2008

What is a year without a recap? The theme of 2008 is Army.... Given that I spent 5 months on active duty for my Army training this Summer, combined with the trepidation before and recovery from it been the prime factor for this year.

Obviously I feel great relief that I finally went to and completed BOLC II/III (though of course it now leaves me open to being grabbed for a deployment, though that is pretty low priority right now given my states current plans). I got to meet some great people, have some fun times (and lots of VERY boring times (I played a lot of video games, watched a lot of TV, saw a hell of a lot of movies and drank a crapload of alcohol)). Interesting note? My BOLC II/III post

Relationship-wise I have a lot of ups and downs. Lots of first and second dates, lots of emails written and lots of anxiety and talking about myself (well, I do have a blog so obviously I like talking about myself and sharing my opinions). I got the "friend zone" speech twice and, as the icing on the cake, basically got "dear john'd" (or Jodie'd as we would say in the Army) this Summer. I am on an "up" right now, with my Match profile happily deactivated and no concerns about the midnight kiss tonight.
I can't have a blog with a title like mine and not go into my favorite subject, Movies, TV, Video Games...

• Movies - Quite a year. I think I saw more movies in the theater this year (thanks Army) than I have since 2000. My choice for movie of the year is simple, my brothers would not be surprised given that he has always been one of my favorites, Iron Man. Really, of all the movies this year this is the one that stood out.
• TV - Sigh... The damage that the writers’ strike wrought on this industry is still not easily calculated. So many freshman shows from last year took irreparable damage, including my much beloved Pushing Daisies. I think the damage will still reverberate for a while (Chuck and Terminator).
• Video Games -
  Big news was that I bought a Wii and wrought destruction on my parents house. Best game? Shocker I know... Left 4 Dead I mean, c'mon!! Zombies, teamwork and fun? Really no question. Most novel? Endwar. Fascinating user control (controlling the units with voice? sooo coool.....) and of course gives me a good Army fix.

Well, I am going to keep it somewhat short. I think I touched on the high and the lows and I am ready to move on to the next year....

Happy New Years everyone! I will be partying it up with my GF at the Gaylord at some big party this evening. I hope you have a great night and an even better New Year!

Tired

I know that I haven't written much lately on my Army training. I would write if something really interesting were happening, but so much of what I have done here for the past 5 weeks has been the norm for me. i.e., lots of computer stuff that I have already done or that is so trivial at the level that it is taught that I pay attention enough to pass the tests, quizzes, and hands on exams handily but in reality my brain is stuck in low gear and not engaged. I will quickly say that I understand why the Army and the Signal Corp put together this plan of instruction, that for the uninitiated this is an excellent grounding in fundamentals that will prevent those new to the field to not be completely overwhelmed. But for about a 1/3 of the class this is not the case, many of them are in the same mode as I am in. Some of us are able to help the newbies but sometimes our help can be a hindrance, since we are so accustomed to working in this field and on problems of higher organization/complexity that we can make things too complicated. For a bunch of these people this is the first time that they have had a command line interface, dealing with a computer based on memorization and logic as opposed to clicking on the GUI (graphical user interface) that is old hand to a lot of us (I have been dealing with computers and programming them since I was in elementary school, which makes it over 20-25 years).
So instead we listen, maybe try to get a tidbit that we don't know and engage in the longest running game in the Army, trying to stay awake in class (this being a techie school it might as well be sponsored by Red Bull and Monster). I finally understand how the Infantry folks felt during BOLC II, feeling that they were paying penance and just checking another box. I do remain hopeful that the last 3-4 weeks plus the field exercise provide some mental stimulation since they cover material that is not really encountered in the civilian world.

Of course I am finding it a bit easier to stay awake now that I am on post finally. The extra 20 minutes of sleep in the morning, the overall more relaxed morning and afternoons (and even the occasional noon nap) are making this a little more tolerable. It has helped me recover from NO, which took quite a while given that my poor body was not used that, both the staying up late (4AM EST) and the drinking (oh the drinking... boy can my family put it back).

To give an idea how ready I am for the 4th holiday (they give us the 3rd as well) I just paid someone $150 to take my CQ (charge quarters) shift on the 4th (its a full day shift on a holiday, but well worth the cost). He was already going to be here and I desperately didn't want to be here in GA, now that is capitalism at its finest. I am so ready to go home, see the improvements to my Condo and just relax away from the Army a bit.

And as a side note... $7000 in damages to my poor Prius. Hopefully I will have her back in another 3 weeks so that I can ditch this dreadful Dodge PT Cruiser. I miss my GPS, cruise control and a vehicle that doesn't turn like a beast.

BOLC II - Last Week and Final Thoughts

So the 7 week adventure/endurance expercise draws to an end.


Equipment has been cleaned and turned in, a whole day is allocated to cleaning weapons, goodbyes are exchanged (though in the standard Army tradition of schools very few will keep in touch). Though you will probably run into them later at other schools or at the oddest places. We had our final release run (4 miles at a 8:45 pace) on Wednesday, met the DCG of the base, and then made sure our paperwork is inline.

BOLC II has been an interesting and frustrating experience. I can understand why the Army added this course. It brings people from all commissioning sources, everything from those with extensive enlisted experience to wet behind the ears straight out of college (and the academy). Everyone comes to their branch with different experiences and this also forces the different branches to mingle (we had pretty much every branch here that has to attend except for Legal) and work with each other to build cohesion as well as cross-train each other. I would say that I came out a stronger soldier, but I think that there are things that they could have done differently that would have further enhanced the leadership building that these new leaders require.

A short 12 hour drive home (HAH!) and then I can relax until Tuesday, when Signal BOLC III starts.

