Foxholes and Dogtags

somebody had to much time on their hands

Well, after a nice little drive, I am now on leave and am at home for the next few days. No military training, which means I will be telling little stories of things I experienced over the last two weeks when I get the time, but most of my resources will be geared toward IncoheRANT Ramblings.

Regardless, thought I would provide a small treat to you, well, at least I found this funny as hell. It's an old video, some of you might have seen it before. I sure can't take credit for it, and they aren't Americans, but regardless, enjoy.

A Little Place Called Kosovo.

(please right click and save on your harddrive, which is what I would prefer)

And, er, please no instalaunches on this one. All I need now is my server to go nuts on a 28 Meg file.

Flubbing Qualifications.

I went through a small spectrum of emotions yesterday after my attempt to qualify. Long story, I'll make it short.

My m16 has proven to be a combat ineffective weapon. It is dirty as hell and the selection lever from safe to semi sticks. As it did yesterday. In the foxhole, getting ready to shoot, I get in position, the 50 meter target goes up and I squeeze the trigger. Nothing.

This weapon has done this to me before. I get irritated and before doing SPORTS (explain in a minute), I change the selector lever back to safe and then to semi again. Still nothing. Start slapping on the magazine while I wave at the safety and he takes the weapon and basically starts all over.

Meanwhile, at least five targets have gone up, and I haven't hit one of them.

A part of me wanted to go from the start so I could actually qualify and get a decent score. But at least five targets were already wasted. I basically flubbed the rest.

Bad soldier. Bad. Bad.

My favorite was the NBC portion. They give the command to mask up, and then you fire repeatedly at the 50 meter target. I fumbled with the mask, because I never really adjusted it from the gas chamber.

Once again, bad soldier. Bad!

One thing i forgot to mention about my specific pro mask. The drinking tube is kind of bent up inside of it and aimed directly at the nose. When it's cold, your nose kind of runs. So I got bogeys all over my drinking tube, giving it that nice salty taste.

Oh well, the site picture was clear. Aim at Pop up Joe and Bam! Bam! 20 targets, all down. To easy. At least that part is out of the way.

I flubbed the qualifications portion (sorta on purpose, will get another chance to qualify later) and I got to get on the bus and take care of doctor business.

I won't mention how that went. Let's just say, I wasn't a happy camper coming out of it, especially when I later learned that in fact I didn't have to do it in the first place. Before I was upset. Then I became furious. People stayed clear for a good portion of the day. I was near homicidal. Good thing I didn't have to requalify that day because live rounds wouldn't have been a pretty picture.

Oh, and I didn't take any pictures. Had a lot on my mind yesterday.

Today I learned how to drive like a European, but more specifically like a german. Good thing I know a little german. I need to brush up on my language skills auf Deutsch.

I'll get the picture thing next time. If I fail it next time, its all on me. Maybe they'll actually let me clean the damn rifle!

(oh, and wireless internet in Kosovo. I'm in the net!)

Zeroing at the Range

On friday, we zeroed our weapons on the range. Zeroing is the process in which you try to get your weapon to shoot in the exact spot that you want to shoot it, which is very important when you are firing it at a 300 meter target.

Tomorrow I qualify.

Anyway, I'm at a place where I can post pictures.

Lately I've been the 'hook-up point', mostly because I seem to be squared away at first glance. Since 85% of my unit appears to be from warmer climates (ie - the South) and I'm actually in the same place I usually am (ie - Washington State), it hasn't been to rough on me so far.

In fact, it's been a cake walk. I was expecting lock down and being busy from sun up to sun down.

Anyway, people have specifically expressed interest to not have their pictures posted online. So innocent standbyers are either cropped off entirely or their faces have been blurred.

Just chillin', waiting for my chance to zero. I handed the camera off to the Specialist who stole my gator and told her in return that she had to take pictures. She didn't take to many.

Eh, not to the effect of 'not sorry', but I somehow at one point had two weapons on hand. I was guarding my NCOIC's, who had to go to the doctor's and would be at the range later.

That helmet didn't quite fit my head.

I think I'll just stick to shots I took.

The zero range didn't go to well for me at first. Becuase I was wearing a lot of stuff to keep warm just in case by some fluke chance it actually RAINED in fort Lewis, I wore my wet weather gear. I also wore my polypropelene underneath so I wouldn't be cold.

My kevlar also isn't quite adjusted to my head just yet. Everytime I tried to shoot, it would flop in my eyes and I couldn't get a good site picture.

