So this is what a desert looks like...

Hello from Kuwait!

I arrived hear late yesterday after travelling nearly 18 hours from Columbia, SC. We have been getting settled in to our tents and acclimated to the time difference and weather. Today it is in the 90's with a nice breeze and light overcast sky and almost no humidity. It is actually bearable.

I grew up in the Northeast Louisiana delta where it was flat. But LA has nothing on the flatness of this place. I guess what makes it moreso is the fact that I haven't seen a tree since I arrived. The tallest plant I've seen here is the 8 inch center piece in the dining facility (DFAC) which is fake of course.

Interestingly, a lady bug landed on my uniform this morning. I guess it thought the green on my uniform was a leaf.

The camp here has many amenities: McDonalds, Starbucks, a PX, AT&T call and internet centers, and USO and MWR (morale, welfare and recreation) facilities.

I'm now in the USO tent using one of their computers. I'm very thankful to the USO and its dedicated volunteers for their support of those in uniform, providing us opportunities to reach home.

Walking over, I stopped by a line of uparmored humvees to look at the counter-IED equipment on board the vehicles. This equipment included many items with which I became very familiar working at Joint IED Defeat Organization, such as the Rhino and CREW (electronic jammers).

An Army sergeant showed us around his vehicle. This sergeant has been here for a year and just volunteered to continue leading convoys in country for another tour. May God bless him and those like him who continue to serve when they have the opportunity to go home to safety.

The next few days are "acclimation" days. We will have a few briefs during the day, but mostly get our bodies used to the temperatures and time change. Then we head into the desert for more training. Then its off to do the jobs were called to do.

In Focus: Intercepter Body Armor

Of the many items that I have been issued since being mobilized, there is one with which I absolutely have a love-hate relationship.  It is the Interceptor Body Armor, or IBA for short.  (The military shortens the name of everything.)  I've nicknamed mine "The Beast."

The Beast consists of eight pieces:  a vest with front and back armor plates, two side plates, two upper arm protectors, two side protectors, and a neck protector.  Put together The Beast weighs about 50 lbs.

While wearing The Beast, I feel like I have a 50 lb kid standing on my shoulders wearing roller blades.  It is uncomfortable, limits movement, slows walking and running, and moves the body's center of gravity higher, which requires getting used to balancing with it while bending, walking, running and shooting.

I dread putting on The Beast and look forward to removing it at every opportunity.  Along with The Beast, I have a helmet that weighs 4 lbs, knee pads, elbow pads, a pistol belt, holster and 9mm, along with an M-16 rifle.  I also wear a Camelbak, which holds about a gallon and half of water.  The gear together comes in at about 70 lbs.  Given I weigh 145 lbs, the gear increases my body weight by nearly 50%.

However, I know why I have to wear The Beast - it may save my life.  In past wars where warfighters were not issued body armor, for every one killed, two to three were wounded.  In our current conflict, the ratio is one in nine.  Body armor is saving lives where, without it, many would have sustained fatal injuries.

These past two weeks have also given me great empathy for those soldiers and Marines who stand watch for hours on end wearing their IBA in 135 degree heat.  It has been in the seventies here in SC during our training.  Normally, these conditions would be comfortable, but with an IBA, it gets hot quickly.  

So say a prayer for those men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan whose job requires them to wear these devices for hours in the oppressive heat, while maintaining a focus on their mission.  It's just one more reason why they are all heroes.

Weapons Training

Many of our training evolutions over the past week have been focused on weapons training and qualification for the M-9 9mm Beretta and the M-16 semi-automatic rifle.  We've shot over 200 rounds each at targets as close as 9 meters and as far away as 300 meters.

Firing a weapon is somewhat of a science.  It is amazing the difference a zeroed rifle makes.  Once the sites were adjusted on my M-16, I was able to hit a 4 centimeter target 25 meters away with three rounds, twice. (See picture)  Once you do that, your rifle is sited in, or zeroed, and you're ready for qualification on the ranges.

The biggest challenge in the weapons training has been lying on the ground in my battle armor, helmet and protective eyewear and trying to aim at the targets.  The challenge lies in the fact that the battle armor pushes against the helmet, which pushes against the protective eyewear.  Since I have to wear prescription inserts with the eyewear, they get pushed out of the line of sight due to the chain reaction.  Thus I am unable to clearly see the target through the sights.

Without the garb, I hit the 300 meter target 5 out of 5 times.  With the gear, I missed all five times.  That was frustrating.

Fortunately, over the next few days we get to go to the range and work on our ability to hit moving targets.  I'm looking forward to the challenge and overcoming the gear issue.

The reality is there is a 99% chance I will never fire a weapon once I am in country.  If I do, then many layers of security have broken down.  However, I'm glad to have had this training in order to build the skill and confidence to accurately fire my weapon if necessary.

Weapons, Armor and More

It think its Wednesday evening at 2200 (10pm). I'm certain of the time, but the days are harder to keep up with for they seem to just run into each other.