FOB Living at BOLC II

A more pictorial view post than normal for me. As I have mentioned I attended BOLC II this Spring from April to May 2008. My Company spent 1 week (4 days and 3 nights) at the FOB, while others spent more (the other Company spent 3 weeks out here, heading home on the weekends).

Rows and rows of tents in the admin area. Yes, apparently they actually sprayed something on those first 2 tents (they serve as the TOC, Tactical Operations Centers for the 2 Companies when they are there). There are about 8 tents in a row from this point. As well as a row of "changing tents" (not allowed to change in the sleep tents.... silly rule and not really paid attention to) and shower tents (4 of them, pictures of the insides to follow).

The outside of the Sleeping tents. They are about 50 meters long on the inside and as you can see from the people in the foreground pretty tall as well. There are 3 of them here, 2 for the males of each company and 1 for the females (that is forbidden to men due to some indiscressions in earlier cycles of this course).There are 120 bunk beds in each tent. As you can see its not too bad. It is air conditioned and this is by far the best trip I have ever made to the "field". Everyone is pretty much allowed to set up as they see fit so long as no food is consumed in the area. This too was ignored by a lot of people.
My messy bunk. As you can see I was a smartie and took along a pillow.
This is the MWR/Mess tent. As you can see there are plenty of places to sit as well as a couple of TV's that are hooked up to satellite. AC'd as well.

In addition in the MWR tent we had a bunch of computers along one side.

The shower tent. Plenty of showers (gotta love that during the week). I am a big fan of taking showers in the field. They help me more than sleeping at times. PS those aren't real mirrors, they are polished stainless steel plates.


Not a bad shower. But anything would have been good. This was still better than what I had during OCS (pretty much any phase).

The FOB's parking lot. You can barely make out the guard tower (on of 8 on the FOB) on top of the red CONEX.

Some of the many vehicles that we used during out time at the FOB

BOLC II - Week 6 - Culmination Operations

Monday

A tough PT. For some reason done in ACU's and tennis shoes, not sure why. More Crossfit, I was definitely feeling it later. Then it was prep for movement to the FOB (Forward Operating Base) Victory. We packed our "A" Bags (everything that doesn't go in your rucksack) and loaded them on a LMTV along with the MRE's (34 boxes, 12 per box) and other associated equipment, it made for an impressive pile when we unloaded at the FOB. We also drew our weapons (including the heavier squad and platoon level machine guns). I headed ahead with the equipment (needed to have a supercargo to make sure that it was protected) and then waited, and waited (over 2 hours total) for my platoon to join us at the FOB. After being given a few minutes to settle in to the ginormious "tent" (it had a soft roof and and aluminum siding for the sides) which houses 240 soldiers we were provided our first mission, to man 4 of the towers ringing the base and also staff the ECP (Entry Control Point, the funnel where all vehicles entering and exiting the FOB are inspected while being covered by a tower with a medium MG and several supporting soldiers). Basically had a 2 on, 2 off cycle for the next 12 hours, then at the end everyone had to wake up to conduct an AAR that seemed to go on FOREVER... (Ending around 0115) Pretty much everyone (except for the poor bastards that got the mission for tomorrow morning) just fell into bed.

Tuesday

0415, the nightmare of early awareness continues..... Mission briefing at 0440, then prep for the mission with a departure by 0530. We wandered around to 2 points and combated the evil CIF (Columbus Insurgent Forces... these are some bad ass dudes, armed with the latest in American weaponry and the almost sadistic desire to use it against American forces.. they are members of our own platoon that get volunteered to take us out). Another AAR, then it was my turn to play as a leader, serving as a squad leader. Our mission was a joint mission, us and another one of our Company's platoons. We received the mission of pulling security on the area while other platoon cleared a building. We departed by 1300, after taking care of the usual tasks of preparation. Mission was a complete success and we returned by 1430. After conducting yet another AAR (we really love them) then the people who had held leadership positions were counseled (so that we could get our "GO"s in the graduation requirement. Another short nap and then it was time for dinner at 1700. It was our single hot meal of the day (the other two being either MRE's, whatever pogie-bait (ie, field food... small, high calorie snacks) we have or maybe the "gut truck" during lunch). A quick OPORD (Operational Order) brief about what we would be doing tonight and then I slept until my shift at 0200. Shift ran from 0200-0400, then we were held over until 0530 (just napping in our briefing tent... hard plywood floors). Worst thing is that I broke the mount for my night vision walking to my bed. (just means more paperwork in the end)

Wednesday

Slept until 0945. OPORD brief at 1000. Today I get to be a SAW (M249 Machine Gun) gunner since the person who it is normally assigned to is in a leadership position. We do some rehearsals and prep and then roll out at 1300. This was a convoy operation, with me hanging off the back and poking my weapon out to kill any enemies that dare oppose us, which for some reason they do. We have chow at 1500 and then start planning for the next mission. This time I chose wisely and volunteer to be OPFOR, while the team runs their mission.

Basically they had to inspect a suspect mass grave right around dusk. They did and us OPFOR gave them a good run. Then they reset us, sending us to a new location (full of trenches and barbed wire), and gave the team the new direction. And then I waited, and waited, and waited.... turns out they got lost and wandered around quite a bit. We didn't get back until 1145, and our AAR didn't end until 0120.

Thursday

0515 wakeup. Joy, I get to be a Squad Leader again. On the same basic mission that I had run earlier. Went well except for some comm issues (none of my soldiers decided to bring their radios to formation). Then we collected brass on the site (and boy was there a lot of it). Back to the FOB for more police calls, packing up, doing all the little tasks to reset the site and get ready to depart. We then left early on our 10 Mile Ruckmarch due to concerns about the weather (lots of severe storms were not too far away). Long march at a fairly brisk pace (17 minute miles) with 10 minute breaks every 2.5 miles. Even with no sun and all it was hot.... and muddy (since it was raining). Finally completed it in 3:30. So tired. Then after making sure that everything was settled (weapons in a safe place, etc) we were released around 1900. I had a beer and some taco's and fell asleep by 9..

