Camp Virginia Day 7

Still here on Tatooine:



Hunting Jabba:



Gregs not very happy because Jabba as been flatulating toxic gasses:




I'm getting really tired of this place. I hope they send me to Afghanistan soon. Bunking in close quarters is getting old. And the internet is often unavailable which makes the time here so much more boring.

Camp Virginia Day 4

I'm still on a crazy sleep schedule where I wakeup at 2am. I decided to not fight it and just get back on schedule when I'm in Afghanistan.

Had one long brief today. It was interesting because it was country specific. So the Iraq and Afghan people were split up to get tailored briefs. That took all afternoon. This morning I slept from 8-11. Then I worked on my IBA a little trying to get it to fit better. Mine does not fit well. It's because they gave me a large (because of my height) but I don't have a large belly. So all the weight rests on my shoulders. I wish they had a medium-width long-height like my ACU's.

There is a much better selection of food at the DFAC here, but I'm not enjoying it as much. Last night several of us got upset stomachs. So I'd recommend being picky about what you eat here until you're sure your stomach can handle the local bacteria.

I haven't taken and new pictures lately, but here is a picture at the USO reception in SC with two of my drill sergeants. There were outstanding.

Camp Virginia Day 3

Another quiet day. Nothing to do except a briefing in the evening. I got a haircut. Surfed the net a while. Got an eagle cash card. Called home. Kind of a lazy day. The weather is beautiful. There is a breeze (which is great because the camp doesn't smell like latrines now) that is coming off the ocean. So it is slightly cool and humid. It would almost feel like the beach if the air had a seaweed smell.

Camp Virginia Day 2

Here's starbucks. Even though you pay for wifi service, I can only get it to work reliably here, and then only in the middle of the night.



The picturesque view outside the tent.



Two heads outside the tent. No electricity though so you have to bring a light. Also, they run out of water occasionally.



My tent.



And the spacious living arrangements in the inside. Since I took the picture yesterday, 10 more people moved in so we had to put cots down the middle.

Camp Virginia Day 1

We arrived at Camp Virginia late. The flight was uneventful. The USO reception at the Columbia airport was nice. The USO reception in Bangor Maine was pretty sparse. The stop in Leipzig sucked - that airport is terrible. The flight didn't seem that long. They played movies and I slept from Maine to Germany. I think I dozed from Germany to Kuwait also.

We got a brief immediately to tell us the basics. Were were released to get our bags and go to sleep about 0130. I wasn't tired though so I walked around and stopped at starbucks for a latte. I finally went to bed about 0430 and woke back up at 0830. All we had today was a quick brief at noon. And tomorrow all we are doing is Admin. These first two days are meant to get us used to the time zone and the heat (except the weather is beautiful this time of year).

I didn't do much today. I walked around camp again - checked out the USO building. That was great. They have phones in that that you can use to call home for free. The bandwidth is very restricted here. The internet speed is terrible most of the time. It was alright early in the morning though. You can buy access for $12 a week if you want to use your own laptop, or you can use the MWR or USO computers.

Ft. Jackson Day 18

Not many tears shed on our last day here. I managed to get everything into 3 seabags, one rucksack and my backpack. It wasn't difficult. I have one seabag that is only 2/3 full. Unfortunately it is raining here so all our stuff will likely get soaked. All I really need to do is go turn in my loaner M16.

I'll be out of contact while I travel to Kuwait, but once I'm there I should be able to get back online occasionally.

Ft. Jackson Day 17

Up at 0500 then off to breakfast. Got back and put on my full battle rattle for the final day! Here's a picture of Walter, me, Jason and Greg before we left for formation.



The exercise itself was a little fun. But it didn't last very long. I spent most of the morning waiting around for my group's turn. Before we even started the drill instructors gave me a card that said I'm going to be a casualty. That sucked. Apparently an IED blew off my jaw so I was messed up. I had to lay there and play lame until the med teams evacuated me to another vehicle. But I managed to get off most of a clip before the drill sergeants told me to play dead.

They had 'bag nasties' for lunch but I didn't eat. Bag nasties are sandwiches and a small bag with chips, a cookie, some kind of candy (skittles today), and condiments. However the nasties got here right when we were loading up for the exercise. So they sat out in the sun for a couple of hours before we could eat them. I was afraid of food poisoning.

We ordered pizza tonight. We spent the evening reorganizing and packing bags. The forecast tomorrow is for rain. I need to dig my rain gear out of my bags.

Ft. Jackson Day 16

I had first weapon's watch last night so I didn't get to bed last night until after midnight. Then I was up at 0445 because my platoon had to serve breakfast.

