your daily workout routine, just ask any DS. Notice I called the M-16 a weapon. In the Army, it can be referred to as an M-16, a weapon, or a rifle....but never as a gun. Kind of like telling the captain of the Nimitz that you like his boat. Our DS explained that to us in no uncertain terms. He said if anyone calls it a gun, they might as well get down and start pushing. No more than three minutes after that, Garcia (a slightly overweight, generally intelligent Hispanic) asked the DS a question about his "gun". None of us could believe he f*cked that up in just three mintes. We also got to disassemble/assemble the M-16. I was 4th when we tried to disassemble for time. First place was a guy from "the block" who cleans his AK-47 every night back home. The first three weeks are called Red Phase. After that come White and Blue Phase. They say, although Red Phase seems to pass at a snails pace, the other phases fly by. Let's hope so!

Getting Started

2005-08-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

The first week of BCT was pretty uneventful. We spent a lot of time learning the basics such as how to march, how to exercise the Army way, and how to maintain our barracks. Many hours were spent in the classroom, learning things like Customs and Courtesies, UCMJ, and prevention of sexual harassment. During the latter class, the presenter asked the audience of 200 or so to share what they consider to be signals that their partner is open to sexual interaction. There were a number of funny answers, but one had the whole room in stitches. "Country", an overweight, but lovable hick from Kentucky stood up and started out with a thick hillbilly accent, "well, one morning I was out in the barn...", with which the whole room errupted into laughter (and I guess a little sympathy for the livestock. :-) Even the presenter lost her military bearing. Once things settled down, he continued "I was milking my cow" (which he mimed out, and more laughter ensued) "and my girlfriend walked in on me". The presenter asked "So how was that sexual?", to which he replied "Well, it kind of turned her on". "Go on" urged the presenter. "Well, she kinda showed me what she wanted" said Country. "And what was that?" "She wanted me to pull on her titties." Again, the whole room, including the presenter, errupted into laughter again. We have had many fun and funny moments, but of course it's not all fun and games.

Training is divided into the Red, White, and Blue phases. During the Red phase a major emphasis is "if an individual fails, the whole team fails". Translation: If someone messes up, the presumption is that his buddies should have straightened him out. Sometimes that words - peer pressure causes some people to shape up, but sometimes the individual in question just doesn't respond. Drill Sergeants are good at identifying those people, and working on them with other methods. What this boils down to in plain English is that we end up doing lots of push-ups and sit-ups in Red phase. Being punished like that upsets a lot of people, but I just look at the DS as my personal fitness trainer, helping me to meet my PT goals.

The Spoon Platoon

2005-08-17T20:18:00.000-07:00

As I left Reception, I wondered who would do well, and who would have a hard time adapting. It did not take long to see. Witherspoon (son of the boxer) wa the first to show a serious attitude problem. He had been getting on the Drill Sergeant's nerves for a few days. This evening, we were all in the classroom, and were supposed to do some pushups. Witherspoon decided to be 'slick' and stop pushing whenever the DS looked in a different direction. Unfortunately for him, he's not the first to try that trick and the DS caught him. He got an on-the-spot lecture on integrity (one of seven Army core values), then had to stand facing the wall for over an hour. After the class, the DS had 4th Platoon fall out to take showers. When Witherspoon started to leave too, the DS said "Not you Spoon! You're not in 4th Platoon right now. Your in Spoon Platoon". We all had a good laugh over that. In the days that followed he joked about the "Spoon Platoon", too. The whole ordeal seems to have helped him. I haven't seen him in trouble since then.

Antz!

2005-08-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

It's bad enough to get up at 5am to do PT. What makes it much worse here is the presence of millions of fire ants all over the base. When we hit the PT field at 0' dark thirty, the only illumination comes from the distant street lights, and whatever light the moon gives off. Not nearly enough to see if there are ants around, or (much) wore, an ant hill. When you get bit, it stings intensely for a few seconds, then itches for a few minutes to an hour after that. The next day, a little sore forms that looks just like acne. My first personal encounter with fire ants occurred this morning - when I realized that I must have been standing on an ant hill. My left leg began to hurt. Running both hands over it, I felt many tiny bodies crush. Once the sun came up that morning, I counted over 50 tiny bites. I still look forward to PT each morning, but step carefully and hope to avoid another encounter

Who Will it be Now?

