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.

A passel of movies

One of the side effects of my time down here in Georgia is that I see a lot of movies (and get to eat out at some different places).

This weekend was a break weekend after the whirlwind of last weekend. Lots of sleep on Friday (10 hours), woke up, hit the gym, putter around my room for a while, then off to get some dinner and watch some movies.

• Baby Momma - Love Tina Fey. This movie was pretty funny. I enjoyed it a lot
• Hidden Kingdom - Jackie Chan. That's really all I needed, everything else was bonus. Fun movie. Not too deep and pretty predictable but good. 4/5
• Iron Man - LOVED, LOVED, LOVED! this movie! Lets lay aside that I am a massive Iron Man comic book fan for a moment (as any of my family can testify to given the number of his comics I own). This movie represents a quintessential superhero movie. Action, comedy, Action. A little character development and a lot of happiness for the fans. (loved the SHIELD reference) 5/5
• Fools Gold - eh. okay romantic/adventure. Very linear and predictable. Glad I only paid a dollar for it. 2.5/5

Then I hurt my foot while outside the theater. ow! But it looks to keep me from running with my IBA (body armor) tomorrow so that's okay, though its gross and frustrating.

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.

Commando Raid Home

Since Georgia was starting to wear on me I decided to make a quick trip home this weekend. I tried to be all stealthy about it on the recommendations of the girl I am seeing but I appear to be bad at keeping secrets (other than national security ones). I called my older brother to when/if my nephew would be around and apparently even though I think I asked he keep it on the Down Low it trickled back to my parents.
Friday night was a nice relaxing night after a long week. A few drinks with the guys, a movie (OMG, Doomsday seemed to decide to incorporate almost every cliche about apocalypse movies... it was comical) then bed. An early morning, 0430 to get on the road ASAP, get up to Atlanta airport and then a short flight home. I slept the whole flight, probably to the consternation of my neighbors. I got picked up by the woman I have been seeing, walked around Old Town for while, had a nice relaxing lunch at Chart House. Stopped by my parents, had tea and some nice conversation with them, and then headed back to the condo. Spent some more time chatting with my roommate (and killing some bottles of wine... its been 3 weeks since I had wine). Then later in the evening we went out to Brasserie Beck. Great food (I had the mussels and she had the sea bass) and awesome beer (convinced my companion to switch to beer after tasting the awesome St. Louis brand that they had there).

A late morning (gotta sleep in one day of the week), some bagels (thanks to nice roommate) and then off to the surprise of the weekend, a couples massage down in Alexandria. It felt pretty good. It was my first and I have no complaints (though I am pretty good about stress, I don't internalize it too much into my body and luckily I don't have any chronic problems) and even thought it was pretty relaxing (fell asleep for a bit of it). Then it was off to the baseball game. Unfortunately when I left the condo this morning I did not figure that the temperature had dropped so much. So I, the person acclimatized to Georgia (and in body armor), was out in shorts and a tshirt. It was cold. I did get to see the Nationals score, had some Five Guys burgers and fries and just enjoyed the new ballpark. A dinner at my parents, some playing with my nephew and then it was off to the airport for my flight. Another flight where I slept on the way back and a quick drive back to the barracks. I finally got to bed at midnight, so I get at least 5 hours of sleep before formation tomorrow.

Gotta love busy weekends! Sometimes they can be packed full, sometimes its nice to do nothing at all. Gotta mix them up!

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.

In Bruges

I went and saw this on Monday when we had some downtime in the evening. I went and saw it at the Carmike Peachtree. Apparently they have one theater that is aimed at a higher set, more expensive than the others, better configured (little tables by your side so the seating level is lower).
Loved this movie (but I like character, indie/foriegn films so I am a little predisposed. I like the fact that I can appreciate this and also a popcorn film like National Treasure). A little dark but it had such a pretty background (Bruges is an amazing looking town, so have to visit it). Overall the story was a little surreal and unrealistic but the characters were engaging and realistic, and the originating situation definitely was a good setup for getting the character in motion. 4 stars.

BOLC II - Week 2 - Day 3

It was COLD this morning(high 30's, low 40's). Luckily PT this morning was a run (1.5 miles to field, ab workout, then 1.5 mile Indian/Last Man run back to barracks). Then it was time for a quick shower, don the Combative Uniform, hit the chow hall and then off to combatives.
After a bunch of review we learned a couple of additional items that completed our level 1 combatives training, mainly holds and bars. Then after lunch we were back at the field where we spent the next 2 hours sparring with each other (below is a picture of the mad rush that we did to get us into the spirit... charging on our knees, the correctly worn shirts vs the inside out shirts)

Then they split us up into our weight classes and then had us spar in competition until there is only 2 people left from each weight group. Those people will represent the platoon at the company level competition tomorrow.