Friday

Recovery. Late formation at 0800. Then we began weapon cleaning. Everyone is pretty eager to get things done and ready to go. Lots of cleaning, of equipment (everything we have been issued needs to be return). Everyone is in the PT uniform, since we are all pretty beat up. Finally got released for the day at 1730. God my hands are dirty.

A rest weekend

After all the excitement of the past week and in anticipation of our packed week coming up I did nothing this weekend.
Of course some of that was due to Friday night. We decided to have a cook-out to celebrate the birthday of one of Platoon at one of the Infantry guy's places here on base (they had to secure their own housing in anticipation of not having anything available during their OBC (Officer Basic Course) as well as their mandatory Ranger and Airborne schools). Much beer was consumed and we also had plans to make sure that we could safely go downtown (thanks to generous DD's). There was much discussion of the Land Nav test earlier as well as some gossip that I cannot mention out of deference to those involved (there are people reading this who know my last name and that's where discretion and decency comes into play).
All I will say abut the evening is that shots are not my friend.
So after the mandatory rest period I woke up and all of a sudden the power goes off in the barracks. This doesn't bother me too much given how I feel so I go back to sleep. Later, still no power. Even later you can see the workers desperately trying to fix it (basically a wire burned out.... one of the big feeder ones). So I went bowling with a buddy (one lousy game and then a great 160 game... consistency is not my thing in bowling). Then off to the movies.

• What Happens in Vegas - Pretty fun actually. Naturally pretty predictable (its a RomCom after all) but it had its moments. Cameron Diaz still looks good. 3/5
• Vantage Point - I actually liked this movie. It unfolded like an onion, each presentation showing parts of the previous story and incorporating them and also showing hidden meaning to those events that were shown previously. I got the feeling the audience, not so much... they seemed frustrated, since each retelling ended very dramatically. Great cast and over all very entertaining. 4.5/5

After that I puttered around the completely dark barracks, then chatted with my girl for a while late at night. Just as I was getting into so good sleep of course the power returns.... at 043o in the morning.... that would have been fine, except it tripped the fire alarm. Sigh... I can't wait to get out of this hellacious too early in the morning place....

Another late start, a very light lunch then off to the gym. Lifted then did some laps. Its been a long time since I did laps and I was very rusty (and I forgot how good of a workout it is). Obviously I called my Mom (who I also had remembered to send a card too... gotta stay in the good graces). Went out for a fantastic dinner of BBQ at Country's. Then I went for a 4 mile ruck march to break in some new boots (and also learned that a certain pair of socks should not be used for rucking) as well as prep for the 10 mile ruck march on Thursday. Now I am packing and getting ready for a way too exciting day tomorrow.

BOLC II - Week 5 - Day 3-5

Yep, fell behind. That's the thing that happens when you get busy.
Wednesday
A five mile platoon sized run. At a little less than 9 minute mile pace. Not too bad and definitely had its effect on me. Classes for another couple of hours as we went over what we would be doing at the FOB (Forward Operating Base) next week during our culmination exercise (things like inspecting vehicle, manning the towers, etc).
Then it was off for convoy operations. We distributed 30 members of the platoon between 4 HMMV's and 2 HMET (big trucks, replacements for the 2 1/2 ton and 5 ton trucks) while peeling off the remainder to act as OPFOR (Opposing Force). Then, while civilian drivers went down the road we performed a convoy, dismounting at certain points to handle incidents. It took a while and was hot, and of course I was a simulated kill the first iteration (the second was too horrific to talk about). Pretty good training.
Thursday
More Crossfit. This time it was moving tires (basically squats), medicine ball sit-ups, stretcher lunges and this weird move with a sandbag that appears to be derived from kettle balls. Then we headed out for Land Navigation training. We were paired up, given a map and 6 points and given 4 hours to complete the task. Wow it was hot out there. We found our points after a bit of wandering around and eventually got back in time for lunch.
Friday
Now for the kicker. Woke up at 0250 (yes, a time that normally I consider a late bedtime, not a time to wake up). Apparently they really like waking us up early on Fridays. Formation and then off to the land nav course for the test. The standard is that you are provided 8 points, spread over a 2x4 km grid, and must find 5 of those points (I always shoot for 6, to make sure that I am covered if I pick the wrong one) in 5 hours and then return to the designated end point. All you have is a compass, water, a map, protractor and whatever light you need, since this event starts at 0500 in the morning. I mishot my first one, but luckily I found it in short order. Then I realized I misplotted another one (luckily I didn't waster time looking for it, I was reviewing it as I was walking and of course started cursing.... I never did find that point). But luckily 4 of my points were right off roads or at intersections. In the end I found my 6 points that wanted and was trying to find my 7th when my clock finally showed 1 hour left, so like a smart guy (6 in hand and I was not wasting my chance to finish this event I immediately shot straight north or west (any angle in between was acceptable since it brought me closer to the end). I ran into some of the worst terrain in that final run, like a huge muck filled area that ran for 200 meters, then running in to a stream that was surrounded by really intense underbrush (and then I still had to get over the stream). I must have left a swath of destruction that even I could track as I had pretty much reached the point where I was using my knife to slash at offending vines and was breaking or destroying anything in between me and getting out of the forest (can you figure that I was in a foul mood from being woken up so early and then forced to wander the forrest).

