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.

I awoke at 0500 this morning. After a quick shit & shave and brushing of my teeth, I donned my uniform, strapped on my rucksack and we were off for a five mile morning hike. All went well, and plenty of good PT was had by all. Once we got back to the barracks we did fifty ‘clean & jerks’ with our 65 pound rucks and then we were free to spend the rest of the day as we saw fit. For those who don’t know what a clean & jerk is, starting with our rucksack at our feet we grab it by the frame and the lift it up over our heads with our arms fully extended. It’s good exercise, and leaves you hurting.

After I showered and spent 20 minutes laying in my bunk staring at the bunk above me, I got dressed and I went to do my laundry. While one of my team-mates and I were doing our laundry we were speaking to one of the young privates who was currently going through the training for the newly recruited Special Forces guys. I didn’t feel so bad after talking to him, he’d been up since 0400 and had to do 300 push-ups in a slurry of sand and water. And that my friends is no fun at all. He was very excited and motivated as all the young guys usually are. There is something magical in the hearts and minds of the young that age seems to have a very effective method of stripping away.

After my laundry was complete, I went and had some chow (lunch, I skipped breakfast in favor of lying in my bunk for 20 minutes). Cheeseburgers, not bad at all, with some carrots and string beans, and some baked beans. I have had baked beans with nearly every hot meal I have had since I have been here, including several breakfasts. The U.S. Army just seems to love baked beans. The chow is good, and overall I have no real complaints.

Once I was done with chow I decided I would take a walk, and head to the mini-mall on base. Fort Bragg is by far and away the largest military installation I have ever seen in my life. They tell me that it is substantially larger than Fayetteville, which is the town that Fort Bragg is supposedly ‘in’. But I had a map and the weather was nice. I had been to the mini-mall before and I was fairly certain that it was no more than five miles away, an easy distance, especially when you aren’t carrying 65 pounds on your back. I set off.

14 miles, and 3.5 hours later I made my way to the mini-mall. It was not actually that far away, but it turns out that I had started off in the wrong direction, had to back track a few times, and over shot it by nearly 2 miles at the end. To say the very least, I had taken an overly circuitous route. Needless to say, I have not yet graduated from the land navigation course.

In any case I am at the mini-mall now, I am utilizing the cyber-cafe to make this post, and I picked up a few goodies for some of my friends. I can’t wait to get to Fort Dix. I miss Yasmeen, and can’t wait to see her again.

Today was our last day of indoctrination training at Fort Bragg. This weekend we will Head North to Fort Dix for More training and then back to Fort Bragg for still more training. It sure takes a lot of training to work with the U.S. Army’s Special Forces…

My computer time is limited to 15 minute sessions and so I have to keep my posts short.

We ran 2.5 miles today and tomorrow will be our first 5 mile hike with rucksacks. It should be fun. I suspect I’d be looking forward to it a lot more if it weren’t going down at 0500. Fortunately after the hike the rest of the day is ours to do as we please. I have some uniform issues to take care of. The Army was kind enough to promote me by accidentally sewing the wrong rank on my uniform. Sadly, the Navy says I can’t keep it… So I will spend part of the day tomorrow hand stitching my correct rank on my uniform. Seems silly since I will most likely rip them off all together once I get down-range. God knows if I get captured I don’t want anyone to know my actual rank or job.

Heading down range still seems so far away… I am actually excited now and can not wait to hit the ground. I am training with a fine group of men, all of whom are consummate professionals. I have faith in my team. I may not support the war we are fighting, or the ways we are fighting, but I definitely support my team and I feel fully prepared to handle any operations they assign to us.

I have been listening to many of the stories from the soldiers coming back from over there. And I don’t like a lot of what I hear. And I am surprised by a lot of it. I will make my own decisions once I get there myself. One thing is for certain… This isn’t my daddy’s war.

I reported to Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Sunday Night. I have to admit I was nervous. It is the Home of the U.S. Army Airborne, and the Army’s Special Forces. It seems I will come to know both very well. I am assigned to a new Joint Services PSYOPS Unit under the Army’s Special Forces Command. I am to be a member of the U.S. Navy’s first ever Airborne Division. I am very excited about that.

So far things have been pretty mundane, just a constant barrage of Physical Training, and then the typical military routine of ‘Hurry-Up and Wait’. We have been going through our medical processing and being issued our combat gear and new uniforms. Soon we will head to Fort Dix to go through our Class Room training and to conduct the first of our field excercises. Afterwards we will return to Fort Bragg to complete our combat training and our Airborne Training, and then we will be heading down-range. Down-range is how the Army refers to being sent to the combat theatre. It seems appropriate.

My fellow enlisted men took me out for lunch and drinks today. They presented me with numerous plaques, and awards before wishing me fair winds and following seas. Chris actually put it better, fair winds and following sands, he said. It was all very moving and greatly appreciated. Both of my civilian supervisors (Paula & Linda) came out as well, it was an absolute pleasure. Paula and Linda are two of the finest people I have had the pleasure to meet, and both helped me a lot and took good care of me during my time at the NAVICP.

What was most touching though was the Photo that they had framed and everyone signed, it included a beautifully mounted challenge coin with a First Class Crow on it. It’s gorgeous. My time working at NAVICP, and at SALTS has been very enjoyable, and has definately proven to be a growing experience. I’ve done my fair share of butting heads with people since I have been here, but then again, I do that everywhere I go. It’s really good to know that I have made so many friends. I will see if there is any way I can post some pictures of the Awards presented to me today, although I am not really sure I will have the time before I go. My primary goal before leaving is still to spend every waking moment of Quality time with Yasmeen that I possibly can. I love that woman more than life it self and I will miss her more than anyone or anything while I am gone. I find that it is very hard to leave, just when I was getting so spoiled by being able to be with her.

She has given me a very good reason to be sure I come home.

I have six days left until I have to report to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I am as excited as I am nervous I think. I am doing my best to make sure I have not forgotten anything. It is important that I have all of my affairs completely in order before I leave. I think I am on track. I went and got my pre-deployment physical today. Doc said I’m healthy as a horse, and told me to do my best to stay that way and to stay alive while I am gone. He has served in Iraq himself, but he was only there for 8 months. That’s only 2/3 of the time I’ll be there. It should be interesting.

Yesterday the contractors from SALTS (the project I am currently assigned to) were kind enough to take me out to lunch. It was very nice. I am extremely appreciative of all the support I have be getting from everyone. I was a bit surprised to see that non of the contratctors who are retired from the military came out to the lunch, that was a bit of a disappointment. It’s funny because I have made posts to my blog in the past complaining about the nature of my job and the fact that I spend so much time sitting in a cubicle, behind a computer. I suspect I will have a whole new appreciation for the advantages of this job when I return home.

DoD Release # 1054-05 The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc. Joseph Cruz, 22, of Whittier, Calif., died in Bagram, Afghanistan, on Oct. 16, of non-combat related injuries sustained in an accident at Organ-E, Afghanistan, on Oct. 15. Cruz was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, Vicenza, Italy.

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