2005-08-14T21:52:00.000-07:00

The next 9 weeks depend, to a great extent, on the Drill Sergeants that we get. As I mentioned before, there are at least two broad categories: Highly trained professionals who use their position of authority to teach and train, and that minority who seek the power to gratify their own ego. I have been assigned my three Drill Sergeants, and have discovered a new kind. Two of them are of the highly professional type. The third I will call Drill Sergeant "Annoyed" (because he seems always to be in that state). His heart definitely seems to be in the right place. However, the only teaching "method" he has at his disposal is to always act annoyed if anything is not as it should be. The recruits learn how to avoid upsetting him, but never aspire to go above and beyond to impress him as they do with the other two DS's. As for the other two, one I will call DS "And Stuff". He's originally from Jamaica and ends every other sentence with "and stuff" whether or not that word choice makes sense. For example: "Okay, don't piss me off and stuff", or "Line up for chow and stuff". He's a great guy. He'll "smoke" you in an instant if you mess up, but he's also incredibly loyal to his soldiers, and goes out of his way to help them out. The other Drill Sergeant I will refer to as DS "Not Loud". She does not like to talk loud like some other DS's, but expects to be listened to. Like DS "And Stuff", she inspires loyalty in her soldiers.

Hell Breaks Loose

2005-08-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

It's the event that most recruits look forward to with a sense of apprehension and fear. The first day of Basic Combat Training. As they loaded us onto the bus, I glimpsed faces tense with nervousness. A few subdued jokes were made to try and cut the tension, but the ride was mostly quiet. I looked at the impending events differently...more with a sense of curiosity than anything else. When you have already lived some, you gain perspective that many younger recruits don't have. You realize that the process you are about to go through is carefully designed to make it perfectly clear who is in charge, and who isn't, for the next 9 weeks. Some fraction of trainees are used to leading their peers, and to defying authority (parents, teachers, etc.). The first day is designed to disorient them, and take them out of their accustomed element.

The first day of BCT, the weather was hot and humid, we have come to know as Category IV heat. I would guess it was in the low 90's and darn near 100% humidity. We were rushed off of our busses onto a grassy hill. There were about 200 of us, and around a dozen Drill Sergeants standing around. A few of them stood out from the start: an athletic black man with a loud, booming voice, and a man I have come to call DS Bull, because he looks to a tee like the bailiff character in Night Court.

They quickly herded us up the hill into four rows, yelling out things like "Move faster!", "Look what a sad-ass group we got this cycle", etc. Those four rows, we later learned, would become our platoons. A platoon is a group of 40-50 soldiers who all train together under the direction of three drill sergeants. First thing they did once the platoons were formed was march everyone up the hill and give them a cup of Gatoraid. At that point, I knew things really won't be so bad. After our immediate liquid needs were met (remember, it was HOT that day), they ran us to another part of the hill, had us form a big circle, then gave us three minutes to run down the hill, find our bag, and run back up. That really can't be done in three minutes, unless you work as a team to help eachother find bags. A few people did cooperate that way, but most just looked out for themselves. Teamwork is one of the core principals that BCT attempts to instill.

At this point, we were all soaked in sweat, wondering what else we would have to endure. To my surprise, that was it. We were marched into a classroom and began filling out paperwork. All-in-all, we ony spent less than an hour in the high-stress environment of initial arrival. Most were glad, but I had actually hoped it would last longer - that way, it would have made a better story ;-)

A Few Other Happenings at Reception

2005-08-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm in BCT (Basic Combat Training) now. We arrived Wednesday, 4 days ago. It has been interesting to say the least, but before I get to that, I want to share a few other things that happened in Reception Battalion.