Did I mention that it rained the night before? At first I was wet from from all the wet underbrush and then it was my own sweat. I was dripping, sopping wet by the time I got the F out of the GD Forrest. But I was back with 40 minutes to go. I got there, went over to the bleachers and laid out my gear in the sun (including my top), sat down, removed my completely soaked boots and socks (which only completely dried out by sunday) and watched the other people come in. 7 of our platoon didn't make it in time and will have to retest on Monday.Some of them came so achingly close too, missing the time by just minutes. Scarily, someone managed to do 8 points in 2:30. So tired.Then it was back to the barracks for the standard things, cleaning and whatnot until we were released at 1400.

BOLC II - Week 5 - Day 1 & 2

Yep, getting lazier as times goes on and there is more to do. Ironic that now that there is more to write about I am writing less since I am actually doing the stuff.

Monday


I went to formation and then went to sick call. As noted I hurt my toe and it would have been a bloody mess to go for a run on it. Sick call in the Army gives me the closest appreciation of what I feel that purgatory would be. Long lines, waiting around, moving from queue to queue.... After I got back there was more waiting, then a formation to tell us that there would be more waiting, then more waiting.

Finally we got the go. Loaded up on buses, took a short nap on the way to the range. This range is different. We have a squad that heads down the range in tactical formation (basically big wedges/V formations) with loaded weapons. Yep, the team behind me, loaded with 40 rounds of ammo. This is where the trust comes into play, that those soldiers have their weapons on safe, fingers off the triggers and doing so consistently. Then we moved further into the range where pop-up targets appear and you must get down and engage them, while the other element (the other team) moves around to flank them. Its actually pretty satisfying when you have a target and get to take it down, since so often we use blanks and there is never that situation. I would note that we do this lane twice, first with blanks to show how we would do all the normal actions then with live ammo after we have conducted an AAR and corrected any issues. Our run on this lane went well and we got a pretty good review. The low point of the day was that we didn't clear this range (since we had to walk through and collect all the brass) until 1900 (7PM). Which means we didn't get off until 2000.... And somehow dinner slipped through the cracks. I joined a few of my compatriots at the walking distance Mexican restaurant for a big burrito and a couple of beers and chips.

Tuesday


Apparently the cross-fit stuff is catching, as today's student PT leader brought us back to doing cross-fit. Modified squats (looks like Russian dancing), push-ups, sit-ups, crunches and pull-ups (as well as this crazy thing where you repeatably jump onto a step and then back down.... I am REALLY slow at these.. very much the white man can't jump thing going on here). Then we did a bunch of classes after PT until lunch.


Today our big event was the CCTT, the Close Combat Tactical Trainer. Yep, today was video game day. This is an electronic simulator that creates a tactical movement of HMMV's along a patrol corridor. Someone drives (that was me), someone is the vehicle commander, you have a turret gunner, and two guys in the back who can dismount. Believe it or not it feels really real after a bit, some people even get motion sick even though nothing is really moving. This was seriously bad ass and everyone enjoyed the training opportunity. 4 of the vehicles were electronically linked together, so we could see the actions of our other soldiers, communicate with them and react to their actions. We encountered IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices), hostile dismounted bad guys and even a VBIED (Vehicle Borne IED). Everyone though it was great training. This was the first time that they have used the CCTT here at BOLC II and I imagine that based on the response (highly enthusiastic) that it will quickly be incorporated into the normal schedule. The use of this facility has save the Army 10's and 100's of millions of dollars (since in addition to HMMV's it can also do armor like M1's or M2's, which are godawful expensive to operate and fire (M1's for example guzzle fuel at the rate of 2 gallons per mile)) while giving the soldiers chances to engage more realistic training.

Since my platoon was (again) the last to go we finished around 1600, giving us time to run errands and get dinner (unlike yesterday).

Gotta love a day where you get payed to "play" (I use this loosely since we were using tactics and reacting like we would in real life) video games.

BOLC II - Week 4 - Day 4&5

A pretty neat PT. More of this Crossfit stuff, lots of different muscle activities then interlaced with short sprints. Pretty good workout and I was definitely feeling it later. Then we got ready (grabbing our vests, body armor, Kevlar, and rucksacks packed for our overnight camping trip)... and waited... and waited. Finally the second group of buses came and picked us up. Its such a pain getting on these buses with all this gear, since you put your rucksack in front (we call it front-load) and wearing all your other gear, and stumble up and onto the bus. Then we spent the morning running room clearing exercises at the squad (9ish soldiers or so. mine had 11 so we some extra support) level. After each of those missions we would then sit down and conduct the AAR (After Action Review), where we identify things we did well and things that we still need to improve on. I can see why this is something you need to train a lot on, since it requires a lot of coordination and has a lot of variables (every room is different). This was all done with us using blanks in our weapons.

This is the MOUT (Military Operations Urban Terrain) site McKenna at Ft. Benning

Then the most popular man at the site stopped by, the AAFES (Army Air Force Exchange System) snack truck, lovingly called the "Gut Truck" by the soldiers. Here you can buy soda's, chips, gatorade, and any number of snack, as well as things like mini pizza's and sandwiches. I was talking to the driver and kidding him, asking how does it feel to be the most popular person in the field right now (he did realize popularity was fleeting, kidding that he knew it would disappear the moment he stopped driving the truck).

After lunch (MRE's were also ready. Some are surprisingly tasty. Or at least the other treats in them (ranging from M&M's, brownies, cookies) can be) we were ready to start using the Simunitions. They basically pull the upper part of the M4 (since it splits in 2, the upper is mainly the barrel and the lower contains the guts, things like springs, trigger assemblies, etc) and replace it with a blue barreled version that shoots 9mm simunitions. They also use special magazines that fit into the standard m4 that can accept the 9mm Simunition round. Basically it shoots it fast enough to get it down the barrel and around the speed that you would expect out of paintballs. Then we geared up with the rest of the stuff, adding a mask and goggles over our Kevlars helmets, a neck protector and then a whole body protector. You can see all the gear on below, including the blue barreled simunition.

