it's been forever
it's been forever and a half since i've written in here. It's too bad, but taking notes when I'm in the field is next to impossible. I'll try and recap in reverse.
I just got back from SASO training. That for lamen is stability operations training. It's pretty cutting edge. We went to March AFB. When I thought March AFB I thought "oh great, an air force base, it'll be nice".... WRONG!!! They managed to find one mile by one mile of bombed out buildings that they made a mock iraqi village and called it matildaville. the streets were named after beers. It's funny to go over the radio and say "Spartan this is Longrifle... I'm taking enemy fire at the corner of Corona and Sam Adams, over."
It was a 10 day training course, all in the field. I lived in buildings that where i could see the poeple sleeping in the room next door through the broke out wall.
The first five days were good training courses. We got all kinds of training on what to do in the environment we're going to, which is a small urban area. We learned a lot about what we're going to be getting in to over there.
Had a POW class... won't go in to detail on that. Good class.
I guess I want to close out tonight w/ a conversation I had w/ corporal in my platoon. Not to go in to detail, but he stood up and said something that needed to be said to someone senior to him. It wasn't the correct thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. He has everyone's back here, and doesn't care whether or not he looses rank. He came in w/ beer and talked to me for like 10 min about what he did. I told him I had his back. I can't even begin to remember how many times he's chewed my ass our for one stupid thing or another over the years. I can say it's made me a better person. He's a good Marine, and it's shitty that there are shit head Marines senior to him that supposedly are going to lead me in to battle. It's a shitty time to have dissention in the ranks. My only hope is that this all plays out before we get on the plane.
I just got back from SASO training. That for lamen is stability operations training. It's pretty cutting edge. We went to March AFB. When I thought March AFB I thought "oh great, an air force base, it'll be nice".... WRONG!!! They managed to find one mile by one mile of bombed out buildings that they made a mock iraqi village and called it matildaville. the streets were named after beers. It's funny to go over the radio and say "Spartan this is Longrifle... I'm taking enemy fire at the corner of Corona and Sam Adams, over."
It was a 10 day training course, all in the field. I lived in buildings that where i could see the poeple sleeping in the room next door through the broke out wall.
The first five days were good training courses. We got all kinds of training on what to do in the environment we're going to, which is a small urban area. We learned a lot about what we're going to be getting in to over there.
Had a POW class... won't go in to detail on that. Good class.
I guess I want to close out tonight w/ a conversation I had w/ corporal in my platoon. Not to go in to detail, but he stood up and said something that needed to be said to someone senior to him. It wasn't the correct thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. He has everyone's back here, and doesn't care whether or not he looses rank. He came in w/ beer and talked to me for like 10 min about what he did. I told him I had his back. I can't even begin to remember how many times he's chewed my ass our for one stupid thing or another over the years. I can say it's made me a better person. He's a good Marine, and it's shitty that there are shit head Marines senior to him that supposedly are going to lead me in to battle. It's a shitty time to have dissention in the ranks. My only hope is that this all plays out before we get on the plane.