When we arrived, one of the first things they did was the obligatory "haircut" (hair removal might be a better term). A big reason for that is to make everone more uniform - part of the process of getting people to realize that they are part of the team. As soon as we started to grow a little hair back on our heads, about 5 people got together and decided to shave the sides of their heads to give themselves mohawks. Needless to say the Drill Sergeant (DS) didn't like that one bit :-)

Here in South Carolina, it is HOT. Not just hot but hot and humid. Hydration is very important. One afternoon, when about 100 of us were assembled, the DS (Drill Sergeant) had us all drink our 1 qt. canteen and hold it over our heads upside down to show that we're finished. I don't know exactly why, maybe she got nervous that most other people were finished, but one girl ended up dumping at least half her canteen on her head. We all had a good laugh at that, especially the DS.

Speaking of laughs, there is a guy - a really tall, skinny guy, nicknamed Lurch. He's pretty nerdy, and likely lead a sheltered life before joining the Army. One evening we were all in formation and...the company phone rang. The DS answered and we heard one half of the conversation: "Yes ma'am. No ma'am. Yes he's here ma'am." Upon hanging up, the DS yelled out "Lurch" (though he used Lurch's real name, which I don't recall) "Didn't you call your mama?" to which Lurch replied "Yes, Drill Sergeant!" "Did she answer?" queried the DS. Lurch replied in the affirmative. Then the DS further asked "Did she answer?" "No." said Lurch. "Does she have an answering machine?" the DS then asked. When Lurch again replied "No.", the DS said "You didn't call your mama! Go call her now!" And so he did....in front of the whole company.

Well, I am in BCT now. I'll write all about the first hours and days in my next blog post, but for now let me just say that I'm doing well. Think of me next time you see somebody doing pushups :-)

HR Department From Hell

2005-08-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

If you join a civilian company, you usually spend an hour or two with HR, then get to work. In the Army, it's very different. They actually assign you to a special "department" for a week while they get you in-processed. In Army lingo, I'm in the 120th Training Battalion, Charlie Company, 89th Platoon. In that time, you sleep, you set up direct deposit, get uniforms, learn the basics of marching, and...go to medical. The latter involves getting 5 vaccinations at once. They line you up head-to-toe and march you through a number of vaccination stations. The culmination is known as the "two-fisted stab" - a technician takes a syringe in each hand and deftly jabs both into your arm while chatting with an assistant. It looks intimidating when you see it happen to the guy in front of you-but actually it was almost painless. Apparently, practice makes perfect, and they sure do get a lot of practice.

Who Will Stay and Who Will go Now?

2005-08-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

The ARMY draws all kinds. I share a barracks with rednecks, farm boys, smart kids, and gangbangers. Many are young (though there are some older ones, too) and many started off with littled discipline and lots of attitude. The ARMY requires you learn certain skills in Basic Training, and to pass a physical fitness test. The easiest way to fail Basic, though, and to get sent back to try again, is to refuse to learn discipline. Looking around the barracks, I wonder who will graduate with me, who will have to repeat Basic, and who will never make it. We certainly have some interesting characters. There is Radio. He's a very slow black dude who looks just like Cuba Gooding, Jr. Then there's Melon. He's a REAL slow white dude with a head the size of a melon. To understand JUST how slow he is: We were talking and joking. He walked away for two minutes, talking and nodding to himself, told himself "yeah, that's it" and then came back to share his comment with us - even though the topic had shifted two minutes earlier. We also have a few people related to famous people. There's Cochren, related to the late Johnie Cochren. And there's Witherspoon. Boxing fans may remember paying to see his dad on pay-per-view, getting knowcked out by Tyson in the second round.

Who will stay and who will go....soon we'll know.

Two Kinds

2005-08-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a week since I came to Reception Battalion, and I have seen quite a few Drill Sergeants. A pattern has developed - most of them are highly professional trainers. They certainly know how to yell when the situation calls for it, and they LOVE having their recruits do pushups. Still, you can see that the "bad-ass" is a job skill for them, and that they are generally good people. Some of them get us laughing at appropriate times. However, there are a few who do the job in order to wield power over others - you can see in their eyes, and in how they interact with their peers, that they derive satisfaction from telling people, who can't talk back, what to do. For example, two sergeants "tag-teamed" one of the slower recruits, giving him conflicting orders just to see what he would do. When he made his choice which sergeant to obey, the other one punished him. We ship to BCT - Basic Combat Training - tomorrow. There, we get our Drill Sergeants.

