The sandstorm abated enough after 24 hours that we finally made it up to Udairi Range for our close quarter marksmanship (CQM) and convoy training...
Close quarter marksmanship training is exciting simply because they put 50-60 people on the firing line at one time and have them walk in different directions and turn in different directions (quarter turns both ways and half turns one way) and fire live ammo... exciting because who knows if the bozo next to you is really going to be as safe as you hope they are! In the pre-range safety brief the range safety officer noted that this was his last range because he was going home after 9 months here and he had never had a medevac from the range... in the ER or the hospital one NEVER says words to that effect: "my goodness it is a quiet night in the ER..." or "gosh, I haven't seen a heart attack come through the door in days..." These things only bring BAD luck. So, my level of apprehension on the range was higher than normal--I don't like blood! Turns out that no one got shot--thank goodness. However, someone did develop breathing problems (peri-tonsillar abscess) that required medevac... Lesson learned (again)... don't say things like that!
BTW, the CQM was fun even though I only had my 9mm pistol and most were shooting their M-16 rifles. A bit of fire power envy I guess. But, once I am safely ensconced in Baghdad and have to carry my weapon with me everywhere I go, I will be thankful that the 9mm is much lighter and more compact... Of course, if one actually needs a self-defense weapon (medical--self-defense only thank you very much!), then the M-16 makes a significantly more powerful defense!
But, if you hear me say "gosh, it's been a long time since I actually needed to use my weapon in self-defense" then, please, shoot me!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Sand Storm!!
Recall how in 2005 I was stuck in Balad for four days waiting for a sand storm to clear so that I could fly back to Al Asad?? Well, here we go again... The big check in the box that we have to get prior to moving on to Iraq is convoy training on the Udairi Range. The Udairi training area consists of the majority of the land area of Kuwait--mostly in the North and West... but there is a special range where we learn how to operate in a convoy (don't ask what we learned that last three weeks in Fort Jackson--same damn thing!?!?!?!)
Yesterday we were to get on a bus and convoy up there for 48 hours of high-speed, intense convoy training which consists of a bit of class room work, sleeping on the floor, eating MREs, getting up early, shooting stuff a close quarters (CQM---close quarter marksmanship), driving around and getting blown up by training IEDs.
Problem was that we didn't get on the bus because a sand storm blew in and cut visibility down to damn near nothing--walking about felt like a sand-blaster in the face. Evidently convoys cannot operate in such conditions--surprise! so, our training has been slid back by 24 hours... as of today the sand storm has slacked off a bit and we will find out within the hour if we go... I will let you know!!!
But, whether we go or not--another day down in the count!! 4 down; 206 to go!!!
Yesterday we were to get on a bus and convoy up there for 48 hours of high-speed, intense convoy training which consists of a bit of class room work, sleeping on the floor, eating MREs, getting up early, shooting stuff a close quarters (CQM---close quarter marksmanship), driving around and getting blown up by training IEDs.
Problem was that we didn't get on the bus because a sand storm blew in and cut visibility down to damn near nothing--walking about felt like a sand-blaster in the face. Evidently convoys cannot operate in such conditions--surprise! so, our training has been slid back by 24 hours... as of today the sand storm has slacked off a bit and we will find out within the hour if we go... I will let you know!!!
But, whether we go or not--another day down in the count!! 4 down; 206 to go!!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Boots On Ground!!
So, we eventually made it from Columbia, SC to Shannon, Ireland to Kuwait despite baggage trucks hitting the plane, a rodent infestation, AND a leaky fuel line--we were only 36 hours late leaving Columbia, SC. Why those delays couldn't happen in Ireland vice South Carolina is beyond me--would have been much more pleasant, or at the very least, much more interesting.
So, when the plane lands in Shannon the first thing everyone does is line up at the pub--last chance to have a beer (any alcohol for the next 6-12 months depending on the length of your orders)--the Guinness was quite popular!
pic of the line at the bar
About 6 and a half hours later we land at Kuwait International Airport, an airport with an unfortunate acronym--KIA--for those of us about to enter a war zone--even if it is a war of liberation vice occupation...
We land at 0230--early in the morning... take a bus to the middle of nowhere and then get off and stand around for an hour and a half... odd, but it turns out OK because one of my PMO buddies that is working in Kuwait happens to be meeting someone else (new XO) from the plane, so we get to chat for a few minutes--what a small Navy... Now we convoy up to Camp Virginia for "acclimatization and convoy training". We pull in as the sun is coming up and damn if the place doesn't look like every other base in theater--flat, brown, rocky, dirty... entirely uninspiring... I didn't exactly expect the desert to have bloomed in the last two years since I left Iraq, but he desolation deja vu was intense... I won't even mention the port-o-potty and chow-hall deja vu--you will just have to read the previous (2005) posts because they are the exact same too--down to the same toilet paper and the same cabbage (one of the few vegetables that wasn't over-cooked--perhpas because it was/is served raw as a nice cabbage salad).
the good news is this: my orders say that I will spend 210 days with "boots on ground"... BOG time starts when you land in theater--FEB 12th... so, even though I am only in Kuwait, my timer is already going (never mind the last month I just spent away from friends and family, that doesn't count for anything except that you have to do it to get in theater).
209 days left!
So, when the plane lands in Shannon the first thing everyone does is line up at the pub--last chance to have a beer (any alcohol for the next 6-12 months depending on the length of your orders)--the Guinness was quite popular!
pic of the line at the bar
About 6 and a half hours later we land at Kuwait International Airport, an airport with an unfortunate acronym--KIA--for those of us about to enter a war zone--even if it is a war of liberation vice occupation...