Since each mission takes time each squad only got to go once. Mine got to go first. We entered a building that had 3 enemies in. In clearing the room we took 2 casualties, which we (and in particular, me) had to pick up and extract to a nominal casualty collection point. My god, I was HOT by the end of the exercise. Then later I served as an OPFOR (Opposing Force). I put on all the above gear and then added a red "man dress" (basically clothing like the hajji over there wear) and try to tag another squad as they ran their mission. It was pretty fun.

After all that it was dinner (hot rations brought out from the chow hall) and then we waited for darkness to fall. We mounted our NOD(night vision devices) as darkness fell and prepped for a night assault. We also did a familiarization mission where we walked though the woods around the site in the darkness using the NODs to see what is around us. Its very weird since the device really causes you to lose depth perception (since its just a monocle mounted on the helmet) and took some getting used to. We did our night mission twice (we did pretty well for the conditions and inexperience of the team) and then bedded out in the field. Yep, me the camping hater spent the night sleeping out in a sleeping bag under the stars. We didn't get to bed until 2330 (1130).

It seemed moments later, like no time had passed at all, we then woke up at 0500. Time for some field PT. In our BDU's we stretched and did a pyramid of push ups and sit-ups. Not by our choice we also did some rifle PT... (my arms are still hurting from keeping that rifle out there like that) Some time for personal hygiene and then some more trucked in breakfast. We then started prepping for the big exercise of the day, a platoon level (4 squads, 41 soldiers in this case) assault of a couple of buildings at the site (sadly we were back to using blanks, since there are only so many simunitions sets and the other platoons needed their training time as well).

Prepping for the mission

Facing an OPFOR of 9 soldier spread over 3 multi-story building (the three in the first picture here in fact) our platoon took 7 casualties to take the buildings. Some confusion and inexperience at operating at this level caused this high count, but it was overall considered a success and our cadre were quite pleased.

All that was left was a police call (gathering all the expended blanks that we used) and packing up to leave. Still we didn't get back until 1600 and weren't released until 1730. First priority was a shower..... I suspect that I will be in bed early and sleep late tomorrow.

BOLC II - Week 4 - Day3

Intense PT! A mile run to the stadium(DoughBoy Stadium), then we did the stairs. Then we drew weapons and headed out to the MOUT Site, McKenna. MOUT stands for Military Operations in Urban Terrain, which is basically moving in an urban environment and entering and clearing room.

I think the general consensus among the soldiers is that the preferred way to clear a room is either a tank round through the door or fragmentation grenade(sorry, but my preference is the health and safety of my soldiers. I am pretty unapologetic in that regard. This other stuff is far more dangerous), but unfortunately the ROE (Rules of Engagement) don't really allow for that anymore . So we are back on the standby of having 4 soldiers enter the room, packed right next to each other and exploding into the room, each heading to the point where we can dominate the room (killing any stupid bastard who is stupid enough to threaten American, Coalition or Iraqi forces).

The MOUT site is actually pretty cool. I will put some pictures up on Friday (as we will be staying out at the MOUT site tomorrow to do some night operations) of the place as it is pretty impressive. I commented to couple of my classmates that it really feels like a video game, since there are all these 1-3 story buildings that have no furniture and are all pretty much shells. Very much like some of the video games that that I have played over the years.

This stuff requires a lot of practice and repetition. Its actually pretty fun, since its a very active task and also requires you to think and move dynamically. Every room and building is different so you must constantly adapt the tactics to the situation. Today was all just familiarization with tactics, learning the correct way to handle different situations and working together as a tactical team. It looks really cool when you are working well together.

We worked on this stuff right up to 1600, boarded buses and then headed back to the barracks. I write this wearing my BDU's (today is the last day we can wear them in the Army so I figured one last hurrah, as of tomorrow they are no longer an authorized uniform) doing CQ. Tomorrow we have a long and exciting day, as we will begin to train with an OPFOR (Opposing Force) who will defend the buildings. Perhaps even more interesting is that we will be armed with Simunitions, basically big paint guns (they remove the upper part of our M4 and place a new one in that is designed to handle and feed the simunitions). Then we will do it at night before laying down to sleep out there.

BOLC II - Week 4 - Day 2

Another glorious morning. It was a bit cold (mid-40's) and we ran to the PT field and did a combo of pushups and situps (different variations). Then it was time to gear up and hit the range.

A bunch of waiting around (this is the Army after all). Then we had quick mini classes on the weapon that we would shoot immediately afterward. Below you can see the first on deck, the M2 Machine Gun. This weapon shoots 50 calibre rounds and is awesome. Too bad I only got to shoot 15 rounds, its kind of fun. As you can see they mounted the weapons on HMMV's to give us a more realistic fire.

And above of course is me, ready to rock and roll. This weapon is awesome and fun to shoot.

Then it was on to the other weapons, the M249 Machine Gun (often called the SAW, Squad Automatic Weapon). Its the standard weapon and you will find that almost all infantry squads have 2 of these. Then it was the M240B, the bigger brother of the 249. It fires a larger round than the 249 (7.62mm vs 5.56mm) but is fairly comparable.

We also got to shoot the M203. This is the weapon that you see slung underneath M16/M4's that fires a 40mm grenade. We fired what amounts to be paintball rounds, though they have the same kick and ballistic profile of a live round. You get a nice splash of paint when it hits the target. Normally we also can fire the M19, which is an automatic grenade launcher but because of range restrictions we couldn't. I really wish we could since it looks fun.

After we cleared the range we then had a class on convoy operations. We will be doing that next week so we definitely paid attention, since this is a serious operational class (lots of experience being in/running them in the classroom so you got lots of useful anecdotes). We got off around 1630.