Sleep? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Sleep

2005-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

You often hear about how the Drill Sergeant gets right on the bus when you arrive and yells "Everyone off the bus! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!" Reality was a letdown...at first. We moved off into a big hall for the first part of inprocessing. A few girls had their hair hanging down. A female Drill Sergeant let them know, at the top of her lungs, to get that hair up NOW! A few more incidents like that, and a couple of girls were near tears. We spent much of that evening going from one station to the next, getting PT (physical training) uniforms, voluntarily giving up contraband, getting checked that we actually gave it up, and a few other things that have become too much of a blur to recall anymore. One thing I learned that night was that, in a typical group of recruits, there are always a bunch of screwups that draw the Drill Sergeants attention. It would be a few more days before I realized how serious the Army is about "if an individual fails, the team fails."

A Warm Reception

2005-08-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

The day began with an alarm call at 0400, or 4:00am for you civilians :-) The bus for the airport was scheduled to leave at 0500. A quick glance at my hotel desk clock indicated the time to be...0611?! What? Panic set in momentarily. Just awake after 4 hours of sleep, I searched my hazy memories. Yes, I did double-check the time against Weather Channel the night before. That's it...another quick cross-check. TV on...and the correct time was indeed just after 4:00am. Did I accidentally change the time while groggily searching for the "snooze" button? Improbable for certain, but the only plausible explanation that came to mind. Hours later I met two young men on the flight who were on their way to Army Ranger School. They had stayed at the same hotel...and their clock, mysteriously, indicated over an hour later than the correct time. They, too, swore they had checked it the night before. The only explanation we could think of was...we were the only Army shippers - and the man running shipping at the hotel is retired Navy. Who knows...

In its wisdom, the Army provided us with meal checks - US Government checks enprinted with a "maximum" spend amount and the label "for food services only". The travel briefer said they could be used anywhere including on the flights. I used my first meal check at San Francisco Airport to get breakfast. That's not quite as easy as it sounds. The cashier had never seen the checks. Neither had the manager - but she decided a bird in the hand is worth more than the wholesale cost of the bagel. I did worse on United. They had never seen the checks , and absolutely, positively could take only cash. After a while, though, the flight attendants decided to slip us a few dinners.

Arriving at Atlanta, the expense was QUITE different. Approaching a Chinese restaurant, my meal check was spotted before I reached the counter. The first question was "how much you maximum?" Then a team of three Chinese quickly helped me max it out. Now that's capitalism at work.

The bus ride to Ft. Jackson was uneventful, though the restlessness grew as we approached the base gates. A glance at the bus clock showed - 9:11 - a reminder of why I was there. The bus pulled up to Charlie Company, and the Drill Sergeant got on...

How to pass the AFAST

2005-08-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

This posting is dedicated to helping future Army pilots (including Army Reserve and National Guard) pass the qualifying test, known as the AFAST. If you're not thinking of climbing behind the controls of an Apache or Blackhawk, you may want to skip this post.

When I first learned I had to take (and get a good score on) the AFAST, I began looking around for whatever hints and material I could find to help me prepare. There was not very much useful information out there, so I thought I would post my experience to help you prepare for your AFAST.

The most important first step is to purchase a study guide. I looked at all of the ones available and found the Arco guide to be by far the best:

All of the other Army Aviator applicants I spoke with selected the same guide.

Also be sure and review DA Pamphlet 611-256-2. It covers basically the same things that the study guide does, but in less detail. You must confirm that you have had adequate time to review it before you may take the AFAST. It is available here online.

There are a few things you should know when studying. First of all, there is a section called Complex Movements. The idea is that two dots are separated by 0, 1, 2, or 3 units both left/right and up/down. The study guide says that you should figure out how far to move the small dot to the big dot (or circle), and then use the legend printed at the top of the test page to indicate your answer. Do not use the legend! You only have 5 minutes to answer 30 questions. If you use the legend, you will only get about half-way through. Memorize the legend symbols. That is the only way to finish all questions in this section.