We spent the full day out in the field wearing our IBA. We rotated through 4 different stations. It was grueling wearing the battle armor all day. Almost everything was preparation for the final exercise tomorrow. Lots of very good hands on training using the equipment.

I was in the first group to finish the rotation so unfortunately I was volunteered as a 'high speed' demonstrator. BTW, if you haven't heard, don't volunteer for anything in the Army. Anyway, my job ended up being pulling 'simulated' dead guys out of a hmwvv. It was no big deal during the practice. I could toss them over my shoulder and carry them to my hmwvv. But during the actual demo we had to wear our full battle rattle. That made a huge difference. When I pulled Jason out of the hmwvv he was way to damn heavy to carry with us both wearing our battle gear. So I had to drag him to my hmwvv and get another sailor to help me lift him in. And it still took all of our strength to lift that dead weight. My back feels strained all over.

I found out only slightly more info on my Afghan assignment. They gave me a billet description but it is cookie cutter so it really doesn't say anything. I did get an email address with a point of contact. But I don't think he'll be able to get back to me before I leave here.

Ft. Jackson Day 15

Most of C company had PT at 0530. I went to medical to get my smallpox and another anthrax shot. It only took about 10 minutes so I went back to the barracks and cleaned a bit. The rest of the day was classroom lectures. It was so slow. Army trains everything to the lowest common denominator. At the end of the day we got a transportation brief that outlined when we are leaving and what to expect in Kuwait. Looks like the Kuwait training is similar to what we are getting here, just shorter. And having to actually live out of a tent, sleep on the floor, and eat MRE's for three meals a day.

Still no news on my assignment in Afghanistan. I heard today that someone called over and they were as surprised as we are so they are scrambling to prepare for us. Which sucks. That means they're unlikely to have enough housing and I'll likely be doing busy work for a while. It's cold there too. I hope I don't have to live in a tent.

Ft. Jackson Day 13 & 14

The weekend at last. Saturday morning we did a formation run at 0530. It was only about 1.5 miles but Navy people are terrible at running in formation so it was amusing. I don't know how the drill sergeants can keep their cool.

We spent the morning working on an electronic shooting simulator. It was actually interesting. They were real-world scenarios and you had to decide when to shoot, and who to shoot, if you shoot at all. It was instructive to see how many civilians get tagged even when you are ready for the scenario and aiming at the bad guys.

We were released on liberty about noon. One of the friends I made here, Greg, got married in the chapel at 1300. We'll probably stay friends through-out my deployment. He was going to the same task force as me in Iraq, and like me he was redirected to Afghanistan to serve in the CTSC-A. All I know about the assignment so far is this website I found:

http://cstc-a.com/

This was probably my last weekend in America for a while. I had dinner Saturday night with a couple other friends I met here, Walter (the asian) and Jason (the LTJG) in the picture below. Turns out the World Beer Festival was in Columbia this weekend. Too bad we weren't allowed drink. We had dinner at an Awesome Tapas bar, called Gervais & Vine.

Wakeup tomorrow is 0500. I have to report to medical at 0545. That means I have to get my smallpox shot and my second anthrax shot. Not looking forward to either of those. I might have weapons watch tonight also.

Ft. Jackson Day 12

The day started out pretty good. The best so far actually. We went to the Bastogne range to shoot heavy machine guns. There is not much to say other than it was damn cool. My favorite was the 50 cal. That is an impressive weapon. Then we went to another range and did a couple more live fire exercises. It's tough to run in full battle armor. The weather was beautiful also. Hot in fact with all the equipment on.

We got back around 1400 and I cleaned my rifle for a while. Then the day took a turn for the worse. The Navy Captain in charge wanted to speak with several of us at 1600. Turns we are being redirected to Afghanistan. Part of the present administration's surge effort there. Bummer. I don't know anything about the assignment. Because of the holiday weekend, I won't get my actual order mod until next Wednesday, the day before I ship out.

Ft. Jackson Day 11

M16 qualification day was uneventful. The range was a little bit nicer, but the same other than that. I almost shot a perfect score, 40, but I had a couple of weapons malfunctions at the end that ruined it. On the forth to last shot the bullet didn't get inserted fully into the chamber and jammed. So I ejected that round and hit the third to last target. But the the spring in the magazine was too weak to feed the final 2 rounds so I wasn't able to get those final two shots off. The last 5 shots are pretty easy too so I definitely would have gotten them. Oh well, it doesn't matter since 37 is still expert and I'm not even mandatory to qualify. But I would have liked to have had the bragging rights.