BOLC II - Week 4 - Day 1

Back to reality after a pleasant weekend. It was raining when we headed down for formation, not a good sign. Started off the day with a 3 mile run (some of it up a pretty steep hill). Then we drew our M4's and got ready for the day. For the morning we had classes in the M2, a .50 calibre machine gun that had been the mainstay of the US Military for coming on 90 years, and the M19, which is an automatic 40mm grenade launchers. This included taking apart and putting them back together (more tricky than it seems). These weapons are huge and when not mounted on a vehicle have a 60-70lb mounts. That took us up to lunch.


The afternoon was devoted to SRM. First we drew a magazine of 30 blanks and went through the motions that we would perform with live ammo. Then it was on to the range (which you can see in the background below) where we drew 3 30-round magazines. Then we performed a number of movements, facing techniques and just plain seeing a target and shooting from a dist of less than 25 meters (in most cases closer, we even shot a few from the 5 meter distance. This involves basically putting the red dot on the target and squeezing off 2 controlled rounds at the target. It was actually a pretty entertaining sequence since I can easily see why these are some very useful skills for the future, since a lot of engagements in Iraq are from close quarters so this is somewhat realistic. After that we helped police the brass (200 in the company * 90 rounds each..... = 18000 rounds expended today) and cleared off the range and returned our weapons. Then we waited around until we were released at 1600.

BOLC II Demographics and Food

So its interesting to note the breakdown of my class here at BOLC II. Given the timing of the course we skew a bit higher than most classes, since we are at that odd spot where there odds of college grads decline (since the timing is wrong for most college and academy grads). Its interesting to note that there are NO Academy grads in this class, not in either of the 2 companies (400 people). Its about 45% Active Duty, 40% National Guard and 15% Reserve. Overall we are older, the younguns are in shorter supply. The split is probably 50-50 for whether they came from OCS (either the Federal program here at Benning or the State programs that graduated people such as myself) or from ROTC. There are a few direct commissions that bounce around but they are still fairly rare. We are also an older bunch, with the average hovering probably around 30. Lots of prior experience, you can see probably 30% of the people have combat patches (below the flag on the right arm, it denotes what unit they were attached to during a tour in a combat zone). That's particularly useful since it gives a lot of experience and knowledge that you can't find everywhere. And the final number is 10%. Thats approximately how many of the people going through this are female. My platoon is a good example as we have 41 soldiers and 4 females, each assigned to a different squad.

And now for my favorite topic, the food. I would say that chow here is better than I have experienced (though my experience is pretty limited) though I have been told that its on the middling point for the Army. Breakfast is always good, lots of eggs, scrambled or as an omelet, sausage or bacon, biscuits (with of course, gravy, either sausage or regular available), bacon, oatmeal, grits, waffles. All in all a pretty good selection and nothing to complain about. Lunch and dinner are generally the same. They have 2 lines, a fast line with burgers, fries, and that ilk, and a traditional line with a choice of protein and a starch, along with veggies of various types (my buddy on Facebook posted his status lately as "I think the Army considers tater tots to be veggies"). There is also bread and a salad bar that is pretty comprehensive. The food is a bit on the overcooked side and is too heavy on the grease. While I appreciate this time as one of the last times other than deployment that I get free food, I definitely look forward to eating out on the town when I can. I have also taken to having a liquid breakfast, protein shake plus a sports bar in the morning.

BOLC II - Week 3 - Day 4 & 5

Thursday - Survived my CQ shift. So boring. I got through a couple of TV shows while sitting at the desk. Started with some interesting PT. Tire flipping (big truck tires), stretcher carry, sandbag passing (tougher than it sounds) and a station where you did a combo of overhead arm claps, pushups, crunches. At 0900 we got the good news, just work on weapons cleaning. So out came the cleaning kits, rags and of course the ipods and laptops as we sat around and worked on getting our weapons cleaned. We had a quick class at 1130 on DAGR (basically a GPS system) and then off to lunch (my squad had pizza!). After lunch it was a class presented by the foreign student (the military often has international student in many of its classes) from Albania who gave a presentation on his country. It was a good idea since he gave everyone an idea where he came from and answered a bunch of questions at one time. Then we were off for the day (at 1500!!!). I promptly went to bed for a nap and then went to the gym.

Friday - 0330 wakeup. UGH! This seems like a trend on Fridays, waking up early. Don't like it. It was kind of neat to see the Night gear in play. Using the laser to point the weapon and seeing it on my NOD. I killed 8 of 20, which actually was pretty good. All they used was the 50m targets, I can't really see hitting beyond that with this scope. Back to the barracks and then we had some off time until 0900. Then we practiced for a number of hours on short combat drills, basically shooting a target at close range and the tactical movements necessary (like making sure that your body armor is the one thing presented toward the enemy). A quick turn in and then, miracle of miracles, we were done by 1430. Its now the weekend!!!

BOLC II - Week 3 - Day 3

Weapon Qualification day.

Started the day with a 60-120 running day. 60 seconds of sprinting at top speed and then jogging for another 120 seconds. Pretty good workout.

Then as we are the duty platoon for the day we had a hurried morning where we got our stuff together and walked over to the range (it was only about .5 miles away). Even walking in this gear is hot. Upon our arrival we set about some of the usual tasks of running a range (making sure that all support gear, like water, is set up, loading magazines, etc). I was a safety for an hour, then as we had members of the platoon qualify they rotated me out to qualify. Unfortunately for the first set dirt had gotten inside my weapon, so I suffered from a series of weapons jams that gave me a pitiful 7 hits. That coupled with the fact that I was still getting a hand around this whole kneeling position that we are supposed to use (the standard, 20 prone supported, 10 prone unsupported and 10 kneeling was a new one to me as when I went through basic it was 20 foxhole and 20 prone unsupported). After cleaning my weapon throughly I had to make a few more tries and then I qualified in the early afternoon. Pretty frustrating but now its over. Then we continued to run the range until we closed shop at 1600. We fired 18,500 rounds to qualify 180 soldiers (there were a few people at the end of the day who hadn't qualified, but they have a couple of more chances starting tomorrow.). A quick cleanup (we have to gather all the spent brass for turnin) and we moved back to the barracks.

more scenes from the range, not very exciting.