There is also a section called Instrument Comprehension. They show you a picture of an attitude indicator and a compass, and then 5 different aircraft. You need to select the one aircraft that is flying as indicated by the instruments. In the study guide, I had a hard time selecting the correct one because the guide reproduces terrible photos of old F86 aircraft. It is often hard to know what you are looking at. On the actual test that I took, the aircraft were cleanly drawn F16's and much easier to recognize than the pictures in the study guide.

The section of the test that covers Mechanical Comprehension is similar to the mechanical knowledge section on the ASVAB. I suggest getting out your ASVAB study guide and reviewing the sections that deal with mechanical systems (pulleys, levers, etc.)

Everything I came across in the section on Helicopter Knowledge was covered in the FAA publication Rotorcraft Flying Handbook. It is available free online from the FAA, or if you prefer to study from a hard copy you can purchase it:

Finally, remember to bring proper documentation to the test. It seems like something that anyone who thinks they have the stuff to become a Warrant Officer should know to do without being told. However, when I tested, 2 of 5 testees did not have the proper paperwork on them. You need the Request for Examination form and proof of your social security number (driver's license with social security card, or a military ID). Be sure that your ID is current! Outdated ID cannot be used to authenticate yourself. One testee had his military dependent's card confiscated because it was out-of-date. Finally, you may need additional documentation. One applicant was attempting to transfer from the USMC. Apparently one needs a letter from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, which he did not have on him. In short, if you don't know for sure what you need to bring, ask. No matter what, bring proof of your social security number.

Good luck!

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue

2005-07-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Think back to how you felt on September 11, 2001 as you watched the twin towers collapse, killing thousands of Americans. What emotions did you feel? Anger, fear, sadness, vulnerability, disbelief? If you are like the majority of Americans, you felt that innocent civilians had been murdered by extremists and that they had to be punished, and prevented from commiting future attacks.

My friend Mike sent me a song, written on September 12, 2001, that captures how many of us felt that day:

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (click here for other formats).

As the song suggests, we have indeed gone out and lit up their world like the 4th of July.

Since that happened, though, for many the memory of 9/11 seems to have grown hazy. In some ways, that's a good thing. It's important that we, as a country, get back to our lives. After all, the terrorists very goal is to disrupt our lives to the point where we are willing to give them whatever they want just to be left alone. In other ways, though, that is very, very bad. There are many people around the world who live in poverty and are led to believe that the best way out is to attack and kill innocents. They have not gone back to their ball games, malls and "reality" TV shows. For them, the only reality they know is minimal living conditions and radical preachings to the effect that the United States and Israel are the root of all of their problems (this may seem a familiar historical pattern to some).

We also forget that some of us are not surfing, shopping and going to the movies. Many Americans are overseas, away from their families, and in harm's way to protect the liberty and freedom that we all enjoy.

Don't forget.

Don't forget the thousands who have lost their lives to terrorist attacks.

Don't forget the hundreds of thousands of Americans deployed abroad to protect those at home.

Don't forget - speaking of the American withdrawl from Somalia, Osama Bin Laden said "Clinton appeared in front of the whole world promising revenge, but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal…The extent of your impotence and weakness became very clear." Don't forget - To extremists like bin Laden, to withdraw from conflict is to show a weakness that is to be exploited.

Some people may see "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" as a reactionist position to the events of 9/11. While couched in patriotism, which can be used to motivate both noble and vile acts, the message is nevertheless dead-on: As a free society, we cannot tolerate people or groups who kill innocent Americans to obtain their political goals. We cannot tolerate regimes that support such groups. We cannot leave countries like Afghanistan and Iraq who would become breeding grounds for extremists until the people there are able to provide for their own security.

Just before leaving for Basic Training, Mike sent me this song to wrap up this blog post...

Have you forgotten?

Remember.

Fit to Fly?

2005-07-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm in.

The Army Reserve now officially knows me as SPC (Specialist) Johannsen. I am assigned to training to become a Psychological Operations specialist. While that's a great way to serve my country, it's not what I feel I was born for... my true calling is to be a military pilot.

To that end, I am working with an outstanding Warrant Officer Recruiter. His job is not to get me into the Army Reserve, but rather to move me out of the enlisted ranks and into the Warrant Officer program as an Aviator. There are many steps along the way, but one of the big ones is getting an official answer to the question: "Am I fit to fly for the military?" That answer comes in the form of a Class 1a Initial Flight Physical.

