Ireland...and more ireland...

So we're maybe halfway through the trip (i hope).

 I'm sitting in the airport in Shannon, Ireland waiting to reboard our aircraft, and being slightly bored outta my mind.  After buying dinner here, and choking on the exchange rate, i went ahead and visited the duty free shop.  Picked up a bunch of Guinness memorabilia (a coffee mug, tshirt, hat, boxers, stress ball shaped like a pint glass), and then got the lecture about "No alcohol"...how lame is that.  Should be continuing the journey whenever they tell us to get back on the plane.

Address

So wouldnt you know it, as soon as i finish writing the other blog I get my address for overseas.

Titelbaum, Maxwell J
A 1-101FA 86th IBCT
Camp Phoenix
APO AE 09320

Start sending those letters/packages

Almost Time

So I know I haven't updated this in a while...things have been pretty busy here. Made it down to Ft. Polk safely after that LOOOONG bus ride. After we got here I got settled in and started the training.  About halfway through our time here, I got moved again, from my squad to the Battery TOC (Tactical Operations Center). The battery had to select a few individuals to be put into a new team, whats known as CoIST. Thats the Company level Intelligence Support Team (a battery is the artillery term for a company). We do almost the same job as the Battalion S2 (Intel), only down at the company level. After doing it in the field here for a while, I kinda like it. It's making me think about things a lot differently than I did before, having to look at the  whole picture and not just what my squad is worried about. A lot of what I do requires me to use my security clearance, which I've had but not needed for a while. If I do well at this than when we get

back from deployment, I might be able to take this and do something like it in the civilian world, which would be great!

I got a pass the other day for a while, got to head off post for a day or so and just relax. I got a hotel room and just chilled. Slept in a real bed, took a hot shower where the hot water didn't run out, and

no one yelled at me to hurry up cause other people were waiting, had a couple drinks, and a nice dinner. A lot of the guys flew their families down, and the single guys went out to a nearby casino, but I just felt like relaxing and enjoying not having to be up at 4 am and moving around all day.

We're going to be leaving the States pretty soon. I have no idea what my address is overseas yet but once I get it, it'll get posted up on here for all of you (however many people actually read this I have no idea). Supposedly its going to be a REALLY long plane ride, no idea how many stops we're going to make. I'm hoping we get some sort of internet when we get to our base, so I can keep updating this. I already miss home, and I can't wait to get some leave time to  come back and see everyone. Talk to you all when I can!

Test

Test message...email to blog

Another Update

So its been a bit since I put anything down here.  We've been out in the field for a while and without internet, and I wasn't quite ready to try updating the blog from my cell phone. Right then...on to the blog

So after my last blog we went to one of the training sites off main Camp Atterbury, Muscatatuck Urban Training Site...which is a former mental hospital.  Seemed fitting with the makeup of our Battery.  Supposedly the place is haunted, and a bunch of the guys spent all their free time trying to play ghost hunter (In an unrelated note, the TV show Ghost Hunters filmed an episode there a while back) and failing.  While we were there, we sat through more classes on the language and culture of the area of Afghanistan we're being sent to.  In the three days of language classes, I was able to learn the VERY basics of Dari, namely basic conversation skills, essential phrases (ie stop, hands up, dont shoot, I need to search you, etc.), and of course the ability to insult the guys at a third grade level.  We also got some hands on time with some old Soviet/Russian artillery pieces we might end up seeing overseas, and being the gun bunnies we are, figured out how to work them in a matter of minutes.

The last day or so there was spent running real world training on how to deal with the Afghan people and interpreters.  That was pretty fun, because we got to actually do something for real, not just in a classroom setting.  Once that training finished we came back to our barracks and crashed for the night.  The next day we were back out training on how to deal with IED's again...this time in vehicles.  Lots of common sense stuff, as well as stuff you have to be taught to look for. (Not gonna go into detail because honestly its always changing, as well as being kinda hush-hush).  After a LONG day there we came back to the barracks and repacked for a 48 hour field exercise on defending a base.  More classes there, as well as simulated attacks from insurgents and the like.  Came back from there and crashed....again.

Had another day or so to rest and then went BACK out to the field for gunnery training on the vehicles.  This mostly involves driving down a road on the range and the TC (truck commander) and Gunner identifying and engaging targets...as a driver I didn't do very much.  In fact I didn't do anything, I missed a class one day and ended up having to ride in back and hand ammo up to the gunner.  Yesterday instead of sitting in the back seat I was put on range gate duty...pretty much I sat in a Humvee at the gate to the impact area and stopped people from going through.

What I was looking at all day

Yours truly on guard duty...thats me, 4 layers of clothing, and body armor.

At the end of the day there, I was getting out of my ride back to the tent when I slipped and fell.  On the way down, my ankle folded under me and I felt and heard a pop.  Ended up having to go to the ER and have x-rays done on my foot.  When all was said and done it ended up being a very severe sprain, and I'm currently stuck on bedrest for the next 3 days as well as being on painkillers cause it HURTS.  I've got crutches and an air cast as well but I'm not planning on putting much weight, if any, on the ankle for a while.