We did have one more task for the day. One of our cadre had his birthday today so a cake had been arranged. A pink one with a tiarra... Pretty funny but he was a good sport. Then off to bed as I have to get up at 0200 to do CQ for 2 hours. Joy.

BOLC II - Week 3 - Days 1&2

Range days. Lots of downtime.

Monday was a run day, 3 miles of running around a mile track (somewhat hamsterish, but better than doing it on a 1/4 mile track, thats enough to make you dizzy). Then we got our weapons and moved out to the range. Today was zero day, where you use your weapon to aim at a target simulating a 300m target (though its only 25m away.... its just really small) and have to get your shots grouped into a tight group (5 of 6 shots need to be within a 3cm circle, right in the middle of the target). This involves a lot of stopping and starting as you also adjust your sights so that the rounds are walked into the correct location. You fire 3 shots, wait until everyone is done and is away from their weapons, walk down, see where your shots hit the target, then go back and adjust. Pretty time consuming. It took me a couple of tries to finally get it, as I started to remember and reassert my marksmanship fundamentals (breathing, trigger pull, sight picture). It was hot, even though we went in the morning. We were wearing our IBA (Interdictor body Armor, the same stuff they use in Iraq), equipment harness, kevlar helmets and eye protection on the range. Its impressively hot. Then we came back, did some weapon cleaning (always a good practice), then had some student led classes before calling it an evening. I went over to the gym and hit the hot tub to cap off the day.

Tuesday morning we did something different for PT. We did Crossfit training, a combo of situps, dips, elevated pushups and pull/chin-ups. Pretty good cross training. Then we did the classic military "hurry up and wait routine", where we were ready to head to the range by 830 (in all our gear). Then we took off the gear and had student led classes for the next 2 hours (got mine out of the way and got a go). A long lunch and then we moved to range (god, even walking in all this gear is tiring). We did ALT-C training today, where we shot at a paper target at 25m. 40 rounds, 20 from the prone supported, 10 from the prone unsupported and 10 from the kneeling (still an odd position, its not what I trained on). I did pretty well, getting a 28 on the score (you are supposed to put 4 shots into 10 different targets, all sized so that they look like what they would be at that distance). After that we had a few more little tasks and were done by around 3pm. I executed the Army standard and took a nice nap before dinner. A quick trip to the gym and another visit to the beloved hot tub.

Relaxing weekend

Apparently yesterday was Rachel Bilson day... I went and saw Forgetting Sarah Marshal and then later in the day went and saw Jumper at the cheapie movie theater. I felt that I had seen most of the really funny scenes for Forgetting in the previews, sometimes a distinct danger of this sort of comedy. Overall it was pretty entertaining. But of course I am a bit predisposed to both the leading ladies so its not surprising.

Friday night was a late start, as we didn't get release until 6. A couple of the guys went over to a Mexican restaurant right outside the gate and we got margaritas. One was all it took for a good night. $14 for this ginormious 60oz, top shelf beast. We had our DD drive us back to the base and then "watched" a movie (as I fell asleep pretty much as it started.... 4am wakeup and a nice drink predisposed me to falling asleep). I also hit the gym yesterday and then went to a local Chinese place, Chef Lee's, which was recommended by a classmate and was listed by USA Today as one of the best Chinese places in the country. It was pretty good and I can see myself returning there.

Sunday was a late morning. Went for a 40 minute jog around the base, showered, popped over to the commissary for some necessities (detergent, water, stuff to put in water (big fan of the crystal light hydrate packages... for someone who has been IV'd 3 times last year I know the importance of replenishing electrolyte's)). Then off to catch a movie, The Bucket List. As yesterday seemed to be about youth and beauty (very defining for both the movies I saw on Saturday) today countered that with Jack Nicolson and Morgan Freeman. It was fun, somewhat predictable but a fun little romp.

Ah, now the fun part of the day. I got up too late for breakfast so I decided to take advantage of a big lunch (luckily I get per diem for food on the weekends) at Country's BBQ. Sooo good. I had a combo plate, some ribs, some pork, some beef with sides of french fries and fried apples along with cornbread. Very good though next time I will stick with the pork, I liked that a lot more than the other 2. Then I rolled back to base..

When I got back I also worked on homework (this place feels even more like a dorm as I work on homework....) and took a long walk while talking to people on the phone (was going to hit the gym but it closes at 1700 on the weekends). Off to bed for an exciting day at the ranges by 2300!

Life in a Barracks.

Its a real switch, being 31 years old and suddenly being in an environment where you have to share a room with a stranger, eat a dining facility (though only if you want to), and be in a place where people want to know if you are leaving (at least if you go more than 150 miles). At least I don't have to make my bed if I don't want to, and so long as I don't live like a pig the room is me and my roommates. Then you add in things like sharing a bathroom, common laundry facilities and its just so different. I keep slipping up and calling the barracks "dorms", since that is what it really feels like.

Excuse the mess a bit, since these were taken on the first day and I was still getting settled. Its also an abrupt change from being used to be able to spread your stuff all over a full 1000sqft condo and then being reduced to this small area. A lot of tricks that were common when you had them back in those first years of college have slipped your mind and lead to some last minute purchases (like the hanging drawers in the wall locker photo). Then you have to add in a whole bunch of other equipment, rucksacks, body armor, and several duffel bags of gear. Its an art sorting and storing it away. My roommate is a bit more put together but this is also due to the fact that he just spent 13 weeks living like this in the Federal OCS program.

