new post!!

finally, eh?  well i've pretty much been training nonstop for the last few weeks...  three weeks ago i spent the week in the field for "rear area security training".  i was the platoon sergeant and was in charge of coordinating patrols, gaurd duty, and a react force around the clock.  i know that this means nothing to most of you, but basically i didn't sleep or shower for 5 days.  that's pretty much what it boils down to.  also there were horrendous temperature differences between night and day.  i've never experienced anything like it.

two weeks ago i spent the week getting classes on iraqi culture from an iraqi.  this was extremely valuable training in my opinion and they've gotten it down to a science.  i was impressed with it, and i learned a lot.

all this week we've been doing ied (improvised explosive device) defeat training which culminated in ied lane training where we went on convoys through an ied laden field.  we would sometimes spot the ied and call it in over the radio, and sometimes we wouldn't spot it and we would get blown up and would have to call in for a medevac over the radio.  lots of explosives and chaos so i liked it a lot.  

next week:  240G training.  a 240G is a machine gun.  i don't know how they are going to stretch the training for it over a whole week, but i guess they are really going to turn us into some 240G experts.  i'll let you know how it goes.

combat lifesaver

yesterday i gave somebody an iv for the first time!  here is the video i made:

and today we stuck tubes down up each other's noses.  that was extremely painful.  some guys got nose bleeds.  my eyes teared up

tomorrow we get certified as combat lifesavers and then we do some humvee rollover training.  then next week we're going to the field for a few days.  ah, predeployment training.  

karl strauss brewing company, san diego

this weekend i made a few purchases:  a 15.4 inch macbook pro, a canon vixia hf10 16 gb flash drive high def camcorder, final cut express 4, and an air card from sprint so i can get online where ever i'm at, which is actually the only reason i'm finally able to post a new blog entry.  

yesterday my roommate and i went to seaworld because they let military go get in free.  and last weekend i went skiing at big bear with two other friends.   i met a guy who had been snowboarding since 1987.  he said that back then they had to make their own snowboards with wood benders and putting bicycle tubes that had been cut open onto the boards,  then connecting golfing spikes to the bottom of their boots!  he said that right where we were at was where snowboarding got started.  the first camcorder i bought got destroyed in a ski crash which is why i upgraded to the canon.  but at least i got it on film!  

one more thing before i go, i've been trying some san diego beer, and one brewery in particular i like a lot.  everything i've tried of karl strauss brewing company i've loved and i'm going to bring a lot to tuscaloosa next time i'm home.  it looks like i'm not leaving for iraq until the end of march so i might come home for a few days at the beginning of march, and i will definitely bring a lot of this beer for everyone to enjoy.