We're starting to pack everything up to head off to our next training site within the next week or so.  I'll let you know how that turns out when we get there...I'll probably be blogging from my phone so things will be pretty short.  Feel free to leave comments here as well, they'll be emailed to me and from there sent to my phone, so I'll be able to respond.  Gotta love having a Droid...I can do just about everything on it.

Sharpshooter!!

Sorry for not updating the last few days.  I've been a little busy/broken, plus the internet here hasn't been working all that well.

Went back out to the range today to finish zeroing/qualifying with my M4.  Got there before the range was even set up for the day, so we sat around for a while doing nothing (hurry up and wait much?).  Finally got onto the range and zeroed my iron sights in about 18 rounds...spot on.  Moved to my CCO(fancy red-dot optic) and took another 21 or so rounds to get that right, mostly because it was my first time shooting with it, other than a familiarization back in March or April.  So once I finished that the group of us from my unit walked over to the qualifying range...which was a bit of a shit-show.  They only had 6 lanes running at a time, which meant we had to sit and wait again to get out there.  The warming tent was up and running but it was so warm in there the ground around it was that deep, sticky mud that its hard to walk through.

Once I got out onto the range with my coach for the day things went great.  Last time I qualified I shot a 23 out of 40...the minimum.  Today was a little different.  The range was clear, no trees or stumps blocking targets, and the targets worked well (mostly).  The NCO running the range was outstanding, he walked us through which targets belonged to which lane, which ones didn't always drop down after you hit them, and which lanes were doing well that day.

I got to my firing point and got comfortable in the position.  Shooting block just right...legs comfortable...rifle tight to my shoulder...optic just bright enough to see but dim enough that the dot didn't wash out the target.  When you qualify you fire 40 rounds total, hypothetically 1 per target...20 on the ground with the rifle supported by the block (prone supported), 10 more on the ground with you supporting the rifle (prone unsupported), and 10 kneeling.  Out of those 40 targets I hit 31!!!!  Best I've ever done.

After I received my score from the range officer, I moved back to the zero range to do NBC qualification.  That's when you fire at a pop up target 50 meters away while wearing your gas mask.  You've got 20 rounds and you need to hit 11.  Not too hard...get it sighted up and hold it there...wait for it to pop up and shoot.  Right now I'm waiting to head out again for the night fire...same kind of thing, just at night (no gas mask though).

After that the 3 of us at the range are going to meet up with the rest of the unit at a field training sight where we're going to be spending the next 4 days or so.  Once we're back from that we move out to a 2 day field exercise so it might be a while before I get a chance to post again.

Range Time

Yesterday was a range day.  We sent guys to a bunch of different firing ranges....I went to the M4 range to re-zero and test.  Zeroing is a slightly complicated process by which we set our weapon to ourselves, this way when we qualify and go out overseas, we can just aim and squeeze.  It was a pretty cold day out that morning so we all bundled up....multiple layers...hand warmers...extra water...oh and our body armor and weapons (can't forget those).


We got there pretty early (0730) and proceeded to start a fire in the barrel next to the bleachers to keep warm.

We ended up with a nice warm fire....and 30 soldiers all trying to crowd around it.  They grabbed the first group of us to head out a little later and we got to our firing points, got our ammo and magazines for the day, and settled in for a very monotonous day.  When you zero a weapon, you start by taking the weapon as is and firing 3 or 6 rounds (depends on the preference of the NCO in charge) downrange at a target 25 meters away.  This is the target you're shooting at

 

You look at where those rounds hit, and the paper tells you how to change your sights to get closer to the center of the paper where you're aiming.  Once you make adjustments you continue to fire in 3 round groups, each time making adjustments as needed until you get 5 CONSECUTIVE (thats important) rounds into that circle.  You have to do that for your iron sights (built onto the weapon) and your optics (fancy red dot sight).  Once you do that for both sights, your weapon is set...usually after you zero you qualify....we didn't all get a chance to do that.  There were 60 of us in the first round of zeroing...and another 60 in the second.  Firing 3 rounds every 5-10 minutes, checking your target, making adjustments to your weapon, and firing again takes a LOT of time to zero both sights.

A few of us had medical appointments, so we didn't get a chance to do much other than zero, test it quickly, and then stand around waiting to see if we could get back on the range before we had to leave.  After that I spent the afternoon doing the doctor visits and cleaning my weapon.  Today was more time on the heavy weapons for those who didn't get a chance to the other day, so my day was spent packing my things for our few days in the field and watching movies.

Time for another example of the Army and their "interesting" ways of doing things.  We aren't going to be overseas for another few months, yet we still had to pack away about half of our stuff today into our footlockers and put it into a connex box (metal shipping container) to meet us overseas....a month after we get there.  Go figure.