A lot of the Navy equipment here is crappy. I've had about 8 magazines with bad springs. They are just old and worn out. I mentioned it to the drill sergeants and they said the Navy is really bad about replacing defective equipment. He recommended that I make a note on the questionnaire at the end. My M16 is also near the end of its life - however its just a loaner since I'm not taking one into theater. Though it obviously still shoots straight.

Ft. Jackson Day 10

Another long day at the range. Not much to report. Shot some sequences and spent the rest of the day waiting around. Btw, we always go to a different range so we are shooting difference sequences and difference weapons. Tomorrow is qual day for the M16. I don't expect to have any problems since I did the exact sequence today on a harder range and qualified. The only unknown is the lighting. I'll be in the first firing group and if the sun is low the shadows can make it difficult to see the targets. The range this morning was difficult because my lane was behind some trees. I haven't been to the range where we are going tomorrow but one the the drill sergeants implied it was a little easier.

We also had a cultural awareness brief at the end of the day. It was good since it focused on the middle east.

Ft. Jackson Day 9

We got to sleep in until 0630. Left for the range after chow. It was a long day at the range. Mostly because of the full battle armor. It wears you out. I shot a few sequences, but as usual most of the day was spent waiting around for other people to shoot. It was chilly this morning but it warmed up in the afternoon. MRE's for lunch. Yuck. More of the same tomorrow.

Spent the afternoon cleaning our weapons. I had sand in my M9.

Ft. Jackson Day 8

Up at 0500, chow at 0530 in the classroom. But then we were released to the barracks until 0800. From 0800 to 1200 we cleaned our weapons and rotated through a 50 minute first aid class. Yeah, it was boring. Oh, another legal/LoW brief. The afternoon was similarly boring. It was the Navy medical afternoon so we had to wait in line to process through medical again and to take a quick cognitive test. (The purpose of the test is to provide a baseline in case we get a head injury while we are deployed.) Since I'm in first platoon I got out of there pretty fast. They gave me only one shot. Tetanus or something. Afterward I went back to the barracks and surfed the net and tried to take a nap.

Tomorrow is a full battle rattle day so I expect a long day at the range.

Ft. Jackson Days 6-7

Up at 0320 on Saturday, off to the range around 0400. Not much to say other than it was damn cold. I probably only spent a total of 20 minutes shooting. The rest of the time was spent waiting around. It's about as boring as it sounds. Shooting the M9 in the dark seemed kind of pointless since you can't see your sights to aim. We also did something called table 3 where we rant to 4 different spots shooting at 4 different targets. That was to show how awkward is is to waddle around in battle armor including what it feels like to dive to the ground and have to get back up. Shooting from the prone position is somewhat difficult with the IBA on because it bumps against your ACH. Some peoples camelbak tube actually froze. At least they let us wait in the bus a couple of times to warm up. Since it was an M9 day, the people without M9's had to load rounds into clips and staple targets. At least they didn't have to wear their body armor. We finally returned to the barracks and were released on liberty around 12:15.

Returned from liberty at 1400 on sunday so I could do the 20 minute computer exercise. What a waste of liberty to come back early for such a lame reason. Sunday afternoon was spent lounging around and washing.

Ft Jackson Day 5

A long damn day. Muster at 0520 in full battle rattle, breakfast at 0530. We spent the entire day ar the range. Which wasn't as fun as it sounds because you spend almost the entire time waiting on other people. We got back around 1815, grabbed some quick chow then back to the classroom for the end of the day. Got back to the barracks at 2000. My back is sore as heck from wearing the battle armor. Wakeup tomorrow is 0330 so I need to get my gear ready.

Oh yeah, it was cold out. At first it wasn't so bad because I dressed warm, but by the end of the day that I spend mostly sitting around, I was chilled to the bone. Hopefully we'll be back from the range by 1100 tomorrow for liberty. Also, they canceled half our liberty for sunday to do some computer exercise. I'm annoyed because they took so long to tell us. I suspect it's for no good reason other than someone being lazy or just not giving a damn. Welcome to the Army.

Ft. Jackson Day 4

Spent most of the day out and about doing weapons training. I got a crick in my neck somehow from maneuvering in my battle armor. By the end of the day I was getting used to it. I was also getting pretty tired. Seems like I spend most of the time today standing in line waiting for my turn or waiting for others to finish. Lots of waiting around but they don't let us bring a book or phone or anything so we usually end up chatting or laughing about things going on around us.

