After a delightful week off at home with my loved ones, I returned to Fort Bragg two days ago. I drove back down to Bragg with MM1(SS) Duke. As far as we can tell, he is the first ever Airborne Submariner. That alone is pretty cool.

It was about a nine hour drive to get back. When we got here we discovered that we have been moved to a new barracks. It is still one of the barracks that was the World War II home of the 82nd Airborne, and it is still run-down, but it is substantially nicer than the barracks we were originally placed in when we were here the first time. We also found out more information about our assignments.

I have been assigned to the 405th Civil Affairs Battalion, and I will be deploying to Afghanistan sometime between February & April in support of the 10th Mountain Division. In the meantime, we are getting training. Tons of training. Some of it is great, and some is not so great, but they assure us that all of it is pertinent.

While I was home on leave, Yasmeen and I saw a news story about injured members of the 415th CA BN returning home from Iraq. Naturally we were both a bit upset and nervous, but I did my best to assure her that I’d be ok. I just wish I was as certain of that fact as I sounded I was.

The good news is that we got more equipment issued to us yesterday, including body armor. I am sure everyone who knows me is as happy about that fact as I am. The armor they gave us is rated to stop a 7.62mm round at up to 2900 fps. It’s very thick, and very heavy, but I am damn happy to have it.

There are a lot of people in the Army who do not like the 10th Mountain Division, because of what happened in Somalia, but I consider it an honor to be able to serve with them in war, especially as a Sailor. We are making history, with a unit that already has a long, diverse & proud history.

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During the Field Training Exercise we set off a lot of smoke grenades in the woodlands of New Jersey. I thought I’d share this picture, because I thought the purple haze looked kinda cool…

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This is a great sound bite courtesy of the John-Boy & Billy radio show which nicely summarizes the current state of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Right-click and choose “Save link as” to download Windows Audio File

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I just want to Wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at home, and everyone who has so generously offered all of us so much support. It means the world!

A very special thanks must go to all of my good friends at Defending the Truth, and to the good people at SandStorming who have also offered me so much support. Thank you All. Godspeed!

During the Field Training Exercise on an operation known as “Operation Pincer” my team & I captured the Opposing Force & Their Gun emplacement. This was our Victory Photo.

HOOYAH PINCER!

Later on the same day as ‘Operation Pincer’ the base camp was taking harassment fire from an enemy technical, so again my team & I snapped into action, this time we managed to kill the Driver & the Gunner. The Gun I am holding over my head is a British SKS taken from the slain driver.

Remember, only YOU can prevent forrest fires…

When we saw this sign during a convoy, we had to stop and get a picture with it.

After our graduation from the Civil Affairs course we had a graduation party at the local chapter of the American Legion. The good people there were more than happy to host us and allow us to celebrate our success.

The party was good and a fun time was had by all, in some ways it struck me as being a bit bitter sweet because I realized that I may not have the privilege of ever getting to work with many of these people again. I already know I will see many of them down range, some will be a part of my unit, but others I may never see again. We did all exchange e-mail addresses, I can only hope that we actually manage to keep in touch. If nothing else I have realized that this tour in the Army, especially in the Civil Affairs / PsyOps Special Operations community, will be a great opportunity to do some networking.

Our first Field Training Exercise (FTX) ended yesterday. It was a great experience and helped remind me why I joined the Navy to begin with… To avoid sleeping out doors in the cold, on the dirt and in the rain.

I was fortunate enough to be able to train with a group of the finest human beings I have ever known. I would very proudly serve in combat with any of them, I was continually impressed by their dedication, professionalism and their unique skills and abilities. My hat is off to each and every member of class 2 of the 38B10 MOS Course.

Our school focused primarily on Civil Affairs & Psychological operations, and that is also what we practiced during the FTX. However the FTX also served as an opportunity to get in some decent ‘hip pocket’ training in basic infantry skills, patrolling and squad movements, just to help bring us Navy folks up to speed.

