When night falls and taps plays loudly over the speakers, the moonlight shatters into a thousand pieces in the fading notes echoing across the frosty fields, through the pine trees, rustling the fallen leaves, and slipping through the bones and the blood of the soldiers who sleep here; both in their beds and in their graves. Taps is the eternal soldiers’ lullaby, a welcome end to a long day, the abrupt end to a short life, the immortal measure of days – this is the soldier’s song.
I sit here and write while my brothers sleep around me. Snoring softly, rustling in their sheets as they dream of their wives and girlfriends left behind, sighing gently as muscles knotted and tense from the days exertion unwind in sleep. Sleep. Even now the stresses of this life that lies before us roll stealthily over us. The wracking cough that mimics the chatter of the machine gun, first at one end of the bay, and then answered in a rising crescendo…sickness here is more contagious than a yawn. Hair close cropped begins to grow anew, adding grays and silvers to the once black, brown, and blond manes of the lions sleeping here. New lines appear on young faces, but behind their tough exteriors the little boy who once dressed in his father’s fatigue’s with a pot for a helmet, and a stick for a rifle stares out through a man’s eyes.
Peace falls quickly, like summer clouds over the sun…the snores cease, the rustling quiets…even the coughing turns into the gentle breaths of innocent sleep…though around the world our brothers and sisters fight, bleed, and in suffering and sacrifice add their names to the annals of history and the tome of valor; here there is peace. Taps has played its farewell to this day, and tomorrow waits for no man.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Absolutely No Weapons Cleaning Inside the Laundromat!
Its been a few days since the last update, and there have been plenty of goings on for the men and women of the 485th Engineers as we continue our training at this undisclosed location. Most interestingly for me personally was that the CO found this blog - nothing stays a secret in the army for long, and is using the title graphic on our FRG page - I'm actually pretty pleased about that, and very happy, and very relieved that there is finally an FRG online for our close friends and family. He's already posted a lot of great information on it about services available to troops and their families. I think that I'll take advantage of the free portraits. Might have to get the new Army Service Uniform though - my Class A's (other than being phased out) don't fit. I've put four inches onto my chest since the end of AIT. To use an old Marine/Navy phrase that I've never heard since I stopped wearing the EGA - Bravo Zulu, Sir, on an excellent online resource!
We've been doing plenty of weapons familiarization - some on weapons systems we may not see again for some time, and others that we'll never be far from. We stripped the M2 HBMG down to its component parts - and I never want to do it again. John Browning (the weapon system's designer) was a brilliant man, and it's a serviceable weapon to have in any arsenal, but talk about a lot of itty bitty moving parts!
We also got so
me more experience on the MK19 - perhaps the most fun system to work with in the arsenal of ground forces. Here are a few pics of the guys in the squad during our familiarization training.
SPC Kuntze ready to rock out on one of these bad boys. I was really pleased at the close attention paid by my squaddies during these segments of training. While not of vital importance this moment, the training may pay large dividends in the future.
I also finally went to the qualification for my position in the platoon as an Automatic Rifleman. Its a pretty neat position, and I was very excited to finally take the qualification. It consisted of three parts. First a zero'ing portion where we shot three rounds at two small targets called 'tombstones' and then a practice qualification where we practiced our three shot bursts (not easy with a machine gun) and then practiced our three
shot bursts while wearing our gasmasks. Also not an easy feat. I shot well, and then it was on to the paper qualification where I did quite well! Finally we all began the pop-up qualification portion - engaging targets from 100-400 meters. I did well, but officially not as well as I knew I did as my lane was malfunctioning and taken off-line for the rest of the day after the next two shooters experienced the same problem with hit-counts. It would have been nice to shoot again and score expert, but I'll take sharpshooter.
Military life is generally an easy adjustment; the most difficult part is the first step off of the bus at the reception battalion at your basic training unit and shedding for the first time the protective masks and shells that have been build up during a lifetime spent creating yourself in the image you want to have...from that moment on you are rebuilt in the image that the Army wishes you to be. If you can stomach it past those harsh months of yelling, sweat, blood, exhaustion, and near constant hunger - if you can learn to live the Warrior Ethos a
nd love your battle buddies - you'll make it. It's after a time of living in the civilian world and returning to active duty that there are some things that just make you fall on the ground laughing when you realize how normal the abnormal suddenly appears. The best most recent example I have is the laundromat.