The best part of the day was when we drove around ft jackson for a half hour or so in a HMWVV. I spent some time in the gunners seat. It was chilly, but very pretty. The vegetation here is a pine forest that reminds me a lot of MS, except the ground is composed of sand instead of red clay.

Wakeup tomorrow is 0430.

Ft. Jackson Day 3

Today has been the longest day so far. I had fire guard from 0400-0600, which wasn't so bad because wakeup was 0530. But I actually woke up abour 0330 and couldn't fall back to sleep. Then the sleep you get here isn't very deep. However, it doesnt seem to be too big of a problem. Normally I get 8 hours of sleep and I'm managing alright. Several people dozed off in class today though. It was mildly amusing to hear the drill sergeants get on them.

We started the day with a 1 mile assessment run on the track. It was freaking cold. My lungs were burning and my lips were frozen by the end.

Today was almost all classroom lecture. In the morning was some Army training. They love acronyms and describing every little step of every process. In the afternoon was first aid. Including some surprisingly graphic photos demonstrating tourniquet usage. Then we finished the day with more rifle skills training.

Tomorrow is a full battle rattle day. That means I have to do everything wearing this setup, which is heavier than it looks:

Ft Jackson Day 2

PT was simple this morning. Mostly stretching for first and second platoon. However third and fourth platoon weren't so lucky. Their drill sergeants made them do a ton of push-ups and sit-ups.

Today was mostly a weapons day. Briefings, training and more briefings and training. Taking them apart, cleaning, putting them back together. Listening the the drill sergeants yelling at people who weren't listening.

The galley is ok. Had mac and cheese for lunch and talapia with rice for dinner.

I was thinking today, on one of the breaks, how your mind is very active here because everything is at a high tempo. Besides thinking about everything you are being told, you also think alot about home and your loved ones. But by the end of the day you mind is too scattered and you are too tired to recall everything. It's unfortunate you aren't able to share all those thoughts.

Ft Jackson Day 1

It was a long Day 1. We crammed a bunch of stuff in today. We mustered at 0530, but someone's alarm went of at 0415 and I couldnt go to sleep after that. The shower/sink facilities are inadequate. It's strange that they built so few into the barracks. I've had to switch to showering and shaving in the evening where there is more time. I wish I used an electric shaver.

Today was mostly an equipment day. We got a couple more seabags and a ruck sack. Pretty much everything we need. Like gloves and warm under layering. Again, it seems like the only clothes we actually _need_ to bring are underwear, PT gear and a set of civilian clothes for liberty. All this equipment is heavy. I'm not looking forward to BRM (Basic Rifle Marksmanship) in body armor. Our camelbak has to be worn at all times. And they have to be full in the morning. Which seems crazy because its really cold here. We spent a lot of time outside standing in line for equipment, inventorying our equipment and getting introduced to Army marching and PT. My nose got cold.

We had an MRE for lunch. Mine was a chicken fajita stew. It would probably have been better warm, but we didn't have time to warm it. The chocolate bar with it wasn't bad. The vegetable crackers were bland. I didnt eat the pineapples, jam or powdered orange juice.

My head is still swimming from everything we did today. If all the days are this busy, it's going to be a long 3 weeks. I'm going to hit the rack early tonight. We get to sleep in until 6 tomorrow and PT first thing. Unfortunately its going to be about 17 degrees in the morning.

Arrival at Ft Jackson

Arrived late last night. Which was awkward. By the time I got my army issue wool blanket and made it to my barracks, everyone there was asleep. So, in the dark, I had to locate a free bunk, make my bed, and get some sleep. I elected to wait till this morning to unpack. A couple of things I neglected to bring: a towel, a padlock for my locker (bring a couple because you can get a locker box for under your bed and just lock your seabags) and shower slippers. The shoppet opened at noon so I picked them up there. I think I'll get some hangers also tomorrow. You definitely want to report early if possible so you can get a good bunk and locker. Unfortunately, the Army assigned me to the wrong barracks so I had to move all my stuff to my proper barracks in the evening. I'm in C company but I was assigned to the A company barracks.

The only thing to report from last night was a whole lot of snoring going on. Earplugs are a good idea. Today was pretty much a down day. Spent the day unpacking, reading, and surfing the net. The wifi in the barracks is decent. A brief muster in the evening to make sure everyone is here and to get our training schedule. Our first formation tomorrow is 0530 so we'll need to wake up a bit earlier to shower and dress. Looks like each company has a slightly different schedule based on what their drill instructors setup. Our head drill instructor seems fairly laid back so I can't complain.