The closest installation that is able to perform the Class 1a is Fort Irwin, in the desert north of Los Angeles. The trip up there is a long one, but the recruiter picked me up at 4am for the long haul up there.

As we drove through the gates, still bleary eyed from 3 hours sleep and an early rise, I spied an expansive landscape where up to 8000 soldiers come for battle drills, swelling the ranks of Fort Irwin for 2-3 weeks at a time. As we drove toward the medical complex, I saw a reminder of exactly why I was there: 5 Blackhawk helicopters stationed for Medivac duty right next to the hospital! My thoughts wandered ahead more than a year, to a future in which I sit at the controls of a Blackhawk, easing the mighty bird into flight.

You might imagine that a military medical facility would be slow, inefficient and bureaucratic. Maybe some are, but Fort Irwin was a model of friendly service and efficiency. The many tests that are required were carefully scheduled ahead of my visit, and a knowledgable receptionist guided me through the entire process. Lab work, hearing, vision, EKG and a visit with the flight surgeon were planned to minimize time spent.

In spite of the careful planning, there was a hickup in the scheduling. I didn't find out until I was sitting with the flight surgeon, the person whose time is most in demand - and who has authority over whether or not I will be permitted to fly for the Army. Images of old war movies and tales from friends and relatives conjured up fears in my mind that I would have to repeat the arduous trip some other day because one thing did not get done the way it should, when it should. My fears were quickly vanquished - the Flight Surgeon himself called over to the other station where more tests needed to be done, and allowed me to walk past receptionists and nurses right back into his office, at my convenience, to complete the physical.

I did have a few concerns going in. I'm right at the upper height limit for helicopter pilots. My vision measures within required standards, but still isn't perfect. There was a slight hesitation, but then the Flight Surgeon smiled and said "everything looks good!".

I am Fit to Fly!

Blackhawk Calling

2005-07-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

There's just something about a Blackhawk helicopter that I always found fascinating.

After finishing college (in the post-Top Gun era) I seriously wanted to be a fighter pilot. Not just because of the movie, of course, but because I love aviation and I want to do my part to help protect our country. I thought seriously about it, but instead opted to travel the world.

Years later, terrorists brought down a symbol of our freedom and killed thousands of our citizens in a single, well-coordinated attack. Again, my thoughts turned to becoming a military pilot. Unfortunately, the services told me that I'm "too old" to fly for them. Instead, I joined CAP.

While I was helping to watch over the homeland, we first first invaded Afghanistan, then Iraq. Whether you support or oppose our rationalle for going to war in Iraq, the fact remains that we are there now and have an obligation to leave behind a stable democracy. It is also still true that there are well-funded, well-organized groups in the world that would like to strike us again - if possible with weapons of mass destruction. We did not find WMD's in Iraq, but they are still quite a threat worldwide.

Many families carried the burden of our foreign engagement. As a result, fewer are willing to enlist or reenlist. This created an opportunity for me, both to (hopefully) fulfill my desire to be a military pilot, and to serve the country. Even though the age for direct admission to flight school is 32 (it used to be 29), age waivers can and are granted to otherwise well-qualified candidates.

The trick is, age waivers can only be granted for people who are already reservists. Luckily, I found an Army Reserve job I would enjoy doing even if not ultimately accepted to flight school - Psyops. Psychological Operations. This job involves understanding foreign cultures, and attempting to influence them to be pro-American, or at least less anti-American. It's like marketing, except the "product" is "not attacking the United States".

This blog cronicles my quest to become an Army Aviator in the Army Reserve. It is worth reading if you want to know what Basic Training is like (stay tuned for that...). After I describe Basic, in all its glory, I'll document my experience at AIT - Advanced Individual Training. Then, with luck, my application to flight school will be accepted, and I will be able to describe that experience as well. There may be things that I am not able to share, but even so, I hope that reading about my experiences will inform, and perhaps inspire.

Enjoy!

Eric

PS - If you're interested in reading about how to become a civilian pilot, I have started a blog you might want to read http://beapilot.blogspot.com

... try it on your PC! ...