last day of training

t 9nov: today we got up at 0500 to test fire our weapons. It was a little dysfunctional, there were m16 and m9s shooting at the same time and the range officer was not clear on his directions. But it was quick and we only shoot 10 rounds in the sand basically. Then we had computer classes the rest of the day. Kind of overwhelming but they say once you start to do it normally it will come to you. But I was so sleep deprived due to jetlag I was getting nauseous. I had to go back and take a nap. We found out we leave for Iraq tomorrow and the bus will pick us up at 2am, which is actually a few hours from now. Overall the training in Kuwait was pretty organized. Now the 11 of us will split up and go to our respective camps. There is not much scenery here.. all sand. But we do see birds in the morning. Also on base was one cat and dog. Well, i need to go pack and get some sleep. I think 176 more days! (but who is counting)

8Nov2010, last nights sleep was horrible. I guess the jetlag caught up with everyone. I think we all got up around 1am (local time) and tossed and turned all night. We had class at 6am. We did more training on IEDs, humvee and MRAP rollover. They basically had a humvee and MRAP (up armored multipurpose vehicle) on a skewer and turned us upside down or 90 degree turn on the side and we had to get out. Of course we had IOTV (body armor), helmet, eye protection, and seat belted in. It was more tricky than you think. The doors weigh about 400 lbs. Then we exchanged our body armor for the new design, not too sure what the difference was. Tomorrow we go to the range to test fire our weapons. Then computer training on the healthcare EMR we will be using. Out here...

Kuwait and etc

We arrived to kuwait around 1600 on 6Nov and unloaded the plane. We then went to another staging hour for about 2 hours. Then traveled by bus to another camp. We were told to close the curtains on the bus for our protection. Two people on the bus were given ammo for force protection but none was needed. There we had a briefing and unloaded the 1200 duffel bags. Luckily, I easily found my bags. Then the medical providers split from the rest. The Iraqi provders went to another camp. We set our stuff down in the barracks and had a little tour. We finally ate dinner at midnight but we were wide awake due to the time difference. I think I had the best nights sleep in two weeks but thought it was 4am when I woke up. Today, we only have one scheduled briefing. Its bright as heck here. On camp, we have a Starbucks, KFC, Nathans hot dogs, and 2 other dinning facilities. The starbucks is the most heavily fortified building on camp and was instructed to go there if we have any problems. Out here...

6Nov2010.. We left Ft Benning with a lot of unknown. We left on some unmarked plane and couldnt take pics. We had two scheduled layovers in Maine and Germany and had to leave our weapons on the plane. We flew to Bangor, Maine and meet Senator McCain and bunch of other people when we got off the plane. I guess its the first place planes stop to refuel. There were other Armed services there and people taking photos, media, and supports in general. On the plane they showed Inception, G-Force, and Sherlock Holmes. They feed us good food. Currently, in Germany waiting for the plane to be refueled and cleaned.

4Nov2010, today we qualified on our weapons. The officers had 9mm and it was pretty smooth. Actually the whole process of pre-deployment was not bad. I heard a bunch of horror stories but overall not too bad. The healthcare providers were excluded from doing some training. And I packed my bags and ended up shipping a Duffel bag home. I will have to get my mom to ship it back to me when I get back in May so I can return the equipment.

5Nov2010, today we returned our linens, picked up our weapons and checked out of the barracks. We sat on a bus for awhile. Right now, we are sitting in Freedom hall. We have no idea where we are going, since we are going to several different countries, kosovo, Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan. We are not allowed to take pictures. I guess these are all security practices.

CIF and weapon draw...

ok, so today we went through finance, JAG, security, and like 10 other briefings. I found out how much I will make with all my speciality pay, housing, credits, etc. Then we got our ACU, combat gear, and body armour. Then we went to get all our other gear. Apparently, if you got a letter from a 0-6 (colonel) you could be excluded from all the gear we will never use like grenade pouch, rucksack, e-tool, etc. But I didn't get one of those letters. Sooo. I had the great honor of getting 4 huge duffel bags worth of crap I will never use but have to lug around and keep track of. The equipment was worth $4500 and i am sure if we lose a pair of socks, I will owe $50. And all of the equipment is due back besides a few things. But some of us might a storage locker and keep it state-side. I am trying to downsize to 2 duffel's and one carry on. I will need to figure this out but plan on shipping some stuff back home before I leave. Then we had a lesson on how to don and doff the body armour. Another fun day at CRC

Let the adventure begin...

Ok, looks like I have the green light for Iraq. I will be leaving this Friday, November 5th. The flight will take 22 hours with one stop. Last week I was in San Antonio, Texas at Ft Sam Houston. I took Tactical Combat Medical Care course with a live tissue. It was pretty good. And don't ask me about the specifics. I had to sign a waiver not to talk about it!

Currently, I am at Ft Benning, Georgia. We arrived here on Saturday, Oct 30. Most of it has been standing in lines. Tomorrow we get equipment, Wednesday we have more classes, and Thursday weapon issue and qualifications. Yes, I will get a 9mm handgun.

Well, of to another meeting.

No pics yet but standfast... they will be coming.

out here...