Being on an Army base really for the first time with freedom (I was at Ft. Knox during basic, total lockdown, Ft. Pickett, Camp Dawson and Fort McLellan for OCS where you also were on lockdown while you were there) is very different. I do have some familiarity with military bases, being that I am a Navy brat, but actually living on a large base like this is an experience. They have a post office, several bowling alley's, a couple of straight up bars (there is one literally a minute walk from my barracks. Things like this are great in cutting down on drunk driving since soldiers don't even have to leave the base and they even operate a shuttle around the main areas), a fairly modern movie theater (run by a commercial company but only usable by military and their dependents), several gas stations, a couple of chapels, several convenience stores, a number of fast food places (BK, Subway and others), a large PX (post exchange) and of course a commissary. That and some pretty nice gyms and trails. There are some days that I don't even leave the base.

Its a different community here on post compared to what I am used to. Very much like those images of the 50's where the kids can go anywhere safely, there are lots of things to do and everyone, even the drivers, are fairly polite. Even the base housing is kind of neat and nice looking.

Just a very different world from what I am used to... And something that I don't really sample as a National Guardsman, where all this stuff is the exception rather than the norm as it is for the Regular Army folks.

BOLC II - Week 2 - Day 5

0400.... The line from "Good Morning Vietnam" is never more appropriate.... what does the 0 stand for? "Oh MY GOD it's EARLY!" Even going to bed at ten-ish doesn't make it any better. I was basically yawning all day. I think I have seen more 0400 bedtimes than wakeups in my life, its just NOT natural for me as a person who wakes up at 7ish every day.

Ruck was quick and painless once we got started. We did 5 miles in 1:20, which when you factor in a short break at the 2.5 mile point was basically a 15 minute mile (faster than a certain segment in this country can "run", let alone walk with a 30lb rucksack, rifle (another 8 lbs or so), water (another 5-10lbs, maybe more if you had everything (camelback, 2 1qt canteens and a 2qt canteen)). After everyone got cleaned up and had breakfast we then went off to classes. Classes today of course focused on the M4, the M68 CCO, PEQ-15/2 laser and on NOD's. Mainly how to use equipment to calibrate this equipment for use on the range. I actually have a PEQ-15, some people have a PEQ-2, which is kind of cool since it actually emits a visible laser in the daylight (the PEQ-2 just does an IR laser at night). Kind of neat to have a laser on my rifle.

Our Gear. The PEQ-15 is the laser on the front of the M4, the CCO Sight is of course in the center and the NOD is mounted on the helmet.

Boresighting the weapons. Basicially its a very involved process that involves sticking a laser down the barel of the rifle and the making sure that the aiming points line up correctly. Sounds easier than it is.

After boresighting the weapons we then went on to the eternal Army task, paperwork where we inspected our gear and noted deficiencies and then marked them up on the infamous DD 2204. We then returned to the company are (around 1600) and waited around for our guest speaker. Colonel (Retired) Tex Turner who is a Vietnam veteran and gave a pretty good speech on the on the his experiences and what we should be doing when we take leadership. Pretty good. Following that we had a weapons turn in and then we done except for a few admin tasks (we change our student leadership every Friday so we had to wait until that was done.)

NOTE - There are certain specific details that I am omitting on purpose as I feel they present an OPSEC (Operational Security) issue if discussed on the web. As a security professional in the civilian world and as someone tasked with that responsibility in the military as well I strive to be as careful as I can be about anything sensative (almost everything here isn't but certain items, such as how weapons and equipment are stored are carefully ommitted).

BOLC II - Week 2 - Day 4

Temperatures seem to be returning to normal. Today decidely did not have the distinct coldness that has defined the past few days. PT again was at 0600. Mainly an ab and upper body workout.

Then off to combatives. Today we warmed up, had a few sparring/grudge matches inside our platoon and then had a quick "battle royal" (basically we all line up on out knees, team up and then advance at the other team. if you win your person then you can assist your buddies.... this leads to the most tenacious people getting brought down by packs of people at the end). I finally held my own only to be sideswiped just as I was about to put my opponent in a hold.

Then our champions (2 from each weight category) were sent from our platoon to participate in a tournament. There was only one injury (someone had their shoulder dislocated) and it was lots of fun to watch, since you knew these people and had just received training in the same techniques that they were using. Our plattoon won one of the categories (didn't pay attention to who won the others).

After a very abrievated lunch (which we were told to hurry through) we then waited around for a while to get issued our weapons and controlled items (everyone gets an M4, some get a M203 grenade launcher as well that is mounted under the barrel of the M4. They all have CCO (Close combat optics) that can be mounted, basically you have a red dot and just put it on the target and shoot. We also got issued a NOD (Night optic device), basically a monicle that is mounted on your helmet so that you can see at night. The final item is a IR laser. This combined with the NOD allows you to have the hollywood effect where you can place the laser on the target and then just pull the trigger. Can't wait to give that a try!!! (yes, I am National Guard and all we have back at my unit is M16A2... we have the CCO but havent mounted any on our weapons... good luck in ever seeing some of this stuff again). Lots of waiting around and looking it over.

Then some BRM (Basic Rifle Marksmanship) classes, followed by some more of the student led classes. After that we returned to the company area and verified that everyone had things set up for the ruck march tomorrow (that their equipment was in compliance with the SOP) and had a quick class on how to use the radios that the Army uses (I will be getting plenty of practice in this at my next school starting in June).

Off to bed early for the 0400 (yikes) wakeup, 0430 formation for the 5 Mile Ruck March tomorrow.