Today started at 0430 to get ready for a 0515 muster. It takes forty five minutes to get up, make the bed, brush teeth (showered the night before), put on uniform and boots, put on all of the body armor which weighs about 50 lbs, gloves, helmet (4 lbs), knee and elbow pads, then gather the M9 pistol and M-16 rifle, lock up all of you personal belongings and, after making a last check to make sure everything is neat, finally head out the door with 5 minutes to spare.

The days have been long and tiresome, but educational. On Monday, we were issued all of our gear and began getting it organized and ourselves acquainted with the thousands of dollars of equipment that is meant to protect us from the enemy, engage the enemy if necessary, and keep us warm, dry and hydrated. Yesterday, we learned basic battle field first aid, weapons immersion, handling and cleaning, as well as radio communications guidelines. Today, we began handling the weapons, went through a couple of computerized firing simulations for the weapons, drove Humvees, and began siting our rifles.

We finished this evening at about 5:30 pm, but still had things we had to do to get ready for tomorrow, which will have us undergoing a trial qualification on the M9 9mm pistol and siting-in of the M16 rifle.

We still have two weeks left with so much more to do. I just hate it has to start at 0400 tomorrow - 5 1/2 hours from now.

It's NARMY Training!

Yesterday, Saturday, 4 April, I mustered at 0700 at the NMPS site, said goodbyes and gave hugs and kisses to Theresa and Sarah, loaded a bus and rode seven hours south to Ft. Jackson, SC where I will spend the next two and a half weeks doing Army Training.  I am one of about 300 sailors who have been sent here from all over the country to learn how to shoot, move and communicate in a war environment.  Given we are all Navy sailors undergoing Army training, the training is affectionately called NARMY training.

Interestingly, I met one man wearing an LSU shirt who is from Rayville, Louisiana and another man from Tennessee who is an LSU fan even though he graduated from Arkansas.  There are also quite a few folks from the DC area, some who I've known for a while, and one person from Florida whose family who owns a company that does business with the military resale community.  So I'm having a good time getting to know a lot of new folks.

As difficult as it is to deploy (there never is a perfect time to do so), I have met a few folks whose deployment comes at a very difficult time.  There is one LCDR I've gotten to know whose wife just delivered their second son two days ago.  He wasn't there at the delivery and, because he received a smallpox vaccination, he will not be able to see his newborn son before he leaves for his seven month deployment to Djibouti.

I've also met a few folks I will be working with over the next year, so in a sense we have become battle buddies as we prepare for the road ahead and that preparation begins at 0500 tomorrow.

NMPS - a week of paper, shots, and law

On Monday, 31 March, 0730, I arrived at the Navy Mobilization Processing Site (NMPS) in Norfolk for my first full week of mobilization.  I arrived not knowing exactly what was going to take place, but as this week has progressed, I am very glad the Navy has injected NMPS into the deployment process.

Being ready for mobilization is not an easy undertaking.  In order to be ready for deployment, a Reservist must be medically cleared with all required vaccinations for the county to which he or she is deploying, all administrative paperwork must be up-to-date, wills must be up-to-date, powers of attorney must be provided in order that the Reservists affairs can be taken care of while he or she is deployed, gas masks must be fitted and issued, eye glasses must be issued, the Reservists Common Access Card must be up-to-date, security clearance must be up-to-date, all on-line training must be completed, along with a few other items.

Getting all of these items done before deployment is not always easy, especially since some things must be current as of 90 days prior to deployment.  So I am very glad that the Navy created NMPS to help us work through all of these items in an expedited manner.  And I'm very proud that the system is working well, which I cannot say for most things I've encountered in dealing with the military.

I have probably filled out nearly 15 different forms over the past three days.  I haven't written this much by hand since before I bought my first computer.  I've signed my name and written my SS# more times than when I signed my last mortgage documents.

But one of the benefits is that when I have completed my items for that day, I have been released until the following day.  Since I have been able to get my things completed by noon the past two days, I've been able to spend more time with Theresa and Sarah.

We have two more days at NMPS then we head to Ft. Jackson, SC for two and half weeks of, what Bill Murray characterized in the movie Stripes, "Army training, sir!"

Beginning Life as a Sand Sailor

On Friday, 27 March, 0730, I began a new life as an active duty sailor.  I was blessed to be able to check in remotely, which means that, instead of driving 200 miles to Norfolk on Friday to check in at the Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, then sitting in Norfolk until Monday with nothing to do all weekend, I was able to drive 57 miles to the NOSC at Andrews Air Force Base, check-in and go back home for the rest of the weekend.

On Sunday, Theresa, Sarah and I drove to Norfolk where I would report the next morning for mobilization processing.  We are blessed to stay with our good friends, Greg and Janet Sandway, in Chesapeake for the week.  This is providing us more time together before I leave on Saturday for training in South Carolina.  

I am honored to serve my country.  I follow in the steps of many millions of Americans who have gone before me to defend freedom and democracy around the world.  In Iraq, I will be serving in an environment that has been secured by countless American Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guardsmen who have served valiantly over the past six years.  Every American should be proud of these brave men and women and the incredible work they have done under challenging circumstances.

I look forward to my service and subsequent return home to Theresa and Sarah.  The thoughts, prayers and encouragement of friends and family mean more than anyone can know and they will serve to strengthen the three of us as we sacrifice together during this deployment.