Most of us took only two uniforms with us when we left for here, thinking that we would be receiving a new uniform issue (for most of us, myself included, the first since standing in that line full of scared civilians, for the first time putting on the mantle of adult responsibility and civic duty as soldiers) soon after arriving. Although we have received an awful lot of cool expensive gadgets, uniforms were not among them. Having said that we spend a lot of time at the laundromat. I was feeling introspective after realizing how even just after a few weeks, I feel cut off from friends and family - the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of home, the feel of the wind in my face while riding my motorcycle, the sweet moments of sharing a dinner, a movie, a drink with the one who you spend the nights dreaming of...I was moody, a little homesick, and tired of some of the soldiers' attitudes when the sign hit me. I stopped for a moment and thought, "That makes so much sense - can you imagine losing an extractor spring in here?" and then had to burst out laughing when I thought about seeing a sign like that in the laundromat down the street or in Anytown, USA.
Morale has generally been very good. The few issues that have come up seem to have come up in every platoon and that is of military bearing and the One Team, One Fight, One Mission ethos that was really drilled into most of us in basic training, AIT, and with this unit. Some soldiers just refuse to take what we're doing seriously, and just want to do their own thing - which is not always the right thing. I think that we're all working on them to get with the program, and with the classes that we're engaging in, I think that before long they'll be on the same page as the rest of us. I just have to shake my head and wonder how they made it through basic with those attitudes; and then I think about the stories I've heard about basic from recent graduates, and I'm no longer surprised. Movies and pizza every weekend have no place in basic training.
The military is for sure a different kind of experience, filled with a different sort of people, who ultimately don't mind the hardships when they look at the big picture and realize the sort of life they are securing for their family, loved ones, and country(wo)men back home. And Absolutely No Weapons Cleaning Inside the Laundromat!
We've been doing plenty of weapons familiarization - some on weapons systems we may not see again for some time, and others that we'll never be far from. We stripped the M2 HBMG down to its component parts - and I never want to do it again. John Browning (the weapon system's designer) was a brilliant man, and it's a serviceable weapon to have in any arsenal, but talk about a lot of itty bitty moving parts!
We also got so
me more experience on the MK19 - perhaps the most fun system to work with in the arsenal of ground forces. Here are a few pics of the guys in the squad during our familiarization training.
SPC Kuntze ready to rock out on one of these bad boys. I was really pleased at the close attention paid by my squaddies during these segments of training. While not of vital importance this moment, the training may pay large dividends in the future.
I also finally went to the qualification for my position in the platoon as an Automatic Rifleman. Its a pretty neat position, and I was very excited to finally take the qualification. It consisted of three parts. First a zero'ing portion where we shot three rounds at two small targets called 'tombstones' and then a practice qualification where we practiced our three shot bursts (not easy with a machine gun) and then practiced our three
shot bursts while wearing our gasmasks. Also not an easy feat. I shot well, and then it was on to the paper qualification where I did quite well! Finally we all began the pop-up qualification portion - engaging targets from 100-400 meters. I did well, but officially not as well as I knew I did as my lane was malfunctioning and taken off-line for the rest of the day after the next two shooters experienced the same problem with hit-counts. It would have been nice to shoot again and score expert, but I'll take sharpshooter.
Military life is generally an easy adjustment; the most difficult part is the first step off of the bus at the reception battalion at your basic training unit and shedding for the first time the protective masks and shells that have been build up during a lifetime spent creating yourself in the image you want to have...from that moment on you are rebuilt in the image that the Army wishes you to be. If you can stomach it past those harsh months of yelling, sweat, blood, exhaustion, and near constant hunger - if you can learn to live the Warrior Ethos a
nd love your battle buddies - you'll make it. It's after a time of living in the civilian world and returning to active duty that there are some things that just make you fall on the ground laughing when you realize how normal the abnormal suddenly appears. The best most recent example I have is the laundromat.Most of us took only two uniforms with us when we left for here, thinking that we would be receiving a new uniform issue (for most of us, myself included, the first since standing in that line full of scared civilians, for the first time putting on the mantle of adult responsibility and civic duty as soldiers) soon after arriving. Although we have received an awful lot of cool expensive gadgets, uniforms were not among them. Having said that we spend a lot of time at the laundromat. I was feeling introspective after realizing how even just after a few weeks, I feel cut off from friends and family - the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of home, the feel of the wind in my face while riding my motorcycle, the sweet moments of sharing a dinner, a movie, a drink with the one who you spend the nights dreaming of...I was moody, a little homesick, and tired of some of the soldiers' attitudes when the sign hit me. I stopped for a moment and thought, "That makes so much sense - can you imagine losing an extractor spring in here?" and then had to burst out laughing when I thought about seeing a sign like that in the laundromat down the street or in Anytown, USA.