After we were done for the day at combatives we returned back to the company area for a bunch of classes. Basically everyone has to present a class during BOLC II so that they can prove to the cadre that they can prepare and present a subject that is selected for them in a comfortable and professional manner. We definitely stayed later than the other platoons as we also then had the 2 lieutenants who were in charge of the ruck march present their OPORD (Operational Order for that event). Then it was off to catch dinner before it closed and then back up to the barracks to work on what needs to be done (for me and many people it involved making sure that our equipment was in compliance with the SOP (standard operating procedures) for the rucksack and MOLLE gear (basically the vest that we wear around us to hold all our stuff, canteens, ammo pouches, etc)).

BOLC II - Week 2 - Day 2

Standard PT 0600. Focus on Pushups and Situps. Its REALLY COLD for Ft Benning in the middle of April. Everyone was in their IPFU (Improved Physical Fitness Uniform), hats and gloves.

After that, we had breakfast, changed (I went old school with my BDU's... It will probably be the last time I wear them as they cease to be an authorized Army uniform as of the end of the month) and then it was off to Combatives. Another interesting bit is that we had to wear tennis shoes for this event, very odd combo, a uniform and tennis shoes. We really focused on the basics, as a number of people, myself included, had never done this stuff before.

After 3 good hours of training I learned a lot, then we broke for lunch (below you can see us flocking off to chow)

After lunch we had another 2.5 hours of training. Most other people's knees were getting pretty raw at this point (as well as my own) and I know that all of us were glad for the break

Above you can see my platoon conducting our required AAR (After Action Review) that we conduct after every training event. A quick trip back to the barracks, shower and then grab and early dinner so that we can make the required social event this evening.

Social thing was a standard Army thing. There were a number of Captains through Colonels and on Brigadier General from a couple of different branches thought the bulk were from the Infantry (of course, given that this is the home of the Infantry). 400 Lieutenants in one place in the officer club. I am sure that is more than a few NCO's worst nightmare....

BOLC II - Week 2 - Day 1

Back to the standard time for formations (0545, we do reville at 0600 then off to PT). This morning was good, ran to the 1 mile track, ran the first mile individually, sprinting 1/4 mile and then jogging in intervals. Then we did did 2 miles of "Last Man" (also called "Indian Runs", but we live in PC times) where you string out into a single column and then have the last man sprint to the front. Then we headed off to 0900 classes. Classes were on practical parts of our craft, unit tactics, handling prisoners (the demo was excellent) and other current information that was either presented or shared by the students. Following lunch we worked in platoons and squads on our movement techniques. Reacting to contact (how a squad handles encountering hostile forces and assualting if the situation is favorable), breaking contact (extricating a squad when it has run into hostiles that it cannot win against) and reacting to indirect fire (artillery or mortors). We of course used the Army standard in first doing each step slowly and explaining what needed to be done, then started to execute at a faster pace. Following that we had a couple of classes taught by the students on how to do certain tasks (setting up equipment, OPSEC, etc). We then passed out weapon cards and were done for the day(~1630).

Weekend of Movies

Ah, a glorious free weekend. Other than getting up early on Saturday for my CQ shift (and having to shave, something that I generally avoid on the weekends (to give the poor face a break)) it was a nice weekend. I hit the gym on Saturday and Sunday (we have a really nice gym, brand new)

Yep, that's a climbing wall in the background. Off to the left there is 2 full sized basketball courts down the hall.

There is also a pool at the gym. Note the hottub. I will so be using that in the coming weeks.

So basically I used this time to recharge (read that as, being away from everyone I had to be with during the week. I like them a lot but I do need my "me" time to recharge.). I did do dinner and a movie with some classmates but mostly it was focused on getting things lined up for next week and getting mentally prepared.

There actually is a movie theater here on post. Carmike Cinema's seems to have this area locked up and while the theaters aren't the biggest (and for the discount one somewhat rundown) they do use some pretty good technology (primarily DTS, allowing them to digitally distribute the film and also makes sure that nothing happens to the quality of the presentation since there is no degradation of the picture due to repeated use).

I saw the following movies (in order of attendance)

• The Ruins - weak movie. Further confirms why I hate plants. definitely was cheering for the people who worked to confine that evil plant.


• The Superhero Movie - moderately amusing. Very juvenile humor but fun overall. About what I was expecting.


• Drillbit Taylor - Saw this with a few other BOLC II Students. eh. Standard teen film schlock. definitely not on par with some of the recent shows like Superbad or whatnot.


• National Treasure: Book of Secrets - This movie was plain old fun. I loved the first one and really enjoyed this sequal.

I figure that I will be seeing a lot of movies over the next 20 weeks. There are a couple that I am really excited about, in particular Iron Man and the new Indiana Jones movie

Overall I am ready to face the coming week. We have a couple of events coming up, primarily Combatives (basically a hybred martial arts class) on Tuesday-Thursday, a 5 mile Ruck March on Friday (that means no PT. I will ruck any day over doing PT (in particular running)), start BRM (Basic Rifle Marksmanship) training this week and also have to attend a mandatory reception on Tuesday evening (could be interesting, probably not.).