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.  

swim qual, pft, and gas chamber

ok, i'm sorry it's been a few days since i've updated this.  i haven't had access to the internet over the last few days.  so just to bring you up to date: all the 'recall marines' (there are 14 of us in each of two platoons) have been checking in all week.  we finished checking in wednesday and thursday, which was yesterday we had to go to swim qual in the morning and then run a pft in the afternoon.  then today we went to the gas chamber and then to a mandatory fun event.

swim qualification is really easy to do.  there are several levels and as you go through the qualifications it gets harder and harder, but the lowest level, which is the only one that is required, is really easy.  however, it was like 40 degrees when we did it!!  absolute torture.  we have to have our whole uniform on, too.  so we were all just freezing.  

then a few hours later we had to run a physical fitness test (pft).  i did 15 pullups, 100 crunches in 2 minutes, and ran 3 miles in 25:21.  this was the worst pft i've ever done.  by a long shot.  it's scored out of 300 points, 100 possible for each event.  100 points for 20 pullups, 100 points for 100 crunches in 2 minutes, and 100 points for an 18 minute 3 mile run.  i wasn't the worst though, we had two guys take over 35 minutes to run 3 miles and one of them couldn't do a single pullup.  they were both recall marines.

and today was the gas chamber.  we got in full mopp gear (those radiation suits you see on tv) and walked 2 miles into the woods.  then put on our gas mask and went into a little concrete building that has no windows and is full of cs gas.  then we went through the routine of making sure our masks were working and closing our eyes and taking them off and then putting them back on and clearing and resealing them.  then we left.  it's actually not bad at all if your gas mask is working.  a few people had defective masks and they started freaking out.  pretty funny to watch.  

and tonight everyone is driving to san diego to fly home because everyone in my company is taking 15 days leave to go back home.  everyone except for me, because i'm going to wait until march to take leave.  i really don't understand why everyone's leaving when we get two 4-day weekends anyway: one for christmas and one for new years.  

also, i just bought a digital camcorder so i'm going to start putting some videos and pictures on here soon!  

graduation day

today i graduated from the school of infantry's fresher course! we even got certificates explaining all that i had accomplished in the past 5 days. first aid courses, m16 and machine gun fires, and on and on. i'm very glad for it to be over.

i'm still looking forward to either friday or possibly as late as monday that i will get dropped to my unit. that's when i'll meet the marines i'll be going to iraq with and learn what my job will be and even exactly when i'll be leaving for iraq. these have been the main questions i've had since i found out that i would be getting recalled.

another thing that happened today is that major general (two stars) stone spoke to us today for quite a long speech, and there are only 67 of us. he's actually getting promoted to lieutenant general (three stars) in a couple weeks at which time he will be the commanding general of the entire marine corps reserves. he told us that this small group of marines is the closest thing the united states has to a draft right now. i agree.

december 04, 2008

i'm three days in to checking back into the marine corps. yes, i had to shave off all my hair. i've been vaccinated (the anthrax shot is the worst - my arm is still tender and swollen), had a complete physical, and finished my travel claim and other admin type paperwork. we're living in the same quonset huts that the clint eastwood movie "heartbreak ridge" was shot.

so far all the other mobilizing marines and i have been allowed to remain in our civilian attire, though that will end tomorrow or the next day. saturday we are going to start our predeployment training which will include live fires with our m16 service rifles and machine guns, and other activities that are typical for the field.

i've been recalled to active duty for 12 months starting december 1, 2008, and i am going to be documenting as much of it as i can on here. i've never kept a blog before so i expect it to get better and more interesting as i go along so i encourage anyone who has any suggestions for me to leave a comment or e-mail me.