Morale has generally been very good. The few issues that have come up seem to have come up in every platoon and that is of military bearing and the One Team, One Fight, One Mission ethos that was really drilled into most of us in basic training, AIT, and with this unit. Some soldiers just refuse to take what we're doing seriously, and just want to do their own thing - which is not always the right thing. I think that we're all working on them to get with the program, and with the classes that we're engaging in, I think that before long they'll be on the same page as the rest of us. I just have to shake my head and wonder how they made it through basic with those attitudes; and then I think about the stories I've heard about basic from recent graduates, and I'm no longer surprised. Movies and pizza every weekend have no place in basic training.
The military is for sure a different kind of experience, filled with a different sort of people, who ultimately don't mind the hardships when they look at the big picture and realize the sort of life they are securing for their family, loved ones, and country(wo)men back home. And Absolutely No Weapons Cleaning Inside the Laundromat!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Training continues
Today we went to the M16 zero range; first to zero with iron sights, and then to zero with our new CCOs (Close Combat Optics). Third Platoon (misfits, gamblers, jokers, professional soldiers and SECOND TO NONE) was given an indeterminate SP time as it wasn't known how long it would take the other elements to get through the range and it's well known that we're all crack shots with a rifle, so we decided to go over some level 1 training concerning compasses, map reading, and things of that nature.
It turned out to be good review - the new soldiers we have are a mixed bag so far as their training with low-tech gadgetry (like compasses). Some of them said that their basic training units did try to teach them how to use a compass, but others have got us old hands shaking our heads because their drill sergeants told them that with the new GPS systems the armed forces are fielding, compasses were obsolete...and they had no idea how to use them. So we took a task that I originally looked at as being make-work and made it into something that really needed to be taught!
Before we knew it we were called out to the zero range - full battle rattle! Full Battle Rattle consists of your ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet), IBA (interceptor body armor, with plates), assault pack (packed with camelback hydration system, cold weather gear, wet weather gear, extra socks, eye pro(tection), ear pro(tection), books, weapons optics, magazines and magazine pouches), promask (gas mask), IFAK (improved first aid kit), weapon, and thats more than enough for most of us!
The problem that became most readily apparent for me was that this was the M16 zero range...not the M249 SAW zero range. After some confusion it was determined that the designated individual SAW gunners (which I am) weren't supposed to be there in the first place. I'm itching to use my ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsite) as it was so difficult to get in the first place. I was originally issued a m68a4 CCO and although an excellent marksmanship tool for the M16, it's rather lacking for the M249. Long story short, I was able to secure one, but haven't been able to use it. The only reason I've been able to update today was that I left the range after I found out I shouldn't have been there. Thanks to the 1st Sgt for getting everything clarified!
I've updated tons of new videos to the youtube page, and I'll cover some of them now. Mostly its day to day stuff - the things that I found interesting, or humorous, or sometimes I was just filming to stay awake. Comments are always appreciated - either on this page, or on the youtube page!
First up we have SPC Felda, who needed a haircut...badly. He's told me that he needs to be a more prominent feature on this blog and in the world in general, so here's a couple minutes of his 15 minutes of fame. The haircur turned out pretty well - I suspect I could have done a better job, but I've been cutting hair for a very long time now - it helped pay the bills while I was in AIT. Ah, the barracks barbershop...
You're all probably wondering what kind of conditions we live in here. We're in a rehabbed barracks from the 1930s or early 1940s and it's much nicer than what they used to look like. It's a two story building, and we're on the second floor. My squad sleeps on one side (the first side shown in the video, my bunk is the fourth) and 1st squad is on the other. Its really not a bad place to be, and we all seem happy enough here.
Yesterday we conducted all kinds of training - one of which was the LMTS (Laser Marksmanship Training System) which was really pretty neat. PFC Bennet and myself were the strongest contenders in grouping accuracy in our iteration, and I won! I've always been a good shot with a rifle. Its a pretty cool training system, and really helps riflemen concentrate on marksmanship fundamentals. It would have been nice to spend more time there.
I've discussed HEAT rollover training in this blog before, but we got to go through it again. Really excellent training! They showed a video with stereo that (as you can tell) mimics the noise of an 1151 on the road - the video distracts you enough that you're not quite as prepared for the rollover as we have been in times past. I usually TC (tank commander) the vehicle but this time decided to sit in the back...wrong answer! When I disconnected my seat belt I smashed my left shin pretty good against the drivers seat - no fun for me, but not too much blood. Watch the video and be amazed!