I finally started shooting in respectable shot groups after I stripped off half my cold weather gear. But it took me far longer then it should have to zero. *sigh*

That evening, we had to fire at a target fifty meters away that was basically the sillhoutte of an upper torso. We were given two 15 round magazines. Our task? To shoot as many downrange as quickly as possible and land at least 7 of the 30 rounds into the target.

Keep in mind it is dark. And the point is rapid fire. And my kevlar still didn't quite fit my head (don't ask me why I didn't just adjust it, I didn't think ahead at the time) It sounds easy to lob 7 out of 30 rounds into a target but it proved to be more difficult then I expected. I honestly thought I was going to fail because I was just shooting rounds down range in the general vicinity of my target but I couldn't see a damn thing. Finally, after getting my stupid Kevlar out of my eyes, I saw a couple of tracers in the direction I wanted them to go and just kept firing in that spot.

Low and behold, I managed to hit the target 14 times. It's a bloody miracle if you ask me.

Qualification tomorrow. The camera is coming with me. More then.

Conducting the Whiz Quiz

There is a rule in the military that you never volunteer for anything. You also don't volunteer information that might get you stuck on detail. I conveniantly forgot this rule.

The first night here, the Training NCOIC asked if anybody had ever attended the UPL course. I had, so without thinking I raised my hand. He saw me and immediately volunteered me into the UPL course here on Fort Lewis.

I immediately recognized my fatal error.

The UPL is the Unit Prevention Leader. Hey, I'm preventive medicine, this should be right up my alley right? Well, it goes a bit further then PM does.

Well, you have to have at least two people in a unit to serve as the UPL. Though I had qualified in the past, I had to go through the course again because you have to recertify every year. Yeah. Right.

I certified about a year and a half ago but never did anything with it. My Commander had ordered me to go then.

So, you may ask, what does the UPL do? Well, the UPL assists the Commander in implimenting the ASAP. ASAP means two things in the army. As Soon As Possible & Army Substance Abuse Program. One of those Acronyms that has two meanings in the army, kind of like UA (unit administrator and Urinalysis *snort*)

That's right, I now conduct the PEE TEST!!! And oh how the Puns do fly. ("don't let the soldier get into a Pissy fit") Good thing I can always pee on demand.

So now myself and one other soldier are in charge of surprising the unit and demanding their urine at any given time with no prior notice.

And I was worried that people wouldn't be liking me becuase I'm Preventive Medicine. This should be amusing.

PT and NickNames

We had a little session of PT (physical training) on Wednesday, and for Reservists, this is actually a big thing. Most of the people I talked to are saying how they are using this deployment to get back into shape. Funny that. Let's see how long that lasts.

So, the unit got into a nice large Mass Formation and we all got stretched out and all of that other boring crap. Then all E5's (being buck sergeants) who had been to PLDC (being Sergeant School) were asked to raise their hands. I'm a PLDC graduated Buck Sergeant so my hand shot up. Three other people also raised their hands.

We were then made Squad Leaders and put in charge of the Squad. I got first. Then we were instructed to take charge of our squads and lead them in a rousing session of PT, today being sprints. I took charge, and found myself unexpectedly the leader of about 8 people, 5 of which outranked me.

Well, we were in PTs so you can't see rank, so I decided that I wouldn't think about that. At first, I was nervous as I tried to march them to the road and called a Column Right when I should have called a Column Left. At least I called it on the correct foot.

Well, I got a few things to learn about running Sprints in a PT formation, but I got a few compliments from the other NCOs (being Non Commissioned Officers) and I acquired a new nickname.

Drill Sergeant Erickson.

See, I started calling cadence, one form of singing that I'm actually good at, and I think I was the only one to do it. And I also didn't take any crap. They said they had a good workout and that I had to much energy. Being a Reservist who doesn't do this that often, I made my share of mistakes, but quickly recovered from them, and I learned.

I like leading PT. I want to do it more often.

Of course, the nickname has spread throughout the entire unit. They're also calling me "High Speed."

Did I mention that I'm having fun?

Gas Chamber and Mine Fields

Mob is going fairly smoothly. For the most part. When I get a chance, I will be posting about each day individually, as my time here is limited.

Actually, it's up. Damn, that was a little fast. I'll have to finish this post in a little bit. I only have a thirty minute time limit on these things. that's not near enough!

(more posts to come when I dig up the time!)

Update 12-16-2004
Well, I found some more time for myself, after chow time. Ft Lewis has been fairly low key so far, I have a good month to get everything I need to get done accomplished.

Plus, I get to go home for a few days next week. I didn't realize how much I had to do, which makes me doubly greatful that I have the time to go home and work on it.