We land at 0230--early in the morning... take a bus to the middle of nowhere and then get off and stand around for an hour and a half... odd, but it turns out OK because one of my PMO buddies that is working in Kuwait happens to be meeting someone else (new XO) from the plane, so we get to chat for a few minutes--what a small Navy... Now we convoy up to Camp Virginia for "acclimatization and convoy training". We pull in as the sun is coming up and damn if the place doesn't look like every other base in theater--flat, brown, rocky, dirty... entirely uninspiring... I didn't exactly expect the desert to have bloomed in the last two years since I left Iraq, but he desolation deja vu was intense... I won't even mention the port-o-potty and chow-hall deja vu--you will just have to read the previous (2005) posts because they are the exact same too--down to the same toilet paper and the same cabbage (one of the few vegetables that wasn't over-cooked--perhpas because it was/is served raw as a nice cabbage salad).
the good news is this: my orders say that I will spend 210 days with "boots on ground"... BOG time starts when you land in theater--FEB 12th... so, even though I am only in Kuwait, my timer is already going (never mind the last month I just spent away from friends and family, that doesn't count for anything except that you have to do it to get in theater).
209 days left!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Adventure Continues...
So, the truck undergoes de-wedgification (apologies to the Baathists)... someone comes out at 0400 and inspects the plane for damage--good to go... a sleep-deprived technician inspecting the wing and its moving parts in the dark seems suspect to me, but I am not an expert at such things. We all get on the plane and then spend the next hour being re-arranged about the cabin--the thing is that the plane seems to have its main storage bays in front of the wings and we have a lot of baggage... So, even though the plane is big enough for us all to sit comfortably, they need most everybody to crowd in the back to compensate for the weight of the baggage up front--great!!
We are all settled in, when on a sudden, someone in the back spies a mouse scurrying about and they point it out to the flight crew... Everyone now gets off the plane, leaving their bags in their seats or in the overhead compartment--the better to catch the rodent stowaway... Two hours later we all get back on the plane to get our stuff and permanently leave the plane as they cannot find the little bugger. Evidently they need to take the plane to Atlanta where their are more expert mouse catchers... Now, I am a public health proponent and understand the long-standing need for ships and vessels to not transport vermin from port to port carrying such things as plague and ebola... But the fact tat a single small rodent can stop the movement of 300 military members on their way to war is, in some respects, disheartening... I thought about going tot he pet store to get another mouse for tomorrow's attempt at flying!
Alas, at least the plane is now having a post-truck collision test flight before we get on and fly across the North Atlantic--that seems a good thing.
So, we try again tomorrow.... Stay tuned!
We are all settled in, when on a sudden, someone in the back spies a mouse scurrying about and they point it out to the flight crew... Everyone now gets off the plane, leaving their bags in their seats or in the overhead compartment--the better to catch the rodent stowaway... Two hours later we all get back on the plane to get our stuff and permanently leave the plane as they cannot find the little bugger. Evidently they need to take the plane to Atlanta where their are more expert mouse catchers... Now, I am a public health proponent and understand the long-standing need for ships and vessels to not transport vermin from port to port carrying such things as plague and ebola... But the fact tat a single small rodent can stop the movement of 300 military members on their way to war is, in some respects, disheartening... I thought about going tot he pet store to get another mouse for tomorrow's attempt at flying!
Alas, at least the plane is now having a post-truck collision test flight before we get on and fly across the North Atlantic--that seems a good thing.
So, we try again tomorrow.... Stay tuned!
Friday, February 08, 2008
The Adventure Begins...
Well, it turns out I have a little time this morning to let you know how things are going... or, rather, not going...
First, we started out the evening by turning in our linen and receiving a "shelf stable meal" to eat--a little something to hold us over until we got on the bus at midnight for the 45 minute trip to the airport. I had never heard of, let alone seen, a shelf-stable meal... but it looks like this:
The chips were good.
Here's the exciting part. We had five busloads of people and 4 stake-bed trucks filled with the bags of 5 busloads worth of people. The plan is to pull up directly to the aircraft (A310), load the gear, load the people, and off we go...
Unfortunately one of the drivers got a little close with a truck full of bags and got the truck wedged under the plane... yes, that's right! Our baggage truck got wedged under the body and wing of our plane--they cannot get it unstuck! (This is live blogging--too bad most people that might reasonably read this are asleep right now.) I imagine they will get the two vehicles unstuck soon (let the air out of the tires and move the truck that way), but then we have to wait for an inspector to come check out the plane and approve it for flying--a good idea since their are 300 of us, no parachutes, and we will be going over the North Atlantic...
I couldn't get close enough for a great picture, and it is quite dark, but you can make out the truck under the back of the plane (from this angle):
I'll let you know what happened...
First, we started out the evening by turning in our linen and receiving a "shelf stable meal" to eat--a little something to hold us over until we got on the bus at midnight for the 45 minute trip to the airport. I had never heard of, let alone seen, a shelf-stable meal... but it looks like this:
The chips were good.
Here's the exciting part. We had five busloads of people and 4 stake-bed trucks filled with the bags of 5 busloads worth of people. The plan is to pull up directly to the aircraft (A310), load the gear, load the people, and off we go...
Unfortunately one of the drivers got a little close with a truck full of bags and got the truck wedged under the plane... yes, that's right! Our baggage truck got wedged under the body and wing of our plane--they cannot get it unstuck! (This is live blogging--too bad most people that might reasonably read this are asleep right now.) I imagine they will get the two vehicles unstuck soon (let the air out of the tires and move the truck that way), but then we have to wait for an inspector to come check out the plane and approve it for flying--a good idea since their are 300 of us, no parachutes, and we will be going over the North Atlantic...
I couldn't get close enough for a great picture, and it is quite dark, but you can make out the truck under the back of the plane (from this angle):
I'll let you know what happened...
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