Behind our classroom lives a group of kids in 'boot camp' - you know the kind you see on Maury and Oprah. I decided to take a closer look (the actual property is off limits to all military personnel) and got to see three of them on punishment picking up sandbags and moving them from one place to another, and the rest of them were playing some kind of catch with a kickball. They all sound off pretty loudly during their formations, and seem pretty motivated - I don't know if any of them will join the army, but I think that the boot camp is a good experience for at risk kids.
Sometimes a soldier messes up. Sometimes a squad messes up. Sometimes its the entire platoon. Sometimes when a soldier messes up, the squad gets punished. Luckily, not my squad :-)
Snuff. The final frontier of military tobacco use. Rarely embraced since before the Second World War, I decided to introduce it to the platoon and bought a container before leaving for this training. Several people have tried it now, with laughable results - but we all get a kick out of watching them do it though most of us would never do it ourselves!! Silly privates!
That's all the updates for right now, but there will be more later - on that you can count!
TACKLE ANYTHING!
It turned out to be good review - the new soldiers we have are a mixed bag so far as their training with low-tech gadgetry (like compasses). Some of them said that their basic training units did try to teach them how to use a compass, but others have got us old hands shaking our heads because their drill sergeants told them that with the new GPS systems the armed forces are fielding, compasses were obsolete...and they had no idea how to use them. So we took a task that I originally looked at as being make-work and made it into something that really needed to be taught!
Before we knew it we were called out to the zero range - full battle rattle! Full Battle Rattle consists of your ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet), IBA (interceptor body armor, with plates), assault pack (packed with camelback hydration system, cold weather gear, wet weather gear, extra socks, eye pro(tection), ear pro(tection), books, weapons optics, magazines and magazine pouches), promask (gas mask), IFAK (improved first aid kit), weapon, and thats more than enough for most of us!
The problem that became most readily apparent for me was that this was the M16 zero range...not the M249 SAW zero range. After some confusion it was determined that the designated individual SAW gunners (which I am) weren't supposed to be there in the first place. I'm itching to use my ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsite) as it was so difficult to get in the first place. I was originally issued a m68a4 CCO and although an excellent marksmanship tool for the M16, it's rather lacking for the M249. Long story short, I was able to secure one, but haven't been able to use it. The only reason I've been able to update today was that I left the range after I found out I shouldn't have been there. Thanks to the 1st Sgt for getting everything clarified!
I've updated tons of new videos to the youtube page, and I'll cover some of them now. Mostly its day to day stuff - the things that I found interesting, or humorous, or sometimes I was just filming to stay awake. Comments are always appreciated - either on this page, or on the youtube page!
First up we have SPC Felda, who needed a haircut...badly. He's told me that he needs to be a more prominent feature on this blog and in the world in general, so here's a couple minutes of his 15 minutes of fame. The haircur turned out pretty well - I suspect I could have done a better job, but I've been cutting hair for a very long time now - it helped pay the bills while I was in AIT. Ah, the barracks barbershop...
You're all probably wondering what kind of conditions we live in here. We're in a rehabbed barracks from the 1930s or early 1940s and it's much nicer than what they used to look like. It's a two story building, and we're on the second floor. My squad sleeps on one side (the first side shown in the video, my bunk is the fourth) and 1st squad is on the other. Its really not a bad place to be, and we all seem happy enough here.
Yesterday we conducted all kinds of training - one of which was the LMTS (Laser Marksmanship Training System) which was really pretty neat. PFC Bennet and myself were the strongest contenders in grouping accuracy in our iteration, and I won! I've always been a good shot with a rifle. Its a pretty cool training system, and really helps riflemen concentrate on marksmanship fundamentals. It would have been nice to spend more time there.
I've discussed HEAT rollover training in this blog before, but we got to go through it again. Really excellent training! They showed a video with stereo that (as you can tell) mimics the noise of an 1151 on the road - the video distracts you enough that you're not quite as prepared for the rollover as we have been in times past. I usually TC (tank commander) the vehicle but this time decided to sit in the back...wrong answer! When I disconnected my seat belt I smashed my left shin pretty good against the drivers seat - no fun for me, but not too much blood. Watch the video and be amazed!
Behind our classroom lives a group of kids in 'boot camp' - you know the kind you see on Maury and Oprah. I decided to take a closer look (the actual property is off limits to all military personnel) and got to see three of them on punishment picking up sandbags and moving them from one place to another, and the rest of them were playing some kind of catch with a kickball. They all sound off pretty loudly during their formations, and seem pretty motivated - I don't know if any of them will join the army, but I think that the boot camp is a good experience for at risk kids.