So, what has happened so far? To take a glance back, I got to the Western Part of the State in November, been on orders or on military payroll ever since. Sometimes there was nothing for me to do, other times I found myself a wee bit overwhelmed. But its all good.

Quick fact, Yugoslavia was one of the highest producers of mines in the world during the cold war. During the latest conflict following the break up of Yugoslavia which brings us to present day Bosnia and Serbia and the mess that is the Balkans, Mines were placed everywhere.

I got taught to probe for mines using a stick. That was one piece of training I didn't get in basic. It would be nice not having to use it.

But personally, the gas chamber was fun. We went last Saturday, though we didn't break the seal on our masks, the purpose of it was to check the seal to make sure it held. First we went into the gas chamber with our masks on and gathered in a circle. If we weren't breathing CS, our masks were fine. Then we moved our heads up and down and all around and eventually started to move our mouths as if we were cows chewing cud. The whole purpose of this was to make sure the seal held.

With me so far? Good.

The next point was when we decided to check the masks for endurance over time. Commence with the running in place. Begin.

We even sang cadence. I led for a short while, but damn do I need to brush up on my cadence calls. As we continued to run in place, something happened.

My pro mask sprang a leak. I knew right away that it happened. CS gas is kind of hard to ignore.

I told the chemical sergeant that my mask sprang a leak. You can't see anything in this darkened tent but I guess because I was basically yelling to make sure he understood me, he must have thought I was freaking out.

He started 'freaking out', telling me to turn around as he took the harness on my pro mask and started Pulling. Damn I had never seen that thing so tight. Then he's saying "breathe out! Breathe Out!" while i'm trying to tell him that he pulled the harness to tight and now the seal is on my hair (and hence, it has no seal). Finally he told me to leave and talk to the chemical sergeant outside.

I need a new harness. I got my dose of CS gas for the day though I learned that you do surprisingly develop a slight immunity to this gas over time. It wasn't bothering me that bad, well, other then the pores under my nose that were burning because of the snot.

Basically, I didn't have to go again. My mask obviously works. The harness is worn. need a new one.

However, this brings me to another moment. See, they carted us to the gas chamber in a cattle car. Which is just as it sounds (though one of the drivers informed me that it is known as a 'silver side', because cattle car is politically incorrect. Gimmeabreak). They were going to cart us back in the same cattle car.

Most of the people I'm deploying with are from the south. They are cold here in fort lewis. The ones out of the gas chamber took refuge in the cattle car, which is an enclosed space. Most people spent at least 5 minutes in the gas chamber, which means that their clothes are permeated with CS gas. The gas was starting to linger.

The real fun began when the cadre got the grand idea to get us back as soon as the last group went through the chamber. As they came out, we all loaded into the cattle car and closed the door.

Everybody was streaming out within 10 seconds, and those that weren't either had their head out the window (me) or their pro mask on. The cs gas just built up in that enclosed space coming off all of our clothes.

Good times. Good times.

What do I do?

Well, this has come up many times in various E-mails and comments. I'm a soldier in the army, but what in the army do I do?

Well, I'll give you a quick Bio. I'm a Soldier in the United States Army Reserve out of Washington State. My job skill is 91S, Preventive Medicine Specialist.

Most people really don't have a good clue as to what I do. When I say anything with the word Medicine in it, immediately everyone thinks 'Medic!' No, I am not a medic. In fact, I have very little contact with patient care. When I say I prevent disease, most people assume that I must give Immunizations and such. Er, no, not that either.

My job is the prevention of Disease and Non-Battle injuries. If it is preventable, its my job to prevent it. Granted, its really easy to prevent gunshot wounds by avoiding gunfire, but that's where the non-battle part comes in.

Preventable Disease generally consists of Food and Waterbourne Disease, Entomology, and communicable Disease. We make sure that the water is safe to drink, the food is prepared in a manner that will not make people sick, and there aren't excess critters that like to bite people and spread nasties such as Malaria and Leishmaneisis. We also have a hand in industrial hygiene and often are involved with taking air and soil samples so that there isn't junk that will make the troops sick. A lot of this has to do with Education and making sure the troops know how to keep themselves healthy. Which includes, literally, not screwing around.

When any troop goes into theater, they get the Medical Threat Briefing. Guess who gives it? Yes, Preventive Medicine. Public health is our concern, if the troops are immobile because of dysentary, it makes it difficult for them to do their job, which is to fight the war.

So, in a nutshell, my job is to make the warfighter healthy and able to fight the war. There is some potential for humanitarian aid, but my concern is the troops.

Needless to say, because our job coincides with the phrase 'health inspector', we aren't that popular.

Gotta love Preventive Med!

Web Pages referring to this page

Link to this page and get a link back!