the wheel's are finally in motion

i'm sorry i haven't updated this in so long, i haven't had internet access. i did find out for sure that i'm going to al-asad, iraq. i went on leave to alabama for a week, and didn't get to did nearly as much as i wanted to do. my leave ended on march 22, and then it was back to california. we sat around doing nothing on monday, tuesday, and wednesday. then we found out that we were leaving for 29 palms on friday. i had one day to pack everything, and get everything i need to take with me to iraq. then friday we left for 29 palms, and that's where i am now! in an internet cafe in 29 palms, california. in the middle of the desert.

i actually just got back from a free concert by gary sinise (the guy who played lieutenant dan in forrest gump). it was actually quite good, and really cool to see lt. dan! i took some pictures, but as i am on a public computer, y'all will have to wait to see them. i know the suspense will be difficult. the coolest thing was that i just walked down the street to taco bell, and saw a poster saying that he was having a concert at the theater, also a couple blocks away, in a couple or hours. so i ate, then walked over, and got a front row seat!

we're supposed to be leaving 29 palms for march air force base monday or tuesday, and that will be the same day that we leave from there to fly to camp victory, kuwait. we will be there for a few days or so and then fly to al-taqaddum, iraq and spend a couple days there. from there we will most likely convoy to al-asad, iraq where i will be spending the next 7 months working at a detention facility. it may not happen exactly like that, but that's my best guess right now. i'll keep updating as often as i get a chance.

limbo

of all the more than 1000 marines who were recalled to active duty with me (half went to camp lejeune, nc and half came here to camp pendleton, ca) there are only 48 who have still not deployed to iraq. that would be me and the other 47 recalled marines in my group. and all throughout our training we have been asking: where are we going? when are we leaving? who are we going with? ... and essentially getting the answer: "i don't know." this in itself has been frustrating, but there's a lot of problems for individual marines that are in this state of limbo. especially marines that have been yanked out of their lives unexpectedly for the stated purpose of being sent to iraq.

i mentioned in my facebook note that i was leaving for iraq in a few weeks. now that is uncertain. i've been going back and forth between being certain that i was leaving for iraq, that i was going to stay here in california for the rest of the year, and that i was going to be demobilized and sent back home. and now, as of friday, we're back to not knowing anything at all. a lot of us are pretty upset at being jerked around like this, and some have written letters to their congressmen. this has finally gotten our situation some attention. everyday last week somebody high up in our chain of command would come speak to us and field questions about our situation. they still don't know what to do with us, but at least now they're working on it. the commanding general is talking to headquarters marine corps about this, and there is nothing, besides some very high level stuff, being discussed at this level.

i will still be going on leave in a week from now to alabama for a few days, which i look forward to.

also, friday i went to see the silent drill team. i've seen them before and they're pretty cool to watch. if any of y'all see me when i'm on leave, get me to show you the video i took.

oc spray

real quick, here is a video of me getting sprayed with oc spray. i have a lot of footage of a lot of us getting sprayed, but it's going to be a while before i'm able to put it all together. for now this will have to do. when you watch it, click the "HD" button next to the volume button, then click the full screen button. i hurt my ankle toward the end of the video, and to this day have not recovered. you can actually hear it pop in the video. this was the most painful experience of my life. enjoy!

who knows

so, yesterday i was sure that i was leaving for iraq sometime between march 30 and april 2.  today, not so sure.  there's a lot of rumors going around, but basically nobody knows.  and worse, those in charge of me are not keeping us up to date on what they know.  so i have no idea when or even if i'm going, and if i do i don't know where or what my job will be.  this week we started on military police training.  the training will last a little more than 3 weeks, and it was supposed to be training us for the work we will be doing in iraq (the regional detention facility).  but now, nobody knows anything, yet the training continues. 

also friday i finally got my smallpox vaccine, which is something i've been avoiding for the last 6 years.  they finally got me!  it's just now starting to blister a little, and it should take about a month to run it's course.

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.