Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Time Off
We have some time off today. People often ask to go to the PX which seems to irritate the leadership. I don't think the leadership fully understands that asking to go to the PX is basically asking to get out of the barracks for a while for a change of scenery. Further, in the Army, our uniforms, vehicles, and other equipment are all designed to not attract attention, so everything is drab and unstimulating. Conversely, everything at the PX is designed to attract one's attention, with bright colors and sharp lines. It really was refreshing to walk into the PX this morning; it was almost festive.
We have some time off today. People often ask to go to the PX which seems to irritate the leadership. I don't think the leadership fully understands that asking to go to the PX is basically asking to get out of the barracks for a while for a change of scenery. Further, in the Army, our uniforms, vehicles, and other equipment are all designed to not attract attention, so everything is drab and unstimulating. Conversely, everything at the PX is designed to attract one's attention, with bright colors and sharp lines. It really was refreshing to walk into the PX this morning; it was almost festive.
Friday, February 20, 2004
A Chance to Write
I finally have a slot. Free time has been very limited. This is mostly do to the fact that I'm in a new squad.
My squad leader, though, on a personal level is a great guy, yells a lot when under stress. And as a self proclaimed [jerk] and people hater, who doesn't feel competent in his new job, this happens quite a lot. He's appointed me as his Dale Carnegie consultant, but as most of you know, I'm not the type who finds winning friends and influencing people a priority, but I'm doing what I can.
Still don't know when or where we are going, though rumors abound.
If you write me an email, please excuse the terse response; I get 30 minutes every week or so to read and write them.
I finally have a slot. Free time has been very limited. This is mostly do to the fact that I'm in a new squad.
My squad leader, though, on a personal level is a great guy, yells a lot when under stress. And as a self proclaimed [jerk] and people hater, who doesn't feel competent in his new job, this happens quite a lot. He's appointed me as his Dale Carnegie consultant, but as most of you know, I'm not the type who finds winning friends and influencing people a priority, but I'm doing what I can.
Still don't know when or where we are going, though rumors abound.
If you write me an email, please excuse the terse response; I get 30 minutes every week or so to read and write them.
Saturday, February 14, 2004
Missing Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)
We got word through the rumor mill that a weapon was missing. A senior NCO came around with an amnesty box the side of an ammo can, so we naturally figured it was an M9, pistol. After the amnesty box was full of knives and who knows what else, all of the SAW gunners were told to report downstairs to the classroom and the barracks were locked down. We were all asked if we turned in our weapons. After we all said yes, we were read our rights which are a little different than Miranda rights, as we fall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. After asking about certain weapons the Officer In Charge (OIC) focused on one weapon in particular. After asking about it a few times, we were dismissed to our rooms. For the rest of the night we were in lock down with the lights on and guards posted in the hallways. This continued until about 1000 the next day, when we learned informally that the weapon was found at a maintenance shop; they figured it was there the whole time, but since they didn’t have a receipt for it, they had to go through the above procedures. No formal announcement was made by the OIC.
We got word through the rumor mill that a weapon was missing. A senior NCO came around with an amnesty box the side of an ammo can, so we naturally figured it was an M9, pistol. After the amnesty box was full of knives and who knows what else, all of the SAW gunners were told to report downstairs to the classroom and the barracks were locked down. We were all asked if we turned in our weapons. After we all said yes, we were read our rights which are a little different than Miranda rights, as we fall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. After asking about certain weapons the Officer In Charge (OIC) focused on one weapon in particular. After asking about it a few times, we were dismissed to our rooms. For the rest of the night we were in lock down with the lights on and guards posted in the hallways. This continued until about 1000 the next day, when we learned informally that the weapon was found at a maintenance shop; they figured it was there the whole time, but since they didn’t have a receipt for it, they had to go through the above procedures. No formal announcement was made by the OIC.
Clayton took this one of Mary and me when they came to visit.
Monday, February 02, 2004
Back from Emergency Leave
My son left the hospital on Thursday. He got his intubation tube out Tuesday and had the DT's from the pain killers he was getting.
Looks like I have a slot and will be moving into my new squad tomorrow. I'll be a gun truck driver and will carry the M249 SAW for dismounted operations.
Training is segmented by assigned weapon, so the we are either very busy or not so busy.
Suprisingly little interest in the Super Bowl, many people played cards, went bowling or watched the "Band of Brothers" marathon.
My son left the hospital on Thursday. He got his intubation tube out Tuesday and had the DT's from the pain killers he was getting.
Looks like I have a slot and will be moving into my new squad tomorrow. I'll be a gun truck driver and will carry the M249 SAW for dismounted operations.
Training is segmented by assigned weapon, so the we are either very busy or not so busy.
Suprisingly little interest in the Super Bowl, many people played cards, went bowling or watched the "Band of Brothers" marathon.
Sunday, February 01, 2004
Here, he's recovering, but he's pretty angry at us.