Over all I think the hardest part of the entire exercise was sleeping outdoors. It got down to 26 degrees at night, and although I was toasty warm in my U.S. Army issue sleeping bag, getting out of the bag was exceedingly difficult in such cold weather. The simulated combat was fun, and gave us plenty of opportunities to fire our weapons. Although our actual weapons, the ones we will take with us down range, will not be issued to us until we get back to Fort Bragg.

The FTX was held at Camp Brindle. Camp Brindle is next to beautiful Brindle Lake and is a former Boy Scout Camp, it is supposedly the camp on which the Movie ‘Friday the 13th’ was based. From what they told us 19 Boy Scouts were massacred there in the late 1950′s, afterward the Boy Scouts of America handed the camp over to the U.S. Army, and it has been a training facility ever since. Whatever the truth may be, the camp site was beautiful.

In any case, I have got to run, I will post more tales and photos soon.

Comments & Feedback, are welcome as always.

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Our class passed our inspection today, and we are actually well ahead of ourselves in training, so we have been granted a day off tomorrow. A day for some much needed, and well deserved downtime and R&R.

Members of the 42nd Infantry Division have just arrived here at Fort Dix from a long tour in Iraq, they are in the process of demobilizing. A lot of those boys look tired and worn, but their morale seems to be high, and they are definitely glad to be home, although this is the time that is harder than their final days down-range, because now they are home, but they have to wait before they can see their families. As much as that seems like a raw deal, it is probably the best thing for both them and their families, the fact that they will get a period to re-adjust.

So far training is flying by. We have already taken 2 of 3 tests, and I am currently ranked #2 in my class academically, and I am the front runner from my class for the title of ‘Military Honor Graduate’. I have also been made the class leader. I have been doing my best to stay motivated and put out 110%, and so far it would seem I am succeeding. I am trying my best to do myself, my family, the NAVICP, and the Navy as whole proud.

The PT has become an accepted routine, and though it often hurts, it seems to pass quickly. I have already noticed much improvement in myself. In the course of a training day I find my self easily cranking out 250 push-ups, in sets of 25, throughout the academic training cycle just to keep the blood flowing and stay awake. Before I know it I will be down-range jumping into hot zones.

The more I learn about our mission the more I learn that it is dirty, and disturbing in a lot of ways, but it is a job that must be done. One of the coolest parts is the fact that I will be doing a lot of direct interaction with the Iraqi people, which is also scary, because that is also exceptionally dangerous. My mission is rapidly developing into so much more than the supply convoy security operation I had originally thought it to be.

So far I have learned one prevailing lesson through out all of my training, Trust No One. Not ever. That has been the most disturbing part of what I have learned so far. I am hearing the stories from the boys coming back from over there and I am both eager and nervous to head over. I think that is the prevailing feeling among those with whom I am training. The feeling is almost palpable.

We arrived at Fort Dix this past Sunday. We checked in and were assigned to our barracks rooms and issued our linens. We lucked out, here we are in 3 man rooms, much nicer than the open bay barracks to which we will return at Fort Bragg, and certainly nicer than the tent cities in which we will live, once we head down-range.

Our reception at Fort Dix has been great, all of the Army seems to be welcoming us with open arms. They need all the help they can get on the ground over there, and they are extremely happy to see us.

The Training is long, we have 7 day training weeks, and 14 hour training days, which does not include morning PT time, or the couple of hours of studying which I do when I return to my room. I wake up at 0445 here, and I have been going to sleep around 0000. That does not make for an awfully fulfilling amount of sleep.

I am rooming with two Chief Petty Officers. They are the same to guys I reported here with, they are both very cool and I feel there is much I can learn from them. I consider it a privilege to be serving with the diverse amount of world experience I am encountering on this operation.

I’ve got to keep the posts short, my computer time is limited, and we have to share the 4 computers we have available. I will write more as I have the time.