Sometimes a soldier messes up. Sometimes a squad messes up. Sometimes its the entire platoon. Sometimes when a soldier messes up, the squad gets punished. Luckily, not my squad :-)
Snuff. The final frontier of military tobacco use. Rarely embraced since before the Second World War, I decided to introduce it to the platoon and bought a container before leaving for this training. Several people have tried it now, with laughable results - but we all get a kick out of watching them do it though most of us would never do it ourselves!! Silly privates!
That's all the updates for right now, but there will be more later - on that you can count!
TACKLE ANYTHING!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Night Vision Device training and M-9
Today, though not over, has been alright. Few hiccoughs along the way, but that's par for the course with any organization - especially the government run kind. Drive on!
The morning began cold and hazy - we all had an extra hour of sleep supposedly because of the daylight savings time change, but like the soldiers we are, we used the extra hour to instead stay up, watch movies, text message, do PT (we're not lazy!), and read. Wake-up felt like it came far too quickly. Our formations are interesting affairs, but generally in line with military thinking, and formation (after shaving and using the head, and sometimes chow) are generally the first thing that happens in the morning. Formation is scheduled for say 0800 hours. Good soldiers arrive 15 minutes before, at 0745. The platoon decides that they're going to form up before and march over as a platoon. The platoon agrees to form up at 0740. But good soldiers show up 10 minutes early. So now it's 0730. The squad decides that they don't want to be 'those guys' who show up at the last minute for the formation, so they agree to meet at 0725. Good soldiers show up 5 minutes early. So now it's 0720 and we're standing outside, and it's cold. Breath mists in the air, and cigarette smoke swirls around the mouths of the Trés-Trés (3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon - who are all growing moustaches during our time here.) as they tell jokes, and mumble to themselves, "Tona, Tona, Tona."
We started classes with the Beretta M92FS or as the military calls it, the M-9 weapon system. It's a 9mm blowback operated air-cooled semi-automatic magazine fed pistol. It has an effective range of about 50 meters, but realistically most people, be they cops, soldiers, gun enthusiasts don't think of engaging targets past 10 meters. Unless they're Steven Segal, apparently that guy can light a match at a quarter mile with a pistol. Blindfolded.
I'm about as familiar with the M-9 as I am with the back of my hand, and felt very comfortable through the entire class, helping soldiers field strip their weapons - collect their guide rods from about the classroom, and teaching them good firing posture and grip. Too easy.
After a nice lunch (pork chop, salad, rice, chili) we began NVD (Night Vision Devices) training and had a blast! NVDs are all pretty cool, a little heavy (generally) and VERY expensive. For most of us it was familiarization, and for the older hands, it was all new.
To be continued...going to chow...enjoy the pictures and the movie until then!
The morning began cold and hazy - we all had an extra hour of sleep supposedly because of the daylight savings time change, but like the soldiers we are, we used the extra hour to instead stay up, watch movies, text message, do PT (we're not lazy!), and read. Wake-up felt like it came far too quickly. Our formations are interesting affairs, but generally in line with military thinking, and formation (after shaving and using the head, and sometimes chow) are generally the first thing that happens in the morning. Formation is scheduled for say 0800 hours. Good soldiers arrive 15 minutes before, at 0745. The platoon decides that they're going to form up before and march over as a platoon. The platoon agrees to form up at 0740. But good soldiers show up 10 minutes early. So now it's 0730. The squad decides that they don't want to be 'those guys' who show up at the last minute for the formation, so they agree to meet at 0725. Good soldiers show up 5 minutes early. So now it's 0720 and we're standing outside, and it's cold. Breath mists in the air, and cigarette smoke swirls around the mouths of the Trés-Trés (3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon - who are all growing moustaches during our time here.) as they tell jokes, and mumble to themselves, "Tona, Tona, Tona."
We started classes with the Beretta M92FS or as the military calls it, the M-9 weapon system. It's a 9mm blowback operated air-cooled semi-automatic magazine fed pistol. It has an effective range of about 50 meters, but realistically most people, be they cops, soldiers, gun enthusiasts don't think of engaging targets past 10 meters. Unless they're Steven Segal, apparently that guy can light a match at a quarter mile with a pistol. Blindfolded.
I'm about as familiar with the M-9 as I am with the back of my hand, and felt very comfortable through the entire class, helping soldiers field strip their weapons - collect their guide rods from about the classroom, and teaching them good firing posture and grip. Too easy.
After a nice lunch (pork chop, salad, rice, chili) we began NVD (Night Vision Devices) training and had a blast! NVDs are all pretty cool, a little heavy (generally) and VERY expensive. For most of us it was familiarization, and for the older hands, it was all new.
To be continued...going to chow...enjoy the pictures and the movie until then!
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